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This paper attempts to discuss Gandhi's political philosophy by analysing the role he ascribes to Satyagraha, the mechanism through which the various phases of his social and international program could be integrated to move towards the realization of his social vision, Ramarajya.
Starting with Gandhi's view of human nature, the paper will deal with his conception of Ramarajya at the national and international levels, his conception of nonviolence and 'Satyagraha brigades'.
I. View of Human Nature
Gandhi's view of human nature was distinguished by two elements. The first derived from the Bhagavad Gita which he interpreted as an allegory between the "forces of good and evil in the human beast."(f.1) For instance, referring to the allegorical nature of the epic battle which occurs in the Gita, he wrote: "The real Kurukshetra is the human heart, which is also a dharmakshetra (the field of righteousness) if we look upon it as the abode of God and invite Him to take hold of it."(f.2)
The charioteer Krishna (God incarnate) represented the divine voice that informed the human soul (Arjuna) how to act independently from the forces of 'attraction' and 'repulsion' -- desires and aversions which motivate human action, and which Gandhi believed lay at the "root of sin." Gandhi, therefore, held that a basic dichotomy existed within human nature. On the one hand existed the capacity to respond to the 'divine voice', while on the other, there was the capacity to follow human sin, as represented by the desires or aversions which motivate human action.
Man, being a free agent, knows these distinctions, and when he follows his higher nature shows himself far superior to the brute, but when he follows his baser nature can show himself lower than the brute.... What distinguishes the man from the brute is his conscious striving to realize the spirit within.(f.3)
The second distinguishing element of Gandhi's view of human nature was the belief that all life forms a unified whole:
I believe in the immortality of the soul.... The ocean is composed of drops of water; each drop is an entity and yet it is part of the whole, 'the one and the many'. In this ocean of life, we are little drops. My doctrine means that I must...