Gandhi and the Ashram Ideal
There is no time or condition of our life when faith in God and self-dedication to following the will of God as spiritual ideal should not or cannot come first. Life is spiritual in purpose at every moment and throughout every condition. Resignation is recognizing the first motive and final attainment of life as spiritual.
Awareness of life as spiritual through identification and practice is no less a priority for the householder or student than it is for the “renunciate” or “sannyasin.” If we believe it to be so, then we condition spirituality by the personality or condition of the body, thus contradicting the oneness of life.
From ancient times the “ideal life” of self-dedication was described by our Vedic ancestors, as such, that at every stage of self-unfoldment the Self could be experienced. The life of self-dedicated progressive Self-remembrance according to one’s individual tendency of self-expression was called sadhana. Broadly speaking, life was viewed symbolically as comprised of four progressive and spiritual stages, a descriptive guide for self-dedication. The four stages are called “ashramas” or “abodes of identification with an ideal.” They correspond to the normal patterns of human growth and expression between birth and death. The stage are not mutually exclusive, but each illustrates the understanding, work, love and wisdom of the soul through a human condition.
The first stage, called Brahmacharya is not a mere student phase, nor does it refer only to a monk or celibate as has been the popular misunderstanding. The word conveys the ideal: Life guided by and dedicated to Brahman, God. In the ideal life this stage would come first, naturally, during one’s early years, as a necessity for establishing the understanding of the spiritual ideal and value of life from the first experiences in learning. When experience broadens the mind, and when new problem confronts us, should not the ideal of our spiritual life be remembered first, in order to help us to evaluate our disposition and action?
Mahatma Gandhi included the ideal of brahmacharya as one of the vows or ideals of life for those of all ages – married or unmarried – who lived in his ashram communities. He rightly intended it to be an ideal to be followed throughout life and not to be taken in a narrow sense. He interpreted brahmacharya as self-mastery or self-control, consistent with Truth. Instead of mere control of the body this includes channeling of the mind to resist every low thought.
“I have always felt that much harm has been done by the narrow definition of brahmacharya. If we practice self-control in all directions, the attempt will be scientific and possible of success…Let us remember the root meaning of brahmacharya. Charya means course of conduct: brahmacharya, conduct adapted to the search of Brahma, i.e., Truth. We must entirely forget the incomplete definition.” —From: Yeravda Mandir, Ashram Observances by M.K. Gandhi
The second ashrama is called Garhastya. As an ideal it is not confined to those who are married and have children nor to those with family responsibilities. It refers to that aspect of self-manifestation wherein one realizes his well-being as mutual (shared) responsibility and then seeks to fulfill it through selfless action. “Griya” from “ghar,” means “home,” not in the limited sense of domicile, but in the larger connotation of community or society. “-Hastya” refers to the hand, lending the idea of performance of duty or action. The natural desire as well as purpose of the soul is to give and to share for the benefit of broader life. Objective service is an expression of understanding and reverence for our ideal. Life is incomplete without it. The body is the instrument of self-expression.
“Reverence for Life…does not allow the scholar to live for his science alone, even if he is very useful to the community in so doing. It does not permit the artist to exist only for his art, even if he gives inspiration to many by its means. It refuses to let the business man imagine that he fulfills all legitimate demands in the course of his business activities. It demands from all that they should sacrifice a portion of their own lives for others. When we are truly filled with the idea of reverence for life, all our attitudes, thinking, actions change. We must go deep into ourselves to find this inspiration.” —Albert Schweitzer
In the traditional Hindu marriage ceremony, the bride and groom walk together seven circles around the altar, a symbolic affirmation of the ideal of garhastya: They make God the center of their life while journeying together as co-partners on the path of self-unfoldment to the perfection of God. Their seven spiritual aspirations may be seen as the dedications of every soul to render creative service in divine union with the will of God.
To establish a spiritual abode or environment wherein divinity may find refuge and flourish.
To aid one’s companion in life in the harmonious development of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.
To offer the best of oneself in creative, useful and purposeful work to enrich life on earth with harmony, peace and wisdom.
To seek, perceive and follow the path of self-perfection (dharma).
To honor divine trust of spiritual kinship by serving the soul and becoming a spiritual companion to all souls on earth.
To realize oneness of soul through the universe of Life.
To become one with God in the realization of the Self.
