Tolstoj del 5, om Gandhi och icke-våld

Från wikipedia kan man läsa följande om boken "The Kingdom of God is Withing You":

Mohandas Gandhi wrote in his autobiography The Story of My Experiments with Truth (Part II, Chapter 15) that this book "overwhelmed" him and "left an abiding impression." Gandhi listed Tolstoy's book, as well as John Ruskin's Unto This Last and the poet Shrimad Rajchandra (Raychandbhai), as the three most important modern influences in his life.^[2] Reading this book opened up the mind of the world-famous Tolstoy to Gandhi, who was still a young protester living in South Africa at the time.

In 1908 Tolstoy wrote, and Gandhi read, A Letter to a Hindu,^[3] which outlines the notion that only by using love as a weapon through passive resistance could the native Indian people overthrow the colonial British Empire. This idea ultimately came to fruition through Gandhi's organization of nationwide non-violent strikes and protests during the years circa 1918-1947. In 1909, Gandhi wrote to Tolstoy seeking advice and permission to republish A Letter to a Hindu in his native language, Gujarati. Tolstoy responded and the two continued a correspondence until Tolstoy's death in 1910. The letters concern practical and theological applications of non-violence, as well as Gandhi's wishes for Tolstoy's health. Tolstoy's last letter was to Mohandas Gandhi.^[4]

Many consider The Kingdom of God is Within You to be a key text for Tolstoyan, Christian anarchist, and nonviolent resistance movements worldwide.^[5]

Således så hade Tolstojs verk trots allt en reell verkan i världen, även om det till synes inte fullt lyckades slå rot i det Ryssland eller Europa som texten först riktades mot.

Måndagsord av Tolstoj

Jag har nu läst klart boken jag tidigare påbörjade som skrevs av Gandhi. Det var en fascinerande läsning, inte bara för att Gandhi ibland kunde göra lite småmärkliga avstickare ibland utan även för att det ger en bild av en annorlunda tid. Man förstår när man läser boken att Gandhi var långt från ensam i sin kamp. Varken vad gäller de åsikter han hade och vad gäller hur stor del av sitt egna liv han la ner i kampen.

Efter att ha läst Gandhi så har jag blivit inspirerad att läsa en annan tänkare som propagerade icke-vålds teknik redan innan Gandhi. Liksom Gandhi i sitt liv vid ett tillfälle ville skapa en egen "sekt" som var självförsörjande nere i Syd Afrika så valde Tolstoj att säga upp rättigheterna till de populära verk han skrivit. Han var i sitt levnadssätt en dedicerad kristen samtidigt som han var kritisk till kyrkan. I sin bok "The Kingdom of God is Withing You" så ger han sin åsikt om varför han menar att den dåtida kyrkan var en förvanskad version av kristendomen. Han menade att icke-våld var en förutsättning för sann kristendom. Han slår tidigt fast detta i sitt verk:

A Christian, according to the teaching of the Lord, should be guided in his relation towards men only by the love of peace, and therefore there should be no authority having power to compel a Christian to act in a manner contrary to God's law and contrary to his chief duty towards his fellowmen

The requirement of civil law, they say, may oblige men, who, to win some worldly advantages, seek to conciliate that which is irreconcilable, to violate the law of God; but for a Christian, who firmly believes that his salvation depends upon following the teaching of Christ, this law can have no meaning. 

Man kan således konstatera att efter Tolstojs mening så skulle varken Obama, Mitt Romney, Alf Svensson, C.S. Lewis eller den amerikanska kristna högern kunna klassas som kristna. Tolstoj i sin tur kunde utveckla sina tankar genom brevväxling med bland annat amerikanska kväkare.

Söndagsord av Gandhi

But the path of self-purification is hard and steep. To attain to perfect purity one has to become absolutely passion free in though, speech, and action; to rise above the opposing current of love and hatred, attachment and repulsion. I know that I have not in me as yet that triple purity, in spite of constant ceaseless striving for it. That is why the world's praise fails to move me, indeed it very often stings me. To conquer the subtle passions seems to me to be harder far than the physical conquest of the world by the force of arms. Ever since my return to India I have had experiences of the dormant passions lying hidden within me. The knowledge of them has made me feel humiliated, though not defeated. The experiences and experiments have sustained me and given me great joy. But I know that I have still before me a difficult path to traverse. I must reduce myself to zero. So long as a man does not of his own free will put himself among his fellow creatures, there is no salvation for him. Ahimsa is the farthest limit of humility. 

-Gandhi

Gandhi som asket

Gandhi skriver i sin självbiografi "An autobiography: The story of my experiments with truth" om när han  i vuxen ålder valde att svära brahmacharya eden.

"After full discussion and mature deliberation, I took the vow in 1906. I had not shared my thoughts with my wife until then, but only consulted her at the time of taking the vow. She had no objection. But I had great difficulty in making the final resolve. I had not the necessary strength. How was i to control my passions? The elimination of carnal relationship with one's wife seemed then a strange thing. But I launched forth with faith in the sustaining power of God.

[...]

The knowledge that a perfect observance of brahmacharya means realization of brahman, I did not owe to a study of the Shastras. It slowly grew upon me with experience. The shastric texts on the subject I read only later in life. Every day of the vow has taken me nearer the knowledge that in brahmacharya lies the protection of the body, the mind and the soul. For brahmachrya was now no process of hard penance, it was a matter of consolation aand joy. Every day revealed a fresh beauty in it."

Gandhi skriver även tidigare i sitt verk att hans diet ständigt var ett viktigt verktyg för honom att styra sitt liv genom. Man kan uppfatta det som att Gandhi såg själva avståendet från vissa saker som en källa till styrka vilken genom han kunde uppnå delar av det han uppnådde.