Gandhi's Philosophical Thoughts and Debates

For Gandhi the word non-violence meant much more than the absence of war or the absence of violence. He proved that the true practice of non-violence is also about people's attitudes, behavior and relationships not only with each other but with nature and earth as well. Gandhi preferred the term Satyagraha because it gave the philosophy greater breadth and depth. He always maintained that only positive thoughts could lead to a positive destiny. He defined positive thoughts as love, respect, understanding, compassion and other such positive actions and emotions. We are taught from childhood to be successful in life by any means possible and success is always measured in terms of material possessions. We, therefore, succumb to our egos and become extremely selfish. Gandhi set himself very high standards in his practice of ethical leadership, standards that we often find difficult to practice.

In the modern world leaders believe otherwise. Ethics and morals are issues to exploit for personal aggrandizement and peace can only be achieved through brute force. Consequently, nations are vying with one another to build enormous stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. Gandhi believed the peace that is achieved by holding a gun to someone's head is a peace that comes through fear and lasts only as long as one is able to maintain a high level of fear. Similarly impossible is the belief that one can be highly ethical and moral while still being selfish and greedy. The connection between ethics and nonviolence is the same as between a seed and a tree.