5. The limits of individuals and the responsibility of individuals

As anticipated, Gandhi insists on the limits of the individual. The individual is not a perfect entity; every individual has, constitutively, defects, which can certainly be limited and diminished, but which, nonetheless, cannot be completely eliminated since they belong to the nature as such of every individual.

The fact that the individual is constituted by the senses, whose influence is one of the main hindrances to his own elevation to the truth, can be limited, but cannot be eliminated:

‘[…] the cravings of the senses die away only when we cease to exist in the body^[1]. This is a terrible statement to make, but the Gita does not shrink from stating terrible truths. Truth does not remain hidden because it is not stated. Moksha is the supreme end, and even yogis can experience it only in contemplation. We must, therefore, say that the Dweller in the body cannot be free while He dwells in it. The prisoner is in jail and the king promises him that he will be released; but till he is actually released he cannot be said to have come out of cage.

He can only imagine his condition after release. In the same way, if there is anyone waiting to receive and greet the atman on its release, he cannot do that as long as it remains imprisoned in this cage of the body.

And this cannot but be so. How can it be otherwise than that the state after release will be different from the state before it?

Truth is so profound and great a thing that, as we think more and more about it, we realize that to have a direct experience of it, we should completely shed our attachment to the body and yearn every moment for moksha. As we think of moksha in this light, its value in our eyes should daily increase. If it is the most important thing in life, it should be clear to us that it cannot be attained while we live in this body. Till the gate of the body prison^[2] has opened, the fragrance of moksha is beyond our experience. Whether terrible or not, this is the truth.’^[3]

Moksha is the supreme end of the individual. The earthly life is compared to a jail and to a cage. The individual is a prisoner. Even though the truth which expresses the individual’s condition is hard, the individual ought to learn it and ought to accept it.

Gandhi pleads for the knowledge of the truth despite its hardness. To know the truth is necessary in order to be aware of one’s own limits. The release from the senses can take place only after the end of the corporeal existence. The condition of moksha cannot be reached as long as the individual lives in the body.

The cravings of the senses disturb the individual and the individual’s capacity for spiritual elevation. The senses are always present in the individual; the individual’s constitution is condemned to be disturbed by the senses as long as the individual finds himself in the corporeal dimension. Even for yogis, the condition of moksha is a condition which can be reached only through contemplation. Moksha is reachable during the corporeal life only by yogis if yogis are in the condition of contemplation. The individual cannot remain in the state of contemplation during the corporeal life. Therefore, moksha is not a condition which the individual can reach stably during the corporeal life. There is no way of complete liberation from the influence of the senses during the corporeal life.

The individual ought to take notice and to be aware of his own limits. To have limits, though, does not mean that the individual has no duty as regards the development of his own personality. The positive condition for the individual is to be free from bodily influences. Therefore, the individual ought to try to become as close as possible to the condition of absence of corporeal dimensions. The limits present in the individual corporeal condition can teach the subject to be as close as possible to the condition in which the subject will be without the body. The individual ought to try to imitate this condition by trying to detach himself from the body as much as possible. The individual’s attachment to the body ought to become weaker and weaker.

The truth cannot be reached as long as the individual is bound to the body. This is a precise limit which the individual has; in the same way, the fact that the individual finds himself in the corporeal dimension entails that the individual has some form of violence in himself:

‘The only way of rising to this state beyond the three gunas is to cultivate the sattvik quality, for in order to rise to that state one is required to cultivate the virtues of fearlessness, humility, sincerity, and so on. So long as we live in the body, there is some evil, some violence. The most, therefore, that we can do is to be sattvik in the highest degree possible.

