Sophia University Junior College Division Faculty Journal

創立 40 周年記念　第 35 号, 2014, 171-179

The Myth and Meaning of the

Gandhian Concept of Satyagraha

Thomas Varkey

Introduction
Satyagraha, popularly known as a “technique of non-violent public protest”, is one
of the greatest contributions Gandhi made to the modern world. Gandhi’s contribution
was unique in that it offered a solution to conflicts without the use of physical force.
Further, in contrast to the traditional means – physical force or violence, Satyagraha
emphasized more on the means - non-violence - than on the end - attainment of truth.
Gandhi’s uncompromising insistence on non-violence in the pursuit of satyagraha made
it a distinctive as well as a controversial technique of social and political change.
The concept of satyagraha is less understood than practiced today. The situation was
not different even when Gandhi was alive. More than Gandhi wrote and talked about
satyagraha, he practiced it. Although the concept of satyagraha did cause confusion at
times among Gandhi’s followers, his charismatic leadership overshadowed their confusion.
Gandhi’s sudden death and his incomplete and inconsistent writings on satyagraha
forced his followers to make inferences based on their experiences as to what exactly
is the philosophy of satyagraha. This has resulted in a lot of misunderstandings and
misinterpretations of the Gandhian principle of satyagraha. In this paper, the author
looks into some of the misconceptions of the concept of satyagraha and its true meaning.

Some Misconceptions of Satyagraha

Like other Gandhian concepts, satyagraha too was not an exemption to
misunderstandings and misinterpretations. Following are some of the major
misconceptions of satyagraha:
(1) 
Satyagraha is referred to any form of opposition to government or any direct social
or political action short of organized violence.
(2) Satyagraha is equated with demonstrations with shouting of slogans, fasting, and
strike with boycott.
(3) Satyagraha is equated with non-violence, with passive resistance, and even with the

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Gandhian concept of sarvodaya.

(4) Gandhi’s reference to his life as “experiments with truth” and of himself as a
persistent satyagrahi (one who practices satyagraha) lead people to consider a
satyagrahi as either merely a “seeker after truth,” or one who has adopted the
Gandhian system of morals and values.
(5) A satyagrahi, understood as one who has adopted the Gandhian system of morals
and values, is believed to be a vegetarian, someone observing brahmacharya
(continence), and one who is practicing aparigraha (non-possession) etc.
There are certain characteristics specific to Gandhian satyagraha which makes it
possible to distinguish movements that can be classified as satyagraha and that are not.

Satyagraha
The word satyagraha is a compound of two Sanskrit nouns, Satya which means
“truth” and Agraha which means “grasp”. (Bondurant, p. 11) Satya is derived from Sat
which means “being”. Gandhi believed that “nothing is or exists in reality except Truth.”
Therefore, Gandhi said “it is more correct to say that Truth is God, than to say that
God is Truth.” (Gandhi, 1931, p. 196) Gandhi used satyagraha for two goals – one was
personal and the other was social or political. For Gandhi the ultimate goal in life was
the realization of the Truth – seeing God face to face. The second goal was social and
political change for which he used satyagraha as a means to that end.
Satyagraha, when used as a tool for social and political change, aims to win over
an opponent. There are three stages in this process: The first stage is that of persuasion
through reason. The second stage is characterized by persuasion through suffering. The
satyagrahi, at this stage, dramatizes the issues at stake by willingly undergoing self-
suffering instead of inflicting suffering on the opponent as a test for the truth element
in his cause. If neither persuasion through reason nor self-suffering does succeed to win
over the opponent, the satyagrahi resorts to non-violent coercion characterized by tools
such as non-cooperation or civil disobedience.
One of the strong images most people have of satyagraha is that of civil
disobedience. This was because civil disobedience was one of the powerful weapons
Gandhi often used in satyagraha campaigns for social and political change. With Gandhi,
satyagraha became something more than a method of resistance to particular legal
norms; it became an instrument of struggle for positive objectives and for fundamental
change. Although satyagraha is widely used even today, it is not properly understood by

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its own adherents.

The true meaning of satyagraha cannot be explained without exploring the
Gandhian meaning of the concepts of truth, non-violence, and self-suffering.

