Page:Mahatma Gandhi, his life, writings and speeches.djvu/217

The Need of India say courage—and you may use that power, but after it is expended, what happens? The man is wild with wrath and indignation, and you have made him wilder by matching your violence against his, and when he has done you to death, the rest of his violence is delivered on to your charge; but if you do not retaliate but simply stand your ground to receive all the blows and stand between your charge and the opponent, what happens? I give you my promise that the whole violence will be expended on you, and your charge will be left sacred. VOW OF CELIBACY Those who want to perform National Service or those who want to have the glimpse of real religious life must lead a celibate life, whether married or unmarried. Marriage brings a woman close together with a man, and they become friends in a special sense, never to be parted either in this life or in the lives that are to come; but I do not think that into that plane of life our lusts should necessarily enter. CONTROL OF PALATES Then there is the vow of the control of the palates. A man who wants to control his 97