The

made to stand all the time he is in the presence of the jail-warder, even though he is physically unfit to remain standing for any length of time. law in Bombay not making any distinction between political and non-political prisoners, he is treated as an ordinary felon. Not on a soft couch, but on a plain mattress on hard floor he sleeps. But to sufferings self-invited one must cheerfully submit-that is Satyagraha. His imprisonment means the selfdirection of their energies by the masses. Perhaps, his imprisonment at this juncture was necessarywithout it the chapter of the calvary would have remained unwritten.

The life of this modern Rishi of the East may well be summed up in the immortal words of two Western geniuses, Bernard Shaw and Nietzsche: "This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap-heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy." * * * "It is not death that matters, but the fear of death. It is not killing and dying that degrades men, but base living and accepting the wages and profits of degeneration. Better ten dead men than one live slave his master."-Bernard Shaw.

Or

*

"Freedom is the will to be responsible for oneself." "I love him whose soul wasteth itself, who neither wanteth thanks nor returneth aught, for he always giveth and seeketh nothing to keep for himself."-Nietzsche.

Gandhi may well say of himself: "Courage consists in the absence of fear-I am glad my soul wasteth itself; I neither want thanks nor return aught. I always give and seek nothing to keep for myself. The highest of social ideals, Service to the Community of Humanity. Self Rule, the highest of ideals in relation to one's individual self.

Self

Rule carries with it the privilege of making errors and the obligation of rectifying them when detected. Moral Force, Truth Force, Soul Force-these the realities!"

A most admirable character in many ways, supremely amiable and adorable, certainly the most astounding phenomenon of modern times, Gandhi shines forth as a man among men by the light of his supreme soul. This beacon-light held forth by India casts its lustrous light on the untrodden paths of humanity. This torch-bearer of non-violence at the supreme spiritual crisis in man's history stands at the parting of ways-one leads to armaments and destruction, the other to disarmament and construction. With his tiny finger, this mystic leader of India is shaking the very foundations of a vast, unjust system of imperialism and militarism from behind the prison bars. When the governments of Europe and America are lavishly expending money on experimenting and developing the deadly engines of human destruction, when the passion for hatred engendered by the war and perpetuated by the Versailles Treaty, is consuming the world, this faint ray of hope coming from the East betokens the dawning of the New Day.

On Gandhi's sincerity one would readily stake one's head. Few would deny to vouch for his integrity. Patriotism for India has become a "passion" with him. But his patriotism is "both exclusive and inclusive." Without seeking deliberately to do harm to others, he is striving to do good to India. "I believe absolutely," says Gandhi, "that India has a mission for the world." "My religion," he cries, "has no geographical limits. If I have a living faith in it, it will transcend my love for India herself." "Nonviolence," he proclaims, "is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed." True to his principle of non-violence, he suspended the Satyagraha campaign of 1919 and postponed the Civil Disobedience program when the slightest signs

of violence-"warnings from God," as he says-became visible. Around this great name posterity will weave cobwebs of fantastic legends-perhaps, also, legends of deification. By some the Mahatma will be regarded as the reincarnation of Christna, Buddha, or Christ; to others he will appeal as a "political" saint; to others again as a "saintly" politician. To the philosopher, however, he will always appeal as an iconoclast of old values. True, he has not supplied new values beyond the vague imaginings of dreamery-that task is left for other intellects to perform. But destruction is an essential condition of a new construction. A spiritual tornado, the Mahatma is intellectually a non-entity. Which explains his failures and his successes. He has soared far beyond the bounds of India and has identified himself with the New Spirit that is seeking to build a New World, the Tabernacle of Humanity. In the perspective of history, it will be said that Gandhi is perhaps the greatest man thrown up by the world upheaval of our times. Wrapped in a "nondescript shawl," the Mahatma reminds one of another kindred spirit, another moral giant, Abraham Lincoln, the liberator of humankind, the beloved of the world. Like Mazzini he has fired the youths of his country with the passion for service. Like Lenin, he has been the stronghold of peace and order in his country-with this difference that whereas the Russian statesman is compelled by circumstances to employ force, Gandhi uses persuasion. The embodied soul of India, in the eyes of his compatriots, he stands as the symbol of all that is highest, best, noblest. Let us pause; let no evil be whispered-Mahatma Gandhi is one of those extraordinary men thrown up from time to time out of the great mass of suffering humanity, whose mission it is to symbolize, to realize and to direct the aspirations of that mass; whose destiny it is to change the face of the world-and probably to die in the doing of it.

Chapter III

THE MAHATMA'S TRIAL

On the 9th of March, 1922, a day before his arrest, Gandhi wrote in his paper, "Young India," under the caption:

"If I Am Arrested-"

"There should be therefore no hartals (a hartal is a general suspension of all activities), no noisy demonstrations, no processions. I would regard the observance of perfect peace on my arrest as a mark of high honor paid to me by my countrymen. What I would love to see, however, is the constructive work of the Congress going on with clockwork regularity and the speed of the Punjab express. I would love to see people who have hitherto kept back, voluntarily discard all their foreign cloth and making a bonfire of it. Let them fulfil the whole of the constructive program framed at Bardoli, and they will not only release me and other prisoners, but they will also inaugurate Swaraj and secure redress of the Khalifat and the Punjab wrongs. Let them remember the four pillars of Swaraj: (1) NonViolence, (2) Hindu-Muslim-Sikh-Parsi-Christian-Jew unity, (3) total removal of untouchability and (4) manufacture of hand-spun and hand-woven Khaddar completely displacing foreign cloth.

"I do not know that my removal from their midst will not be a benefit to the people. In the first instance, the superstition about the possession of supernatural powers by me will be demolished. Secondly, the belief that people have accepted the

Non-Cooperation Program only under my influence and that they have no independent faith in it will be disproved. Thirdly, our capacity for Swaraj will be proved by our ability to conduct our activitiesin spite of the withdrawal even of the originator of the current program. Fourthly and selfishly, it will give me a quiet and physical rest, which, perhaps I deserve."

On the fateful 10th of March, 1922, at 10:30 p. m., motored into the lonesome Satyagrah-Ashram, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, an automobile, containing a dignified (!) personage, Mr. Hailey, the Superintendent of Police, and Mr. Sankarlal Banker, Gandhi's right-hand man, who was arrested on the way by the custodian of peace and order. The automobile stopped at the entrance of the Ashram; word was sent to Gandhi that a warrant of arrest awaited him. The inmates, who were about to retire, gathered around the Mahatma, paid their obeisance to the Holy Man and asked for his blessing. At long last did happen the expected. Gandhi's favorite hymn describing the qualities of an ideal Vaishnava was joyfully sung in a loud chorus. Touching were the final leave-taking ceremonies. Gandhi's devoted wife and Miss Anasuya Bai, the beloved of India, were allowed to escort the prisoners as far as the Sabarmati jail, one mile away from the Ashram. Mahatmaji's parting words to the inmates were that all who bore patriotism and love for India should strain every nerve to propagate peace and good will all over India among all communities.

The usual restrictions imposed on under-trial prisoners were not strictly enforced in his case. His friends and co-workers were allowed to see him every evening between 3 and 5. Healthy and cheerful he "would talk and laugh with all the unrestrained joy of a school-boy beginning to enjoy his holidays. Palace or prison, freedom or confinement, company or solitude-it is all the same to this noble soul who thinks, acts and lives in the