The state beyond the three gunas can only be imagined. It does not seem possible to maintain it in action. In concrete action, our state must be sattvik in the highest degree^[4]. We cannot say even of a seemingly perfect man that he has risen beyond the three gunas. We can only say that he seems to be like one who has so risen.’^[5]

[1] The sphere of sense perception is the sphere which transmits instability to the individual:
‘II 14. O Kaunteya! contacts of the senses with their objects bring cold and heat, pleasure and pain; they come and go and are transient. Endure them, O Bharata.’ (see Desai, The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita according to Gandhi, p. 148)
The feelings originating in sense perception represent only something unstable. Gita’s teaching on this subject is that the individual ought to withstand them. The joys connected to the senses have only negative aspects:
‘V 22. For the joys derived from sense-contacts are nothing but mines of misery; they have beginning and end, O Kaunteya; the wise man does not revel therein.’ (see Desai, The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita according to Gandhi, p. 220)
The right formation ought to teach the individual to become indifferent to lust and wrath. The individual who has reached the right education manages to stand firm against lust and wrath:
‘V 23. The man who is able even here on earth, ere he is released from the body, to hold out against the flood-tide of lust and wrath, – he is a yogi, he is happy.’ (see Desai, The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita according to Gandhi, p. 221)
In general, it is the sphere of the senses and of the feelings which represents the instability factor of the individuals.
[2] The language used by Gandhi in this passage is important. He asserts that the dweller of the body cannot be free as long as he dwells in the body; he speaks of the corporeal dimension as a cage, and he describes the body as a prison. The individual is described as a prisoner in jail.
[3] See The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. XXXII (November 1926 – January 1927), p. 137.
[4] The state which is beyond the three gunas cannot be maintained in action. During the state of action, the best condition which can be reached is to be sattvik in the highest degree. The condition of action is not appropriate for the individual going beyond the gunas.
[5] See The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. XXXII (November 1926 – January 1927), p. 320. The condition of going beyond the three gunas is described in the following passage too:
‘It is stated, it is true, that a good man will not be born again, but only if he rises above the plane of gunas. There is, beyond the gunas of good and evil, a state which is characterized by no guna. It is not an undesirable state, but a desirable one. It is the state of moksha, a state which endures for ever.’ (see The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. XXXII (November 1926 – January 1927), p. 192)

The more the individual is affected by limitations, the more the individual needs and ought to educate himself.

The individual is condemned to have some form of violence in himself because of his corporeal dimension as such. The individual cannot be free constitutively from all forms of violence as long as he is in the corporeal dimension. He ought to cultivate the virtues connected to sattva in order that the balance existing in him among sattva, tamas, and rajas can be shifted to the advantage of sattva; sattva will therewith increase, whereas tamas and rajas will correspondingly diminish^[6]. Nonetheless, even in the best possible condition of development for sattva in the individual’s soul, both tamas and rajas, which are constitutively present in the individual, will not completely disappear:

‘We can make as many categories as we like. The intention was to show that the reign of the three gunas prevails throughout the universe. A cooking or other utensil is an inert object, but it contains air inside; likewise, everything is pervaded by the spirit. Existing apart from the three gunas is God. We have to merge in Him. Even if we cultivate the sattvik qualities to their highest perfection in us, something of rajasik and tamasik will remain. But, without worrying ourselves about this, we should continue to strive and cultivate finer and finer sattvik qualities in us, for the impulses which agitate us the least and consume the least amount of our energy are sattvik impulses.’^[7]

Gandhi insists that elements of rajas and of tamas will remain in the individual. Tamas and rajas are not completely eliminable as long as the individual is in the corporeal dimension. Only God is beyond the three gunas. The condition of the individual is different from God’s condition. The individual is composed of the three gunas. Therefore, the individual cannot completely eliminate the gunas in himself; he cannot go completely beyond them during his corporeal life. His aim ought to be to merge with God, even though there are limits connected to his own condition.

The limits are no justification for inaction, though. Although negative components will always be present in the individual, the individual ought to continue his work of self-improvement. The fact that the individual is constitutively an imperfect being entails that the individual ought to educate himself continuously. The individual ought to reach the moral foundation, but nothing is reached once and for all within the corporeal dimension^[8]. The fact that individuals are limited does not mean the absence of duties or freedom from responsibilities; on the contrary, individuals have the duty of learning and have the responsibility of fighting against their limits. To become aware of one’s own limits is to become aware that one’s own limits ought to be fought against. Hence, being limited does not exempt the individual from duties and responsibilities. Individuals are constitutively limited by the presence of rajas and of tamas; individuals are constitutively limited by their condition of existence in the dimension of the senses. Within the earthly dimension, these limits cannot be eliminated. Nonetheless, the individual has the capacity to fight against the influence of these components. The individual cannot eliminate these components, but he can limit the influence of these components. The individual has the responsibility and the duty to limit this influence.