Truth
According to Gandhi, “Satyagraha is literally holding on to Truth, and it means
therefore Truth-force.”(Bondurant, p. 16) Truth, for Gandhi, was God. Gandhi defined
his personal goal as to “seeing God face to face.” Gandhi explains Truth-God relationship
as follows: “There are innumerable definitions of God, because His manifestations are
innumerable. They overwhelm me with wonder and owe and for a moment stun me. But
I worship God as Truth only.” (Bondurant, p.19) Gandhi, at the same time, was aware of
the fact that the human mind cannot know the Absolute fully. To have found the Truth
completely, Gandhi believed, would mean that one has realized oneself and reached his
destiny; in other words, he has become perfect. Being aware of human beings’ inability
to know the Truth wholly, Gandhi insisted on the importance of being open to those who
differ with us. Although, Gandhi never claimed to have known the Truth, he did claim to
have found the way to it.

Although Gandhi’s personal goal was the realization of the Truth (seeing God face
to face), the truth element Gandhi referred to in satyagraha – a technique for social
and political change – was not that of the Absolute. Gandhi, in his experiments with
satyagraha, both in South Africa and in India, became more and more aware of the
relative character of truth as an operative principle. The relative character of truth
became evident to Gandhi as each time the social and political problems he took up
for reform differed. In this respect, satyagraha is not a dogma. It is neither static nor
substantial. For Gandhi, holding on to truth in satyagraha is a dynamic concept and
satyagraha is a technique of action.
There still remains a question that how confusion can be avoided if striving after
truth differs in every case. Gandhi finds the answer to this confusion in the relation
Truth has with ahimsa (non-violence).

Non-violence (Ahimsa)
The Sanskrit word ahimsa is translated as non-violence. It is composed of a negative

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prefix “a” and a noun “himsa” which means “injury.” Although ahimsa has a negative
connotation when translated as non-violence, its etymological meaning is “action based on
the refusal to do harm.” Albert Schweitzer points out to the positive meaning of ahimsa as
follows: “Etymologically, himsa is the desiderative form of han meaning to kill or to damage,
so that himsa means to wish to kill. Ahimsa, then, means renunciation of the will to kill or
damage.” (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1899) Gandhi, when explaining the positive meaning of
ahimsa equates it to “love”. He says “ahimsa is not merely a negative state of harmlessness
but it is a positive state of love, of doing good even to the evil-doer.” (Gandhi, 1921) To
Gandhi, ahima was not simply non-killing; it took him to a much higher realm of “being
humane”. A true follower of ahimsa, Gandhi taught, must refuse to offend anybody, not even
harbor an uncharitable thought even against an enemy.
Emphasizing on the inseparableness of truth and non-violence in satyagrha,
Gandhi describes satyagraha as follows: “It is a movement intended to replace methods
of violence and it is a movement based entirely upon truth…” (Bondurant, p.15) In his
satyagraha movement, Gandhi considers truth and non-violence (love) as the two sides
of the same coin. Gandhi continues, “…without ahimsa it is not possible to seek and
find Truth. Ahimsa and Truth are so intertwined that it is practically impossible to
disentangle and separate them… Nevertheless ahimsa is the means; Truth is the end.
Means to be means must always be within our reach, and so ahimsa is our supreme
duty. If we take care of the means, we are bound to reach the end sooner or later.”
(Gandhi, 1932) In short, in satyagraha movement for Gandhi, truth is the ultimate goal
and non-violence is the means to it.
The only dogma one could see in Gandhi’s satyagraha movement is the principle of
“ahimsa” which he adhered till the end. Gandhi maintained that the way of a satyagrahi
must lead through the testing of truths as they appear to the individual performer. And
the testing of the relative truth can be performed only by strict adherence to ahimsa –
refusal to do harm. Gandhi in his pursuit of truth sets ahimsa as the supreme value, “the
one cognizable standard by which true action can be determined.” (Bondurant, p. 25)
Exploring the dynamic meaning of ahimsa, Gandhi leads every satyagrahi into the third
fundamental element of satyagraha which is tapasya – self-suffering.

