Gandhian Understanding of

UNIT 4 ETHICAL TEACHINGS OF GANDHI Man

Contents
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Non-Violence
4.3 Truth
4.4 Non-stealing
4.5 Celibacy
4.6 Non-possessiveness
4.7 Character
4.8 Life Moral Teachings
4.9 Let Us Sum Up
4.10 Key Words
4.11 Further Readings and References

4.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit, you should be able to;
• Explain the Gandhi concept of non-violence
• Interpret the Gandhi idea of truth
• Discuss the Gandhi conception of non-stealing
• Know the Gandhi view on non-possessiveness
• Elucidate the Gandhi vision on Celibacy
• Understand the Gandhi ideas on character
• Know the Gandhi life moral teachings

4.1 INTRODUCTION
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) is a father of our nation. Ethical teachings are the
central philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi is a universally
accepted as an exemplary model of ethical and moral life, with a rare blending of
personal and public life, the principles and practices, the immediate and the
eternal. He considered life to be an integrated whole, growing from truth to
truth every day in moral and spiritual status. He believed in a single standard of
conduct founded on dharma of truth and nonviolence. He successfully led
nonviolent struggles against racial discrimination, colonial rule, economic and
social exploitation and moral degradation. So long as these manifestations of
violence remain, Gandhi will remain relevant. Gandhi was a good man in a world
where few resist the corroding influence of power, wealth and vanity.

Among the vital messages of Gandhi’s leadership are: even one person can make
a difference; strength comes not from physical capacity but from an indomitable
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Introduction to Gandhian will. Mahatma Gandhi was not an armchair academician or a cloistered visionary.
Philosophy
He was deeply concerned with the world around him. He disclaimed being a
visionary. Gandhi spoke in a low tone and was a hesitant public speaker. Yet
people of all classes were drawn to him and instinctively felt him to be a leader
of deeply spiritual and moral perceptions, which he sought to realize through the
pursuit of Truth. Over 54 years of Gandhi’s public life were lived as an open
book. He lived in South Africa for 21 years and then in India from 1915. All
through his life he remained a seeker after Truth.

A central quality of his leadership was its natural evolution through intense
interaction with the people and the events. Gandhi single-handedly made
nonviolence a universal substitute for violence and the bed-rock of his
leadership. His nonviolence was the way to counter injustice and exploitation,
and not run away from a righteous battle. He associated the qualities of humility,
compassion, forgiveness and tolerance as corollaries of nonviolence. To Gandhi
the spirit of service and sacrifice was the key to leadership. For the spirit of
service to materialize we must lay stress on our responsibilities and duties and
not on rights. He illustrated it through the example of concentric circles: one
starts with service of those nearest to one and expands the circle of service until
it covers the universe, no circle thriving at the cost of the circles beyond. Service
to him implied self-sacrifice. He said that Sacrifice is the law of life. It runs
through and governs every walk of life. We can do nothing or get nothing without
paying a price for it, in other words, without sacrifice.