Vanaprashta is the third ashrama. It refers to the service of soul through wisdom of experience and the need in life for the introspective guidance of the mind. There comes a time in objective service or expression in life when we are not as physically strong or able to help actively in provision for welfare for ourselves and others. This outer stage mirrors an inner need. At this stage ideally one should offer the wisdom of experience, understanding and inspiration in continued service to one’s fellow companions, while at the same time seeking deepening subjective knowledge. Objective detachment is symbolized in the third stage of life when the strength of the senses diminishes and the powers of mind and heart predominate. The ideal of God is not realized by the neglect of duty or idleness. Age does not necessarily bring wisdom by the waning of our physical strengths. Wisdom is dependent upon the renunciation of ego—that is, the departure from sense-identified self-consciousness and the entering into the haven of the spirit. Renunciation is a requisite practice of every stage of our spiritual life. “Vana,” or “forest,” refers in a religious sense to a campus or community of enlightened souls. “Prastha” is “departure” or “farewell.” (Mahaprasthan is death, or the final farewell.) Vanaprastha therefore designates the stage of life wherein one renounces or departs from “the worldly” (sense-dominated) experience and identifies with the community and guidance of soul.
The ideal of Sannyas is the fourth ashrama of life. To be a sannyasin is not to wear a robe and go preaching or to retreat from the difficulties or burdens of life. Sannyas is an ideal of heart. It is the life of subjective freedom, embracing all in the consciousness of the Self with love and wisdom. When one lives in the consciousness of God one becomes a sannyasi, having totally renounced selfish desires. The greatest spiritual power of the sannyasi is a pure heart.
“All imperfections are automatically dropped when love adorns the heart. Devotion has three stages: Meditation in the consciousness of love; subjective perception or feeling of love; and realization of oneness in love. By unconditional love man attains to the state of God-hood.” —Sri Chaitannya
Excerpt from “Frontiers of the Spirit” by Srimati Kamala
THE ASHRAM OBSERVANCES
The ashram vows, to Mahatma Gandhi, were more than arbitrary rules or mental decisions pertaining to matters of ephemeral importance (which may be alterable by moods of fancy or which may even be imposed without.) A vow one takes upon the altar of one’s conscience in the name of all that one holds to be sacred and true. “God is the very image of the vow,” said Gandhi.
“A vow is a spiritual commitment of self-dedication of body, mind, heart and soul consistent with Truth which is cosmically beneficent. Based on what is constituent to our being, a vow is self-fulfilling—itself a power of progressive realization.”
To vow means to do steadfastly and at any sacrifice what one really ought to do according to purity of heart and the nature of Truth. “A vow is the marriage of ideal and practice, of duty and will.”
The perpetual striving to fulfill basic vows in one’s life constitutes the means of religion. The means then perfect the art of living consistent with the purity of human nature.
During his incarceration in 1930 in the Yeravda Central Prison (Poona), Mahatma Gandhi wrote weekly letters to the community of workers at Satyagraha Ashram on the banks of the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad, India. The letters contained descriptions and examinations of the principal ashram observances. The “ashram life” had been cultivated under Gandhiji’s supervision and example for already more than one decade, and its influence had far exceeded its geographical confines—proof of its practical and universal applicability.
Copies of his letters were printed for wider circulation, therefore, and translations were rendered into various Indian languages. In 1932 (from prison) Gandhi himself put pen to the final English translation of Mahadev Desai, his secretary, which was later published as “From Yeravda Mandir: Ashram Observances.” Over the years Gandhiji wrote, said and demonstrated much more, elaborating upon and analyzing these basic principles of conduct which he himself considered to be the heart of any philosophical conduct consistent with Truth.
The following are Mahatma Gandhi’s own words, faithful to their original context, but gathered from different times and texts and chosen for their timeless and universal importance. Thus, they are equally practicable for our as well as his generation, and for generations to come.
Truth
The word SATYA (Truth) is derived from Sat, which means “Being.” Nothing is or exists in reality except Truth. That is why SAT or Truth is perhaps the most important name of God. Where there is Truth, there also is knowledge which is true. Where there is no truth, there can be no true knowledge. That is why the word CHIT, or “knowledge,” is associated with the name of God. And where there is true knowledge, there is always bliss (Ananda). There sorrow has no place. And even as Truth is eternal, so is the bliss derived from it. Hence, we know God as Sat-Chit-Ananda—one who combines in Himself Truth, Knowledge and Bliss.
For me, truth is the sovereign principle, which includes numerous other principles. This truth is not only truthfulness in word, but truthfulness in thought also, and not only the relative truth of our conception, but the Absolute Truth, the Eternal Principle, that is God. I worship God that is Truth or Truth which is God.”
