Page:Speeches And Writings MKGandhi.djvu/872

782 Either of these is preferable to rank cowardice. Neither Swaraj nor an awakening among us is possible without resort to one or the other. "Swaraj" is no Swaraj which is gained without Action. Such Swaraj could make no impression on too people. No Awakening is possible without the people at large realising their power. In spine of protestations by leaders and efforts by the Government, if they and we do not give "Passive Resistance" due predominance, methods of violence will automatically gain strength. They are like weeds; they grow anyhow in any soil. For a cultivation of "Passive Resistance" endeavour and courage form the necessary manure ; and as weeds, if they are not rooted out, overwhelm a crop, even so will violence grow like weeds, if the ground is not kept clean by self-sacrifice for the growth of " Passive Resistance" and violence that may have already token root; be not dealt with by loving hands. By the method of " Passive Resistance" we can wean from the error of their ways the youths who have become impatient of and angered by what to them appears to be the Governmental Zoolum, and we can strengthen the forces of good by en- listing in favour of "Passive Resistance" their heroism, their courage and their power of endurance.

Therefore, the sooner the spirit of "Passive Resistance" pervades the atmosphere, the better it is. It will bless both the Raj and the Raiyat. A Passive Resister never wants to embarrass a Government or anybody else. He does not act thoughtlessly, he is never insolent. He therefore shuns boycott, but takes the Swadeshi vow as a part of his religion and never wavers in practising it. Fearing God alone, he is afraid of no other power, Fear of kings can never make him forsake the path of