The commitment to service, however demands a strong sense of conscience (moral

imperative), courage (fearlessness, bravery, initiative), and character (integrity). To
Mahatma Gandhi, ‘inner voice’ was synonymous with conscience. Leaders need
to develop and follow their conscience even more than ordinary people as they
set the path for others. Hence, he wrote: None of us, especially no leader should
allow himself to disobey the inner voice in the face of pressure from outside, any
leader who succumbs in this way forfeits his right of leadership. For a leader to
follow the right path requires courage and its associated qualities: Courage,
endurance and above all, fearlessness and spirit of willing sacrifices are the
qualities that are required today in India for leadership.
Gandhi in his time wielded more power over the minds of people than any other
individual but it was not the power of weapons, or terror or violence; it was the
power of his convictions, his pursuit of truth and nonviolence, fearlessness, love
and justice, working through incessant service and sacrifice for fellow human
beings. His power came from empowering the weak, to lead the masses in the
fight against injustice, exploitation, violence and discrimination. Satyagraha
elevated the struggle for survival to the highest moral-spiritual levels and ordinary,
emaciated people turned heroes. His power arose through the people whom he
gave a sense of self-respect, purpose and moral strength.
Mahatma Gandhi expresses that morality is quite inseparable with the conception
of God and religion. Morality is the core essence or religion. For Mahatma Gandhi,
spiritual is the highest goal of man and all else must be sub-servant to that goal.
Mahatma Gandhi said that there are seven deadly sins in human life. The following
seven sins are deadly sins according to Gandhi. They are 1.Wealth without work.
2. Pleasure without conscience. 3. Knowledge without character. 4. Commerce
without morality. 5. Science without humanity. 6. Religion without sacrifice. 7.
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Politics without principle. Ethical teachings of Gandhi are the great source for Ethical Teachings of Gandhi
right, peaceful, healthy and blissful living in the world.

4.2 NON-VIOLENCE
Mahatma Gandhi says that Non-violence means to keep oneself completely away
from such action which may hurt others physically or mentally. Violence is a
behavior involving physical force intending to hurting, damaging or killing. Non-
violence is to bear distresses by oneself to make others happy. Non-violence is
the most effective means to fight against discrimination and falsehood. Non-
violence is not the outward strength. Non-violence is the internal power. Non-
violence promotes vegetarianism and reverence for all life. Non-violence prevents
murder, war, capital punishment in the world. Non-violence avoids abortion,
mercy killing, suicide and infanticide in human society. Non-violence creates
freedom from physical and psychological violence, exploitation, injustice,
inequality and discrimination. Non-violence develops love, co-operation,
forgiving, help, and kindness in humanity. Non-violence is fundamental to the
discovery of truth. Truth is God and non-violence is God’s love. Truth is the
ultimate goal of human life and non-violence is the means to achieve ultimate
goal. Without violence it is not possible to seek and find truth. Non-violence and
truth are so intertwined that it is practically impossible to disintegrate and separate
them. They are like the two sides of the same coin. Mahatma Gandhi expresses
that the first step in non-violence is that we cultivate in our daily life, as between
ourselves, truthfulness, humility, tolerance, loving, and kindness. Honesty, they
say in English, is the best policy. But in terms of non-violence is an unchangeable
creed. It has to be pursued in face of violence raging around you. Non-violence
with a non-violent man is no merit. In fact, it is become difficult to say whether
it is non-violent at all. But when it is pitted against violence, then one realizes
the difference between the two. This we cannot do unless we are ever wakeful,
ever vigilant and striving.

The power of non-violence is the power of internal force. According to Mahatma

Gandhi It is no non-violence if we merely love those who love us. It is non-
violence only when we love those who hate us. Non-violence to be a potent
force must begin with the mind. Non-violence of the body without co-operation
of mind is the non-violence of the weak or the cowardly, and has therefore, no
potency. It is a degrading performance. If we bear the malice and hatred in our
bosoms and pretend not to retaliate it must recoil upon us and to destruction. It
follows, therefore, that if non-violence becomes successfully established in one
place, its influence will spread everywhere. The basic principle on which non-
violence rests is that holds good in respect of oneself equally applies to the whole
universe.

