Question

an article about vision of gandhiji​

Answer 1

Answer:

The discussion focuses first on the elements that Gandhi thought contributed towards the making of an ideal society, second on his continually evolving concept of swaraj followed by his conceptualization of Ram Rajya, democracy, the republic, citizenship and education, and third on his views on the legal and medical professions and on industrialization.

Gandhi’s vision of the ideal society is that of a non-violent and democratic social order in which there is a just balance between individual freedom and social responsibility. He has a very high regard for the place of ideals in human life. Without ideals, he says, life can have no meaning because there would be no goals towards which human endeavour can be directed.

His supreme ideal, is self-realization, or knowing God and merging in him. But this, he admits, is not possible entirely as long as man exists in the flesh and remains subject to its desires. What is possible for him is to lead a life and help construct a society (for man is a social being) that will help him come closest to the supreme goal.

Apart from the influence of his upbringing and education, Gandhi’s conception of the ideal society is in a large measure the result of his distaste for the modern civilization of the west. His views on this subject are set forth in the booklet he wrote, Hind Swaraj. He clearly states in his introduction to the book that his negative ideas on modern civilization are not original, but acquired from the writings of several great writers and thinkers.

Another factor that moulded Gandhi’s vision of the ideal society was his love for the simple life. This arose in the first instance from his own roots in the small towns of Porbandar and Rajkot in Kathiawar. Later, his reading, though selective and generally restricted to theological and philosophical works, affected him deeply.

The Phoenix Trust Deed is a very signif­icant document for it contains a model of the type of society he wished to create for humanity. Among the objectives of the settlers on Phoenix Farm were: to order one’s life so as to earn a living through handicrafts and agriculture without the aid of machinery; to promote better understanding between peoples; to live a pure life and thereby set an example for others; to try and promote the ideals of Ruskin and Tolstoy; to introduce vernacular education; to propagate the philosophy of ‘nature treatment’ in the medical field; to train for social service; and finally to conduct a journal for the advancement of these ideas..

Gandhi was critical of industrial civilization not only because it led to severe and wasteful compe­tition for goods and markets leading to colonization of weaker nations and exploitation of the countryside, but also because it led to displacement of manual labour and growing unemployment.

In contrast was Indian civilization in which there was “no system of life corroding competition”. Each followed his own occupation or trade and charged a regulation wage. On balance, Gandhi finds that the tendency of Indian civilization “is to elevate the moral being”, while “that of western civilization is to propagate immorality”.

This rather harsh condemnation of the west may be viewed in the background of his deep faith in a supreme creator and the necessity of spiritu­ality in a civilization, both of which he found lacking in his experience of western life.

Another element in Gandhi’s thinking is very significant for his conceptualization of an ideal society. This is the doctrine of bread labour. It has already been discussed in relation to its emergence; here, we propose to examine his belief that it would, if implemented, create an ideal social order.