Chapter VII AS THE WORLD SEES HIM "He (Gandhi) is the soul of India in revolt, the spirit of Indian discontent, the assertion of the East's equality with the West, the most powerful and at the same time the most puzzling personality in India today. * * * He baffles classification. Here, for example, are a few estimates that came within my own knowledge. 'Sir, he is a God,' was the reverent verdict of a Bengali stationmaster; 'God has given only one Gandhi Sahib in this millennium,' was the fine tribute of an unlettered villager; 'Gandhi is our Mahatma' (our superman), was the faith of a student disciple; "This man reminds me of the Apostle Paul,' said a shrewd Government official who had evidently been to Sunday School in his youth. 'Beware of Gandhi,' wrote a valued friend, 'He is a revolutionary of a most dangerous type.' I have heard him further described as 'charlatan,' a 'madman' a 'visionary,' a 'menace to British rule'; an 'astute politician who hides his real designs under a mask of guileless simplicity'; an 'irresponsible and unscrupulous agitator,' a 'country cousin,' the 'savior of his country,' and the 'egregious Mr. Gandhi' (who is a 'thrawn devil'). This, then, is no common man, be he revolutionary or revolutionary prophet or politician, saint or sinner, agitator or statesman, madman or wiseman, savior or wrecker, mere man or superman; come he in peace or come he in war, he arrests attention and demands a hearing."-J. Z. Hodgend ("Glasgow Herald"). 66 * * * this amazing and dangerous man, who in solitude bestrides the field of Indian sedition like a Colossus. In truth he is alone. He does not seem to need lieutenants or councillors, who embarrass him with their practical suggestions as much as Mr. Gandhi bewilders them by his pure Utopianism. Whether they remain or desert him makes no difference; his appeal is to the lowest of the population and his strength lies precisely in the fact that his teaching is a visionary reconstruction of the Golden Age based upon universal lovingkindness. He preaches to the heart and despises the head. And, therefore, he has no parallel in the world today either in the semi-divine character of his influence or in the magnitude of the disaster which will attend his success. "Seated on the floor in a small, barely-furnished room, I found the Mahatma, clad in tough, white home-spun. He turned up to me, with a smile of welcome, the typical head of the idealist-the skull well-formed and finely modelled; the face narrowing to the pointed chin. His eyes are deep, kindly and entirely sane; his hair is greying a little over the forehead. He speaks gently and well, and in his voice is a note of detachment which lends uncanny force to the strange doctrines that he has given up his life to teach. One could not imagine him ruffled, hasty, or resentful; not the least part of the moral supremacy in his crusade is his universally known willingness to turn the other cheek to the smiter. From the first it must be realized that consciously his teaching has been influenced by that of Christ for whom his admiration has long been the almost dominating feature of his spiritual life, and probably the external character of his daily activity has been modelled also upon Him. He made a curious observation during our conversation which throws some light upon his interpretation of the Galilean Teacher. In answer to a remark of mine that Christ strictly abstained from interfering in politics, Mr. Gandhi answered, 'I do not think so, but if you are right, the less Christ in that was He.' "The achievement of an ideal world built upon selflessness and governed by loving-kindness alone, which has proved too much for the Christian nations, seems to Mr. Gandhi a self-evident possibility."Perceval Landon ("Daily Telegraph," London). "We might imagine him (Gandhi) a kind of Indian Tolstoy, in his professed aversion from force and his contempt for realities. But he is a Tolstoy with a difference; and he moves in a different atmosphere. The Russian prophet was content to preach and write, he detested practical politics too much to meddle with them. Gandhi translates his spiritual faith into crude and violent action or his followers do it for him."-"Daily Telegraph," London. "I understand the Nagpur gathering to be the largest ever held in the history of Indian nationalism; indeed, it is easy to believe that it was the biggest political assembly the world has seen. Nearly thirty thousand people drawn from all parts of India crowded the pandal each day. Men and women of every social station and of every creed were there. High-caste Brahmins rubbed shoulders with "untouchables," cultured Indians mingled freely with those who have been denied educational opportunity. Doubt has been cast on the representative character of the Congress and it is unfortunately true that certain well-known Moderates indicate disapproval of the present policy, by absenting themselves. But their refusal to 'cooperate' can hardly be said to destroy the really representative composition of the gathering. Moderate opinion was there and found utterance in more than one able speech. It had, however, to subordinate itself to the overwhelming volume of contrary opinion. And because the tide appeared to be running strongly one way, it is as unfair as it is incorrect to allege that the Congress was solely 'Extremist' in character. Those who make the allegation apparently forget that the majority of Indians under the pressure of circumstances are rapidly becoming 'Extremist.' In India, as in Ireland, Government policy or lack of policy is driving steady, moderate men and women into the ranks of the advanced political army. At all events the Nagpur Congress showed a solidarity in purpose that is bound to impress the world. Extremism is becoming the normal and the cry 'Bande-Mataram' is fusing the most divergent elements in Indian life. As a spectacle the Congress was profoundly impressive; was it not also prophecy of an India so united as to be irresistible? * * * "Of course the central figure was Mahatma Gandhi. Who and what is this man of whom it can be said, as it was said of one of old, that even his enemies 'can find no fault in him'? His bitterest opponents unite in tributes to his apparent sincerity, moral courage and spiritual intensity. Even Sir Valentine Chirol, while of opinion that Gandhi is 'more unbalanced,' suggests that he has 'increased in spiritual status.' Some folks believe Mahatmaji is mad but all who know him agree that he is good. In this topsy-turvy world it may well be that goodness and honesty lie strangely near to madness. an age of false values what chance has right? And with Truth on the scaffold and Wrong on the throne it is too much to expect fair estimates of men and movements. Still, to those who have met and talked with Gandhi, who have seen him in a small business meeting or holding vast multitudes under some subtler spell than mere oratory produces; who have sat alone with him in the quiet, or seen the eager throng pressing around to touch the hem of his garment or to kneel and touch his foot, to those he seems to possess a power granted to few. Call it madness if you like, there is a strength in that frail body which defies all the combinations of political expediency, however highly organized they may be. Gandhi has probably a larger following than any living man. And it is not 'masses' only who accept his leadership. He is 'Mahatmaji' to intellectuals; even highly-placed officers of the Government exist who recognize in him the compelling authority of real character. The West has produced a Lenin, strong, masterful, relentless, alike in logic and method. The East has given birth to a Gandhi, equally strong, masterful and relentless. But whilst the former pins his faith on force, the latter relies on non-resistance. One trusts the sword, the other trusts the spirit. In an extraordinary manner these men appear to incarnate those fundamentally opposing forces that, behind all the surface struggles of our day, are fighting for supremacy."-Ben C. Spoor, M. P. "The thing that is to me so wonderful, the thing that is touchingly beautiful, so significant of the fundamental spirituality of our people is their devotion to Gandhi." * * * "Gandhi is a saint and saints have still a chance in India."-Tagore. "I believe absolutely,' says Gandhi, 'that India has a mission for the world.' His idealism, therefore, transcends the boundaries of race and country, and seeks to make itself one with the highest hopes of humanity. 'My religion,' he cries, 'has geographical limits. If I have a living faith in it, it will transcend my love for India herself.' no "Such is Mahatma Gandhi! In this great spirit, he lives among the people. As he moves from city to city, crowds of thirty and even fifty thousand people assemble to hear his words. As he pauses for the night in a village, or in the open countryside, great throngs come to him as to a holy shrine. He would seem to be what the Indians regard him— the perfect and universal man. In his personal character, he is simple and undefiled. In his political |