Mahatma Gandhi tells that the non-violence of my conception is a more active

and more real fighting against wickedness than retaliation whose very nature is
to increase wickedness. Non-violence is one of the major moral qualities of human
being. Non-violence is a power force than violence because it is linked with the
bravery of mind. Non-violence is a powerful weapon of the strong. Mahatma
Gandhi used non-violence not only for the purification of his soul, but to purify
the conduct of the human society. He practiced non-violence in mass action and
devised means to fight out injustice.
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Introduction to Gandhian Check your progress I
Philosophy
Note: Use the space provided for your answers.
1) What is your understanding on the concept of non-violence of Gandhi?
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2) What is the difference between violence and non-violence in the views
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4.3 TRUTH
Mahatma Gandhi says that truth is the law of our being. Truth is God. Truth is
which is. Truth and non-violence are as old as the hills. Truth is a virtue. Truth is
in fact self-revealing, but that we have become blind on account of our ignorance.
Ignorance, according to Mahatma Gandhi, is not necessary or natural to the self.
Mahatma Gandhi says that moral degradation or perversion of one kind or cause
ignorance. He explicitly mentions the six deadly enemies which cause prejudice,
malice and ill-will to arise, on account of which the person is unable to see or
feel the truth. These deadly enemies are desire, anger, greed, attachment, pride
and jealousy. Therefore, in order to practice truth one must constantly endeavor
to oneself from these evils, one must cultivate moral purity and courage and
must not allow these enemies to cloud his vision.

Mahatma Gandhi is also aware that in the present day world falsehood appears
to be more paying and beneficial. By speaking lies people do get success. Mahatma
Gandhi is aware of it, but very logically he demonstrates the superiority of truth
over falsehood. There is one condition regarding the speaking of the truth which
Mahatma Gandhi accepts because of its pragmatic value. Even in accepting this
Mahatma Gandhi is trying to be faithful to the ancient Indian teaching. The
condition is that the truth should be spoken in a pleasant way. If the truth is
expressed in an unpleasant, blunt and rough manner, it may be socially injurious
as a might give rise to anger and quarrels. In fact, in the ancient Indian philosophy
there is a maxim which says, ‘speak the truth, and speak the pleasant; but do not
speak the unpleasant truth’. Mahatma Gandhi seems to be influenced by the
element of practically contained in this maxim. Therefore, he says that truthfulness
has to be practiced, that it is an art which has to be developed by rigorous and
constant discipline and practice.
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 Ethical Teachings of Gandhi
Check Your Progress II
Note: Use the space provided for your answers.
1) What is meant by truth according to Gandhi?
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2) What are the inner deadly enemies that prevent seeing the truth?
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4.4 NON-STEALING
Mahatma Gandhi tells that Non-stealing is not to steal. Non-stealing is not to
take by thought, word and action anything to which one is not entitled. There are
two senses of the word non-stealing; it popularly means the observance of the
rule of not taking away the belonging or the property of anybody unless it is
given by that person. But, there is a more rigorous meaning of the word non-
stealing; it forbids the keeping or holding in possession of such things that are
not needed.

Mahatma Gandhi uses the non-stealing in both these senses. In fact, in conceiving
the nature of this virtue he is influenced by Jainism which believes that stealing
is also a kind of violence. Property is, in fact, outer life, because bodily existence
depends upon property. Therefore, to rob one of his properties is to take away his
outer life. Non-stealing is a virtue also because stealing is not compatible with
the highest virtue of love. Therefore Mahatma Gandhi recommends that a truly
moral individual has to take a solemn vow to cultivate the virtue of non-stealing.

Check Your Progress III

Note: Use the space provided for your answers.
1) What is your understanding on the principle of non-stealing of Gandhi?
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Introduction to Gandhian
Philosophy 2) What is the difference between stealing and non-stealing in the ideas of
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4.5 CELIBACY
Mahatma Gandhi expresses that Celibacy is abstention from self-indulgence by
thought, speech and action. Self-indulgence means indulging one’s desires
excessively. Celibacy is restricted to chastity. Celibacy means abstinence from
sexual relations or at least physical control over the organ of generation. Mahatma
Gandhi uses the celibacy both in its popular sense, and in its traditional sense.
He emphasizes the importance of sexual control. Celibacy is putting a check and
restraint over all the senses and the mind. Senses often delude us and misguide
us. Immorality is basically born out of a desire to satisfy the demands of the
senses. Therefore, we must cultivate a discipline by which we, instead of being
led astray by the senses, may be able to keep the senses under control. In fact,
even sexual control cannot be practiced unless senses are put in check. For
example, Mahatma Gandhi feels that our food habits have to be changed. The
palate is responsible for our taking delicious and rich food, which, in its turn,
causes sexual urge to arise. Therefore, Mahatma Gandhi experimented with
different kinds of food, just in order to evolve a food pattern, which, without
reducing the health value of food, would not allow amorous and undesirable
urges to arise. The name celibacy is given to a discipline of this kind.