Ahimsa, or Love
In its positive form, Ahimsa means the largest love, the greatest charity. If I am a follower of Ahimsa, I must love my enemy. I must apply the same rules to the wrongdoer who is my enemy or a stranger to me as I would to my wrong-doing father or son. This active Ahimsa necessarily includes truth and fearlessness.
Ahimsa is not the crude thing it has been made to appear. Not to hurt any living thing is no doubt a part of Ahimsa. But it is its least expression. The principle of Ahimsa is hurt by every evil thought, by undue haste, by lying, by hatred, by wishing ill to anybody. It is also violated by our holding on to what the world needs.
Brahmacharya or Self-Mastery
Brahmacharya is a mental condition. The outward behavior of man is at once the sign and proof of the inner state.
Let us remember the root meaning of Brahmacharya. “Charya” means course of conduct; “Brahma-charya” conduct adapted to the search of Brahma, i.e., Truth. From this etymological meaning arises the special meaning, viz. control of all the senses. Thus, an impure thought is a breach of Brahmacharya; so is anger…And since thought is the root of all speech and action, the quality of the latter corresponds to that of the former. Hence, perfectly controlled thought is itself power of the highest potency and can become self-acting. That seems to me to be the meaning of the silent prayer of the heart.
Control of the Palate
Most of us, instead of keeping the organs of sense under control, become their slaves. We must not be thinking of food all the twenty-four hours of the day. The only thing needful is perpetual vigilance, which will help us to find out very soon when we eat for self-indulgence and when in order only to sustain the body. This being discovered, we must resolutely set our faces against mere indulgence.
Non-Stealing
The profound truth upon which this observance is based is that God never creates more than what is strictly needed for the moment. Therefore, whoever appropriates more than the minimum that is really necessary for him is guilty of theft.
It is theft to take something from another even with his permission if we have no real need of it. We should not receive any single thing that we do not need…We are not always aware of our real needs, and most of us improperly multiply our wants, and thus unconsciously make thieves of ourselves. If we devote some thought to the subject, we shall find that we can get rid of quite a number of our wants…Most of the distressing poverty in this world has arisen out of breaches of the principle of non-stealing.
Non-Possession
Non-stealing and non-possession are mental states only. No human being can keep these observances to perfection. The body too is a possession, and as long as it is there it calls for other possessions in its train.
These difficulties appear to have given rise to the current conception of sannyasa “(renunciation of the world”) which is not acceptable… Such sannyasa may be necessary for some rare spirit who has the power of conferring benefits upon the world by only thinking good thoughts in a cave. But the world would be ruined if everyone became a cave-dweller. Ordinary men and women can only cultivate mental detachment. Whoever lives in the world and lives in it only for serving it is a [true renunciate].
Physical Labor
It is a gross superstition to imagine that knowledge is acquired only through books. Even for real intellectual development one should engage in some useful bodily activity (having) fully acquired the skill of correlating the three R’s with body labour …(and)…the idea of saving others. The Ashram ideal is to live to serve. In such an institution there is no room for idleness or shirking of duty, and everything should be done with right goodwill.
Fearlessness
Fear has no place in our hearts, when we have shaken off attachment for wealth, for family and for the body. “Enjoy the things of the earth by renouncing them” is a noble precept. Wealth, family and body will be there, just the same; we have only to change our attitude towards them. All these are not ours, but God’s. Nothing whatever in this world is ours. Even we ourselves are His. Why then should we entertain any fears? The Upanishad therefore directs us ‘to give up attachment for things, while we enjoy them.”
Swadeshi
A man’s first duty is to his neighbor. This does not imply hatred for the foreigner or partiality for the fellow countryman.
Our capacity for service has obvious limits. We can serve even our neighbor with some difficulty. If every one of us duly performed his duty to his neighbor, no one in the world who needed assistance would be left unattended. Therefore, one who serves his neighbor serves all the world. As a matter of fact, there is in Swadeshi no room for distinction between one’s own and other people…One to whom the whole world is as his family should have the power of serving the universe without moving from his place. He can exercise this power only through service rendered to his neighbor.
Religious Tolerance
The principle faiths of the world constitute a revelation of Truth. One must therefore entertain the same respect for religious faiths of others as one accords to one’s own. Where such tolerance becomes law of life, conflict between different faiths becomes impossible, and so does all effort to convert other people to one’s own faith. Religions are different roads converging to the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads so long as we reach the same goal? In reality there are as many religions as there are individuals.
Excerpt from “Mahatma Gandhi: An American Profile” by Srimati Kamala