January 23, 2015

Every week, we feature excerpts by Gandhi that lend insight into his values and personal practices. In a discussion with workers and staff members, he asked them: "I want to hear from your lips what inspires you to be here and what are the difficulties that confront you." And then he got engaged in some Questions & Answers. One of the questions was: "We are trying to serve villagers. We find that at every step our activity is blocked by the social environment in the villages. The joyless routine of life there, the stagnation and the incubus of evil social customs obstruct our efforts. Should we not work for the eradication of these before we can hope for success in our other activities, and if so how can it be done?" Part of his response below:

December 20, 1945

"Ever since I came to India I have felt that social revolution is a much more difficult thing to achieve than the political revolution, by which I mean ending our present slavery under the British rule. There are some critics who say that India cannot attain her political and economic emancipation till we get social emancipation. I regard it as a snag and a conundrum set to puzzle us, because I have found that the absence of political emancipation retards even our efforts for bringing about social and economic emancipation. At the same time it is also true that without a social revolution we will not be able to leave India happier than when we were born. I can however indicate no royal road for bringing about the social revolution, except that we should represent it in every detail of our lives. [...]

You do not expect thanks for your work. Work that is undertaken for love is no burden—it is pure joy." ~ M.K. Gandhi

Santiniketan,
December 20, 1945​

Source: CWMG Vol. 89 
 

Be The Change

This week pay attention to the ways you are bringing an alternative to systems of oppression/domination. For example, how are you contributing to the healthy local organic food chain?