4.6 NON-POSSESSIVENESS
Mahatma Gandhi says that Non-possessiveness is renunciation of possessions
by thought, word and deed. Non-possessiveness is restricted to contentment.
Non-possessiveness is non-acceptance. Possessiveness is unwilling to share one’s
possessions. Mahatma Gandhi feels that the tendency to possess things is the
cause of all evils. Therefore, one must cultivate the discipline of living with
what one has. Mahatma Gandhi is aware that it is not possible to practice this
virtue in the absolute way, because absolute non-possession is impossible in
life; even the body is a possession- the things needed for the preservation of the
body are also possessions, and therefore, so long as we are alive we cannot
completely do away with possessions. Even so, non-possessiveness has to be
practiced to the best of one’s capacity because this does away with the cause of
rift in social life and provides a solid foundation for a universal love to flourish.

4.7 CHARACTER
Mahatma Gandhi expresses that Character is moral and ethical strength. Character
comes from within. Character is the key to success. A man of character will
make himself worthy of any position he is given. Character, not brains, will
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count at the crucial moment. Character is any day more eloquent than speech. Ethical Teachings of Gandhi
Character must be above suspicion and truthful and self-controlled.
What will tell in the end will be character and not a knowledge of letters. What
we start receiving education through our own language, our relations in the home
will take on a different character. The real property that a parent can transmit to
all equally is his or her character and educational facilities. The truest test of
civilization, culture and dignity is character and not clothing. Success is the certain
result of suffering of the extremist character voluntarily undergone. Sorrow and
suffering make for character if they are voluntarily borne, but not if they are
imposed. Men of stainless character and self-purification will easily inspire
confidence and automatically purify the atmosphere around them. In the times
to come the people will not judge us by the creed we profess or the label we wear
or the slogans we shout but by our work, industry, sacrifice, honesty and purity
of character. If you express the requisite purity of character in action, you cannot
do it better than through the spinning wheel. If you have no character to lose,
people will have no faith in you. Character alone will have real effect on masses.

Mahatma Gandhi tells that all your scholarship, all your study of Shakespeare
and Wordsworth would be vain if at the same time you do not build your character
and attain mastery over your thoughts and your actions. A vow imparts stability,
ballast and firmness to one’s character. A language is an exact reflection of the
character and growth of its speakers. A dissolute character is more dissolute in
thought than in deed, and the same is true of violence. Literary training by itself
adds not an inch to one’s moral height and character building is independent of
literary training. Character cannot be built with mortar and stone. It cannot be
built by other hands than your own. The principal and professors cannot give
you character from the pages of books. Character building comes from their
very lives and really speaking it must come from within you. Mahatma says that
if wealth is lost nothing is lost; if health is lost something is lost; if character is
lost everything is lost.

