Gandhi on Life, Death and the Self

Gandhi made Sabarmati in Gujarat province his home from 1917 to 1930 and it was the scene of many events of the Indian independence movement. There he initiated his experiments to build a community of men and women who would adhere to the highest standards of non-violence and truth and strive to achieve their greatest spiritual potential. At the same time, he focused on manual labour, agriculture, and literacy to advance his efforts for self-sufficiency. Gandhi resumed leadership of the Indian National Congress Party in late 1928, and also attended the Calcutta Congress where a draft Constitution for India was adopted on December 31. At this point his attention began to turn outward from creating an ideal community in Gujurat to concentrating on national and indeed international concerns. It was also from Sabarmati on March 12, 1930 that Gandhi launched the famous Salt March, walking 241 miles with an ever-growing number of companions in protest of the Salt Law that gave the British a monoploy on the sale of salt in India. This resulted in a mass awakening that filled the British jails with 60 000 freedom fighters and created an unstoppable national movement. As Gandhi left Sabarmati, he vowed that he would not return to until India won independence.

Gandhi was one of the great philosophers of his century. He believed that attachment to the world and to the ornaments of this life resulted in selfishness, ignorance and passion. He taught not to be attached to these things, but to sacrifice one’s need for them and one’s self-interest as the road to wisdom. Thus he said, “There is no other way of self-realization except the way of complete self-abandonment.” This self-sacrifice and self-abandonment extended even to life itself, as he did not draw the same sharp demarcation line between life and death as western religions. He wrote, “Life and death are but phases of the same thing, the reverse and obverse of the same coin” and “Birth and death are not two different states, but they are different aspects of the same state.” In an article about Gandhi, his friend Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore expanded upon his point, saying that “The material world which we share with the animals is not the only world…That hidden life is immortal. Our physical life has its immortality. Only those human beings, who can get rid of the sheath of self, can reach that immortality. They must lose their separate self in order to realize the infinite.”

Gandhi’s followers were acutely aware of his emphasis on self-sufficiency and were hesitant to take any action of which he would disapprove. It was not at all unusual for them to ask his advice on personal matters, particularly if they were considering something that would require them to leave India. The son of one of Gandhi’s friends in the Sabarmati years, Dr. Behram Navroji Khambatta, was ill and Khambatta turned to him for advice. Gandhi responded by offering the practical solution of a trip to seek medical care in Europe if desired, and ended with words confirming his belief that life is transitory and should not be the supreme human value.

Autograph Letter Signed on his homemade paper, Sabarmati, Gujurat, March 19, 1928, to Khambatta, on the subject of life, death and the self. “…Your son has my blessings. I do not see the need to panic and leave for Europe. We must have faith in God. I do not see any harm in allowing a local doctor to performing the operation, if he is willing to take the risk. Have you consulted Nana Deshmukh? Tell Jal to be brave. Keep me informed. How is your health? If the doctors at the jail are afraid to take the chance or if you are not at peace, you may certainly go to Europe. Do not consider my letter as an order or a refusal. We must not act impulsively, and remember the body is not immortal so one must not be excessively attached. That is what I would like to advise you…” It is signed, as is so much of his personal correspondence to friends, “Bapu.” This is the Hindi word for “father,” and shows how he saw himself and his role in the struggle for Indian independence.