Shridharani has traced for us the origins of this distinctive Hindu
philosophy of _ahimsa_. It arose from the idea of the sacrifice, which
the Aryans brought to India with them at least 1500 years before Christ.
From a gesture of propitiation of the gods, sacrifice gradually turned
into a magic formula which would work automatically to procure desired
ends and eliminate evil. In time the Hindus came to believe that the
most effective type of sacrifice was self-sacrifice and suffering,
accompanied by a refusal to injure others, or _ahimsa_.[53] Only the
warrior caste of _Kshatriyas_ was allowed to fight. In his
autobiography, Gandhi brings out clearly the pious nature of his home
environment, and the emphasis which was placed there upon not eating
meat because of the sacred character of animal life.[54]
It is not surprising that a logical mind reared in such an environment
should have espoused the principle of non-killing. In his western
education Gandhi became acquainted with The Sermon on the Mount, and the
writings of Tolstoy and Thoreau, but he tells us himself that he was
attracted to these philosophies because they expressed ideas in which he
already believed.[55]
In fact, the Hindese have long employed the non-violent methods of
resistance which Gandhi has encouraged in our own day. In 1830, the
population of the State of Mysore carried on a great movement of
non-cooperation against the exploitation by the native despot, during
which they refused to work or pay taxes, and retired into the forests.
There was no disorder or use of arms. The official report of the British
Government said:
"The natives understand very well the use of such measures to
defend themselves against the abuse of authority. The method most
in use, and that which gives the best results, is complete
non-co-operation in all that concerns the Government, the
administration and public life generally."[56]
In about 1900 there was a great movement of non-cooperation under the
leadership of Aurobindo Ghose against the British Government in Bengal.
Ghose wanted independence and freedom from foreign tribute. He called
upon the people to demonstrate their fitness for self-government by
establishing hygienic conditions, founding schools, building roads and
developing agriculture. But Ghose had the experience Gandhi was to have
later. The people became impatient and fell back on violence; and the
British then employed counter-violence to crush the movement
completely.[57]
The term "Satyagraha" itself was, however, a contribution of Gandhi. It
was coined about 1906 in connection with the Indian movement of
non-violent resistance in South Africa. Previously the English term
"passive resistance" had been used, but Gandhi tells us that when he
discovered that among Europeans, "it was supposed to be a weapon of the
weak, that it could be characterized by hatred and that it could finally
manifest itself as violence," he was forced to find a new word to carry
his idea. The result was a combination of the Gujerati words _Sat_,
meaning truth, and _Agraha_, meaning firmness--hence "truth force," or
as it has been translated since, "soul force."[58]