Satyagraha — The Power of Passive Resistance From Mahatma Gandhi

The policy of passive political resistance, especially that advocated by Mahatma Gandhi

“I don’t give anyone a chance to walk around my brain with their dirty feet.” “Non-violence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last item of my creed.”

Mahatma Gandhi

While watching a few scenes about the life of Mahatma Gandhi, one of the great masters, as part of our corporate training yesterday, I thought of his philosophy, which he called “Satyagraha”.

Satyagraha is a philosophical movement developed by Mahatma Gandhi in India in the early 20th century and is the backbone of modern India’s struggle for independence. The basic teaching of his philosophy is to resist certain evil with determination but without resorting to violence.

Satyagraha is a teaching that is based on the principle of nonviolence, which the Hindus call “Ahimsa”. It combines it with doing the right thing and protecting one’s right without violence, by adopting and adhering to the truth (satya).

When a person who seeks the truth with a spirit of love and peace purifies his mind from violence, he reaches the right intuition that will enable him to grasp the true nature of a negative situation. His mind is opened to absolute truth.

In a way, his intuition becomes his guide, as is described in Sufism as “seeing with the eyes of the heart”. He does not resort to violence when confronted with evil, because when he uses violence, he knows he also strays from correct intuition.

All struggles for independence in history have always been a difficult journey. It required a superhuman effort, self-sacrifice, fortitude, endurance, and perseverance. On these journeys, violence was often the weapon used by both sides. However, Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha showed that it is possible to fight nonviolently and even come out of this struggle without being defeated or crushed, with pride and dignity. And he showed that one could even come out of this struggle stronger. The whole world, then and still today, respected and values Gandhi for his noble accomplishments.

A master can only be understood by examining his ideas. Therefore, I leave you alone with the following words of Gandhi. Let each take his own spoonful of this fountain of wisdom.

• You cannot shake hands with clenched fists.
• Every morning when I wake up, I promise myself: I will fear no one on earth but my conscience. I will not bow to anyone’s injustice. I will destroy injustice with justice, and if he persists in resistance, I will welcome him with all my presence.
• You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean. Does the ocean ever become polluted because some drops are dirty?
• Freedom has never meant “permission to do whatever you want”. Curbing the thought is like curbing the mind. Weak people cannot forgive. Forgiveness is a characteristic of the strong.
• It is more difficult to defeat the passions than to dominate the world with the power of arms.
• Gold shackles are much worse than iron ones.

Mahatma Gandhi`s philosophy reminded me of how my sensei used to explain the meaning of Aikido.

Ki is the energy that permeates all living and non-living things in the universe. It is the energy that makes up everything and we are all different parts of it. Aikido is the practice of being in harmony with the universe. The moment you start a fight, you already lost it because you broke the universal harmony.

Let’s think about Satyagraha today and the practice of non-violence. There is always a better way. We just have to be more creative to find that better solution.

I am sure, like all of us, you also have time when you want to fight back with full force to win against the injustice done to you. Remember those times and ask yourself-what could I have done differently to win without using any force?

With love,

Kenan

By becoming a member, you can support independent writers like myself and read an unlimited number of stories. Become a member today for full access. https://kenankolday.medium.com/membership