4.8 LIFE MORAL TEACHINGS

Mahatma Gandhi expressed life moral teachings in his writings and speeches.
Life moral teachings presented here are drawn from Gandhi’s writings and
speeches. Perhaps in our time there will be even greater opportunities to put
them to good use. They are:
1) Our aim is the establishment of the kingdom of Righteousness on earth.
2) Peace has its victories more glorious than those of war.
3) Real disarmament cannot come unless the nations of the world cease to
exploit one another.
4) No matter how insignificant the thing you have to do, do it as well as you
can, give it as much of your care and attention as you would give to the
thing you regard as most important.
5) Nonviolence, in the very nature of things, is of no assistance in the defense
of ill-gotten gains and immoral acts.
6) Nonviolence is never a method of coercion, it is one of conversion.
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Introduction to Gandhian 7) Nonviolent struggle is impossible without capital in the form of character.
Philosophy
8) Recall the face of the poorest and the most helpless man whom you may
have seen and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any
use to him. Will he be able to gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a
control over his own life and destiny?
9) Religions are different roads converging on the same point.
10) Religion which takes no account of practical affairs and does not help to
solve them is no religion.
11) Rights that do not flow directly from duty well performed are not worth
having.
12) Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.
13) No human being is so bad as to be beyond redemption.
14) Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole
truth and acting accordingly.
15) Strength of numbers is the delight of the timid. The valiant in spirit glories
in fighting alone.
16) Terrorism and deception are weapons not of the strong but of the weak.
17) That line of action is alone justice which does not harm either party to a
dispute.
18) The acquisition of the spirit of nonresistance changes one’s outlook upon
life. It puts different values upon things and upsets previous calculations.
And when it is set in motion, its effect can overtake the whole world. It is
the greatest force because it is the highest expression of the soul.
19) The best politics is right action.
20) The danger is greatest when victory seems nearest.
21) The fabled godly Elephant King was saved only when he thought he was at
his last gasp.
22) The first principle of nonviolent action is that of noncooperation with
everything humiliating.
23) The fullest life is impossible without an immovable belief in a Living Law
in obedience to which the whole universe moves.
24) The highest moral law is that we should unremittingly work for the good of
mankind.
25) The movement of noncooperation, if it may be considered a revolution, is
not an armed revolt; it is an evolutionary revolution, it is a bloodless
revolution. The movement is a revolution of thought, or spirit.
26) The problem is a world problem. No nation can find its own salvation by
breaking away from others. We must all be saved or we must all perish
together.

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27) There is a power now slumbering within us, which if awakened would do to Ethical Teachings of Gandhi
evil what light does to darkness.
28) The right to err, which means the freedom to try experiments, is the universal
condition of all progress.
29) To believe that what has not occurred in history will not occur at all is to
argue disbelief in the dignity of man.
30) To benefit by others’ killing and delude oneself into the belief that one is
being very religious and nonviolent is sheer self-deception.
31) True morality consists not in following the beaten track, but in finding out
the true path for us and fearlessly following it.
32) Truth never damages a cause that is just.
33) Violence is suicide.
34) We are all children of one and the same God and, therefore, absolutely equal.
35) We hug the chains that bind us.
36) We leave things to Fate after exhausting all the remedies.
37) We may attack measures and systems. We may not, we must not, attack
people. Imperfect ourselves, we must be tender toward others and slow to
impute their motives.
38) We may not be God but we are of God — even as a little drop of water is of
the ocean.
39) We must combat the wrong by ceasing to assist the wrongdoer, directly or
indirectly.
40) Western democracy as it functions today is diluted Nazism or fascism. At
best it is merely a cloak to hide the Nazi and fascist tendencies of imperialism.
41) What is possible for one is possible for all.
42) When we disobey a law, it is not for want of respect for lawful authority, but
in obedience to the higher law of our being, the voice of conscience.
43) Where Love is, there God is also.
44) Where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise
violence.
45) Conscience is a good guide for individual conduct, imposition of that conduct
upon others would be an insufferable interference with their freedom of
conscience.
46) Whomsoever you follow, howsoever great he might be, see to it that you
follow the spirit of the master and not imitate him mechanically.
47. You should be pioneers in presenting a living faith to the world and not the
dry bones of a traditional faith which the world will not grasp.
48) A Government that is evil has no room for good men and women except in
its prisons.
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Introduction to Gandhian 49) All faiths constitute a revelation of Truth, but all are imperfect.
Philosophy
50) All fear is a want of faith.
51) All other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service
which is rendered in a spirit of joy.
52) A nonviolent resister cannot wait or delay action till perfect conditions are
forthcoming.
53) A nonviolent revolution is not a program for the seizure of power. It is a
program for the transformation of relationships ending in a peaceful transfer
of power.
54) A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their
mission can alter the course of history.
55) By our actions we mean to show that physical force is nothing compared
(to) moral force.
56) Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil.
57) Civil disobedience without constructive programs is bound to fail.
58) Cooperation with good is as much a duty as noncooperation with evil.
59) Do not undertake anything beyond your capacity, and at the same time do
not harbor the wish to do less than you can. One who takes up tasks beyond
his powers is proud and attached. On the other hand, one who does less than
he can is a thief.
60) Do not worry about what others are doing. Each of us should turn the
searchlight inward and purify our own hearts as much as possible.
61) Each step upward makes me feel stronger and fit for the next step.
62) Every one of my failures has been a steppingstone.
63) Every right carries with it a corresponding duty.
64) Everything is done openly and aboveboard, for truth hates secrecy.
65) Evil can only be sustained by violence.
66) Exploitation is the essence of violence.
67) Faith does not admit of telling. It has to be lived and then it becomes self-
propagating.
68) Faith is nothing but a living, wide-awake consciousness of God within.
69) Fearlessness is the first requisite of spirituality. Cowards can never be moral.
70) For a nonviolent person the whole world is one family. He will thus fear
none, nor will others fear him.
71) Freedom won through bloodshed or fraud is no freedom.
72) Given the opportunity, every human being has the same possibility for spiritual
growth.
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73) God is conscience. Ethical Teachings of Gandhi

