Gandhian Philosophy: Panacea for Making the Planet Peaceful and Safe

On June, 15, 2007, the adoption of October 2- the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi by the United Nations as the “International Non-violence Day” for the whole world has certainly justified the relevance of the Gandhian philosophy in all the times to come.
In the fast changing modern world equipped with scientific and technological advancements we may find people putting question mark on the relevance of Gandhian thought in 21st century. We are living in the era of globalisation, the world is becoming one unit and hence the need for sharing at every level, a concern for food, clothing, shelter, employment, education, healthcare, etc. for every inhabitant of the globe.

The present world order based on exploitation, injustice, disparities cannot and should not be allowed to last long. Hence a change in the life style is required. A life of simplicity, austerity, sharing, which leads to happiness and inner peace, as envisaged by Gandhi, may help us in overcoming present predicaments. His concept of voluntary limitation of wants can save us from the epidemic of consumerism.

The globalised world today has internalised violence in all aspects of life. Violence is being experienced in terms of ecological destruction, destruction of livelihood, social disintegration and an erosion of ethical and spiritual values.

A study team at MIT (U.S.A.), under the guidance of Prof. Dennis Meadows, has concluded, “If the present growt trends in world population, industrialisation, pollution, food production and resource depletion continue unchanged, the limits to growth on this planet will be reached sometimes within the next one hundred years.”

The restructuring of economics based on a new vision of reality is urgently required. It is in this connection that Gandhian Economics based on a fundamentally different paradigm becomes most relevant. Gandhi had a holistic conception of development- material, social, cultural and moral development.

Hence, he wanted to create moral basis for economic progress. To him, true economics never militates against the highest ethical standard. In Gandhi, man emerges in the centre of all economic or political development.

We break the word “Gandhi” into six constituents. ‘G’ stands for Generosity; ‘A’ for Affection; ‘N’ for Non-violence; ‘D’ for Dedication; ‘H’for Honesty and ‘I’’ for Integration. These six values and lessons will bring down man-made fences that segregate us. To me true Gandhism symbolizes simplicity, equanimity and love for suffering humanity for which Mahatma toiled in his lifetime.

Humanistic approach is needed for the eradication of all the ills which affect mankind all over the world. Even today there is no real physical scarcity of resources to feed the mankind and to keep them in peace and happiness provided the leaders of the world think, work and consider the world as single homogeneous unit.

The concentration of economic and political power will be avoided, tension relaxed and unrest and other social; ills finally, eliminated making this planet safe, happy, peaceful and harmonious for the entire mankind.

Without falling in the trap of the jargon of welfare economics one may assert without hesitation that Gandhian philosophy remains panacea for peace and development in the 21st century. My only submission to our countrymen is, let’s follow the great Mahatma’s ideals in our life.

(Mithilesh Kumar Sinha is a Finance Officer at Nagaland University, Lumami)