Self-Suffering (tapasya)
As mentioned earlier, Gandhi’s concept of ahimsa goes far beyond “renunciation of
the will to kill or damage”; Ahimsa, to Gandhi, is love as well. Gandhi relates love and

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self-suffering (tapasya) as follows: “Love never claims, it ever gives. Love ever suffers,
never resents, never revenges itself… The test of love is tapasya and tapasya means self-
suffering.” (Bondurant, p. 26)
In satyagraha, self-suffering is willingly accepted by the satyagrahi himself with
the specific intention of the moral persuasion of the enemy. Self-suffering is neither an
inability to win over the opponent through violence nor a meek submission to the will
of the evil-doer. It is a fight against an evil system and a tyrant with one’s soul force. In
other words, self-suffering is the way of the strong. Gandhi says, “Non-violence cannot
be taught to a person who fears to die and has no power of resistance.” (Gandhi, 1935)
To the critics who said satyagraha is the way of the cowards, Gandhi replied, “I do
believe that where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise
violence.” (Gandhi, 1920) Self-suffering is clearly different from cowardice as well as
violence against the opponent.
Self-suffering, in satyagraha, is directed to resisting humiliation as well. Gandhi
gave supreme value to the dignity of a person. That is why, he believed that submitting
to humiliation should be resisted even at the cost of self-suffering of the body, even unto
death. Further, Gandhi considered being forced to act against one’s own conscience
is dehumanizing. Therefore, Gandhi insisted that every satyagrahi “…must refuse to
do that which his conscience forbids him to do and must preserve the dignity of the
individual though it means loss of property or even life.” (Gandhi, 1944, p. 360)
Self-suffering is integral to non-violence as it is a means in satyagraha to overcome
fear. Gandhi says, “One must learn the art of dying in the training for non-violence…
The votary of non-violence has to cultivate the capacity for sacrifice of the highest type
in order to be free from fear… He who has not overcome all fear cannot practice ahimsa
to perfection.” (Gandhi, 1940) Although the satyagrahi does not inflict direct violence
to the opponent in practicing self-suffering, it has been severely criticized for inflicting
violence upon the satyagrahi himself. Responding to this criticism, Gandhi says that he
doesn’t value one’s life low but ultimately it will result in “the least loss of life, and, what
is more, it ennobles those who lose their lives and morally enriches the world for their
sacrifice.” (Gandhi, 1944, p. 49)

Satyagraha in Action
Satyagraha, characterized by adherence to truth, non-violence, and self-suffering,
by operating within a conflict situation, aims at a fundamental social and political

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change. In order to effect change, it uses soul force against conventional violence. Non-
cooperation, civil disobedience and fasting are some of the major non-violent means
employed by satyagraha movements. Non-cooperation includes actions such as strike,
walk-out, hartal (voluntary closing of shops and businesses) and resignation of offices
and titles. Non-cooperation is a refusal to follow a requirement which fundamentally
violates truth and is against mass conscience. Civil disobedience is a non-observance
of certain specific laws which are dehumanizing, and against one’s conscience. Civil
disobedience includes activities such as non-payment of taxes, jail-going campaign etc.
Although Gandhi never put down in words the procedure and the process of
satyagraha, observing the innumerable satyagraha campaigns one could tell them.
Bondurant (Bondurant, pp. 38-41) explains in detail the (1) fundamental rules, (2) code
of discipline, and (3) the various steps in a satyagraha campaign as follows:

Fundamental Rules
(1) Self-reliance at all times. Outside aid may be accepted, but should never be counted
upon.
(2) Initiative in the hands of the satyagrahis. Satyagrahis, through the tactics of positive
resistance, persuasion, and adjustment, must press the movement ever forward.
(3) Propagation of the objectives, strategy and tactics of the campaign. Propaganda must
be made an integral part of the movement. Education of the opponent, the public,
and participants must continue apace.
(4) Reduction of demands to a minimum consistent with truth. Continuing reassessment
of the situation and the objectives with a view to possible adjustment of demands is
essential.
(5) Progressive advancement of the movement through steps and stages determined to
be appropriate within the given situation. Direct action is to be launched only after
all other efforts to achieve an honorable settlement have been exhausted.
(6) Examination of weakness within the satyagraha group. The morale and discipline of
the satyagrahis must be maintained through active awareness of any development
of impatience, discouragement, or breakdown of non-violent attitude.
(7) Persistent search for avenues of cooperation with the adversary on honorable terms.
Every effort should be made to win over the opponent by helping him thereby
demonstrating sincerity to achieve an agreement with, rather than a triumph over,
the adversary.