74) God reveals Himself daily to every human being but we shut our ears to “the
still small voice.”
75) Good government is no substitute for self-government.
76) He who is ever brooding over results often loses nerve in the performance of
duty.
77) I am a Christian and a Hindu and a Moslem and a Jew.
78) I am an uncompromising opponent of violent methods even to serve the
noblest of causes.
79) I believe in the essential unity of man and, for that matter, all that lives.
Therefore, I believe that if one man gains spiritually, the whole world gains
with him; and, if one man falls, the whole world falls to that extent.
80) I believe that no government can exist for a single moment without the
cooperation of the people, willing or forced, and if people suddenly withdraw
their cooperation in every detail, the government will come to a standstill.
81) I can retain neither respect nor affection for a government which has been
moving from wrong to wrong in order to defend its immorality. 82. I did not
move a muscle when I first heard that the atom bomb had wiped out
Hiroshima. On the contrary, I said to me, “unless now the world adopts
non-violence, it will spell certain suicide for mankind.” 83. If a father does
an injustice, it is the duty of his children to leave the parental roof. If the
headmaster of a school conducts his institution on an immoral basis, the
pupils must leave the school. If the chairman of a corporation is corrupt, the
members thereof must wash their hands clean of his corruption by
withdrawing from it; even so, if a Government does a grave injustice, the
subjects must withdraw cooperation wholly or partially, sufficiently to wean
the ruler from his wickedness. 84. If one takes care of the means, the end
will take care of itself. 85. I hate privilege and monopoly. Whatever cannot
be shared with the masses is taboo to me. 86. Individuals or nations, who
would practice nonviolence, must be prepared to sacrifice [everything] except
honor.
87) In matters of conscience, the law of majority has no place.
88) In nonviolent resistance, success is possible even if there is only one
nonviolent resister of the proper stamp.
89) In the secret of my heart I am in perpetual quarrel with God that He should
allow such to go on (Written in September 1939 at the start of World War
II).
90) Intolerance betrays want of faith in one’s cause.
91) It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves by
humiliation of their fellow beings.
92) It is a million times better to appear untrue before the world than to be
untrue to ourselves.

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Introduction to Gandhian 93) It is not nonviolence if we love merely those who love us. It is nonviolence
Philosophy
only when we love those who hate us.
94) It is sinful to buy and use articles made by sweated labor.
95) I want freedom for the full expression of my personality.
96) A civilization is to be judged by its treatment of minorities.
97) Love is the law of life.
98) Love never claims it ever gives.
99) Nothing enduring can be built on violence.

