Page:Speeches And Writings MKGandhi.djvu/871

 ON SOUL -FORCE AND INDIAN POLITICS 78$

lha sword, baft 60 the self-immolation alone of tha Fakeera of Islam, There ia little to boast of in the ability to wield the sword, When the striker finds out his mistake, he understands the sinfulnesa of his aob which now becomes murder and has to repent of hi folly. Whereas he who oourbs death even though he* might havedane ao in error, for him it is still a victory, 'Passive Basisbanoe' is the Baligion of Ahimaa. It is, therefore, everywhere and always a duty and ia desirable. Violence is Himsa and has been disoarded in all religions. Even the devotees of methods of violence impose elabo- rate restrictions upon their use. * Passive Resistance ' admits of no an oh limits. Jb is limited only by the insufficiency of the Passive Basiaber's strength to suffer.

No one else but a '* Passive Baaiafeer" can answer the question whether his" Passive Baaiatance" ia lawful or otherwise. The public can only judge after the " Passive Baaiaber" has begun his work, He cannot ba deterred by public displeasure. His operations are nob founded upon Arithmetical Formulae. Ha may be considered a clever politician or a thoughtful man who commences his eo-oa!!- ed Paaaiva Baaiabance only after having weighed chances of suoceas and failure. Bub he ia by no maana a "Passive R'3aister." The former aoba baoauae be muat,

Both Soul-force and force of Arms are from times immemorial. Both have received their due meed of praise in the accepted religious literature. They respectively re- present Forces of Good and Evil. The Indian belief is that there was in this land a time when the forces of Good were predominant. That state still remains our ideah Europe furnishes a forcible illustration of predo- minance of the Forces of Evil.

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