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(8) Refusal to surrender essentials in negotiation. Satyagraha excludes all compromise

which affects basic principles or essential portions of valid objectives.
(9) Insistence upon full agreement on fundamentals before accepting a settlement.

Code of Discipline
The following points were laid down by Gandhi as a code for volunteers in the 1930
movement:
(1) Harbor no anger but suffer the anger of the opponent. Refuse to return the assaults
of the opponent.
(2) Do not submit to any order given in anger, even though severe punishment is
threatened for disobeying.
(3) Refrain from insults and swearing.
(4) Protect opponents from insult or attack, even at the risk of life.
(5) Do not resist arrest nor the attachment of property, unless holding property as a
trustee.
(6) Refuse to surrender any property held in trust at the risk of life.
(7) If taken prisoner, behave in an exemplary manner.
(8) As a member of a satyagraha unit, obey the orders of satyagraha leaders, and resign
from the unit in the event of serious disagreement.
(9) Do not expect guarantees for maintenance of dependents.

Steps in a Satyagraha Campaign

(1) Negotiation and arbitration. Every effort to resolve the conflict or redress the
grievance through established channels must be exhausted before the further steps
are undertaken.
(2) Preparation of the group for direct action. Before any direct action is taken in a
conflict situation, motives are to be carefully examined, exercises in self-discipline
must be initiated, discussions are to be conducted within the group regarding
issues at stake, appropriate procedures to be undertaken, the circumstances of the
opponent, the climate of public opinion, etc.
(3) Agitation. This step includes an active propaganda campaign together with such
demonstrations as mass-meetings, parades, slogan-shouting.
(4) Issuing of an ultimatum. A final strong appeal to the opponent should be made

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explaining what further steps will be taken if no agreement can be reached.

(5) Economic boycott and forms of strike. Picketing may be widely employed, together
with continued demonstrations and education of the public. Sitting dharna (a
form of sit-down strike) may be employed, as well as non-violent labor strike, and
attempts to organize a general strike.
(6) Non-cooperation. Depending upon the nature of the issues at stake, such action as
non-payment of taxes, boycott of schools and other public institutions, ostracism, or
even voluntary exile may be initiated.
(7) Civil disobedience. Great care should be exercised in the selection of laws to be
contravened. Such laws should be either central to the grievance, or symbolic.
(8) Usurping of the functions of government.
(9) Parallel government. The establishment of parallel functions should grow out of
step (8), and these should be strengthened in such a way that the greatest possible
cooperation from the public can be obtained.
Having laid down the basic principles and procedures of a satyagraha campaign, it must
be borne in mind that the actions taken in a satyagraha campaign greatly depends
on the nature of the issue at stake. Similarly, whether a campaign could be called
satyagraha or not can be determined by the above mentioned standards, the success of
a satyagraha campaign depends equally on the opponent as well. However, most of the
satyagraha campaigns initiated by Gandhi in India were successful.

Conclusion
It is generally accepted that Gandhi’s consistent use of certain traditional
terminology to refer to his new ideas caused the initial confusion in understanding
Gandhi’s philosophy of satyagraha. Secondly, the idea of satyagraha was not fully
developed even in Gandhi’s own mind when he began his mass social and political
campaign. The idea of satyagraha grew into a clear philosophy of action as Gandhi
involved in various types of social and political campaigns and faced with mostly
challenges than successes in the initial stage. Thirdly, confusion also arose out of
Gandhi’s reference to his personal goal in life as the realization of Truth - seeing
God face to face - which he also called satyagraha. However, in a later period when
questioned by Lord Hunter, Gandhi himself distinguished satyagraha as a spiritual goal
from satyagraha as a tool for social and political change. It is the latter which is widely
known and used around the world as “satyagraha” today. Finally, confusion still lingers

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around satyagraha because as Gandhi himself accepted that satyagraha is not a dogma
but it is a dynamic concept just as the circumstances in a society where satyagraha
finds its place and relevance. However, satyagraha as a technique for social and political
change, has certain definite characteristics and features among which adherence to
truth, non-violence and self- suffering have paramount importance. Since the goal of
satyagraha - the attainment of truth - having a relative nature to it, will always evade
comprehensive definition of satyagraha.

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