Check Your Progress IV

Note: Use the space provided for your answers.
1) What is celibacy according to Gandhi?
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2) What are the unique contents on life moral teachings of Gandhi?
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3) What is your understanding on character in view of Gandhi?
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 Ethical Teachings of Gandhi
4.9 LET US SUM UP
Mahatma Gandhi is a great ethical values philosopher. Let us sum up this unit
with brief essence of ethical teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi
expresses that non-violence is free from physical and psychological violence in
living. Violence is hurting killing damaging physical and psychological sense.
Non-violence develops vegetarianism and respect for all life. Non-violence
prevents wars murders, exploitations, inequalities and injustices in the world.
Non-violence is a discovery of truth. Non-violence is the means to truth. Truth is
the law of our being. Truth is God. Truth is which is. Truth and non-violence are
as old as the hills. Truth is a virtue. Truth is in fact self-revealing, but that we
have become blind on account of our ignorance. Mahatma Gandhi explicitly
mentions the six deadly enemies which cause prejudice, malice and ill-will to
arise, on account of which the person is unable to see or feel the truth. These
deadly enemies are desire, anger, greed, attachment, pride and jealousy. Therefore,
in order to practice truth one must constantly endeavor to oneself from these
evils, one must cultivate moral purity and courage and must not allow these
enemies to cloud his vision. Non-stealing is not to take by thought, word and
action anything to which one is not entitled. Non-stealing is a good moral quality.
Mahatma Gandhi expresses that Celibacy is abstention from self-indulgence by
thought, speech and action. Self-indulgence means indulging one’s desires
excessively. Celibacy means abstinence from sexual relations or at least physical
control over the organ of generation. Celibacy is restricted to chastity. Non-
possessiveness is renunciation by thought, word and deed. Non-possessiveness
is restricted to contentment. Non-possessiveness is non-acceptance. Mahatma
Gandhi feels that the tendency to possess things is the cause of all evils. Therefore,
one must cultivate the discipline of living with what one has. Mahatma Gandhi
expresses that Character is moral and ethical strength. Character comes from
within. Character is the key to success. A man of character will make himself
worthy of any position he is given. Character, not brains, will count at the crucial
moment. Character is any day more eloquent than speech. Character must be
above suspicion and truthful and self-controlled. True disarmament cannot come
unless the nations of the world cease to exploit one another. Morality is finding
out the true path and fearlessly following it.

4.10 KEY WORDS

Non-violence : Nonviolence is tolerance and love. Non-violence
is non-injury in thought, word and deed, including
negative abstention from inflicting positive injury
to any being, as well as positive help to any
suffering creature.

Truth : Truth is God. Truth is which is. Truth is truth in

thought, word and deed.

Non-stealing : Non-stealing is not to steal, in example not to take

by thought, word and action, anything to which
one is not entitled.

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Introduction to Gandhian Celibacy : Celibacy is abstention from self-indulgence by
Philosophy
thought, speech and action. It is restricted to
chastity.

Non-possessiveness : Non-possessiveness is renunciation by thought,

word and deed. It is restricted to contentment.

Character : Character is moral and ethical strength. Character

comes from within. Character is inner and outer
goodness.

4.11 FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCESS

Basant Kumar Lal. Contemporary Indian Philosophy. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
publishers 2005.
C.D. Sharma. Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy. Delhi: Motilal banarsidass
publishers 1987.
Mahatma Gandhi. The Collected works of Mahatma Gandhi. Ahmedabad:
Navajeevan publishers 1980.
Mahatma Gandhi. The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Ahmedabad:
Navajeevan publishers, 1990.
Mahatma Gandhi. Basic Education. Ahmedabad: Navajeevan publishers 1985.

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 Ethical Teachings of Gandhi

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