The individual ought to steadily pay attention to the stability and endurance of his moral character; the individual ought to try to reach, maintain, and strengthen a morally positive character. Gandhi clearly expresses that the individual cannot manage, in the corporeal dimension, to fully follow ahimsa, i.e., the condition of non-violence:

‘It is impossible in this body to follow ahimsa fully^[9]. That is why moksha is laid down as the supreme end of life. Violence is inescapable. […] Evil is inherent in action, the Gita says further on.’^[10]

There are limits put on human capabilities. Despite all efforts, elements of violence and evil will remain both in the individual’s soul and in the individual’s actions. As regards the possibility of following and realising ahimsa in a complete and perfect way, Gandhi clearly states that this realisation is not possible for human beings. Everybody ought to become aware of one’s own limitations; in the corporeal dimension, it is not possible to concretise a perfect doctrine of ahimsa in one’s own self. This point, of course, may not lead to refraining from trying to realise ahimsa as best as possible; on the contrary, the awareness of one’s own defects ought to lead everyone to multiply the efforts towards the realisation of ahimsa. The individual ought both to be aware of his limitations and to act against these limitations; far from being an excuse for him, the awareness of his limitations leads to the exhortation of developing his nature so that his limitations could exercise as little influence as possible. The presence of limitations in the individual cannot lead the individual to a condition of indifference; the individual is called to realise the good factors of his soul. The fact that the individual cannot reach perfection may not exempt him from being attentive to the improvement of his nature.

Despite the individual limitations, Gandhi insists on the individual duties and on the responsibility deriving from the presence and existence of the individual duties. Everybody has both the responsibility and the duty to improve himself morally; nobody is allowed to say that she/he is constitutively not able to reach spiritual knowledge and the corresponding level of moral growth (and of moral education). The individual’s constitution can attain the truth. If the individual wants to improve himself morally, he can improve himself morally: his constitution is appropriate for achieving this result. The fact that the individual is not perfect does not mean that the individual cannot become better than he is originally.

One of the remedies against the presence of evil forces in the individual is represented by the detachment from the ego. The attachment to the ego can only bring about a false orientation in life, since the ego imprisons the individual in a limited dimension. The dimension of the ego is always partial. The root of the possibility of the right moral behaviour lies in the abandonment of the ego; the morally right decisions can be taken only after the individual’s detachment from the ego. Gandhi is clear about the necessity of abandoning the ego:

‘Krishna is the atman in us, who is our charioteer. We can win only if we hand over the reins of the chariot to him. God makes us dance, like the master in a puppet show. We are smaller than even puppets. We should, therefore, trust everything to God, as children to parents. Let us not eat uncooked stuff. Let Krishna the cook prepare and give us what food of grace He wills for our atman.

The Gita does not decide for us. But if, whenever faced with a moral problem, you give up attachment to the ego and then decide what you should do, you will come to no harm. This is the substance of the argument which Shri Krishna has expanded into 18 chapters.’^[11]

Individuality means limitation. The first limitation is to think that reality consists of individuals, i.e., the first limitation of the individual consists in the false interpretation of reality. The first step towards liberation is to understand that reality consists in Atman; individuals, since they are all manifestations of Atman, are simply appearances.

The Gita does not decide for us; individuals are autonomous. They have free will and free choice. Therefore, the Divinity reveals the essence of reality, but the Divinity does not choose for the individual. The Divinity exclusively makes manifest through the revelation the individual’s dimension, the individual’s condition and the individual’s options: the individual is free to choose which development he wants to have.

To renounce the attachment to the ego implies being able to adopt a universal point of view, since the new dimension of the individual is no longer restricted in and by the limitations of individuality. Until the individual remains enchained in his own self, the individual will not be able to reach a point of view which is compatible with the point of view of the other individuals. The ego separates the individuals from each other. The road to the morally right behaviour consists in the detachment from the ego and in the recognition of the common nature of Atman. The common nature of Atman proves to be the foundation of the right behaviour. The awareness and the recognition of the common nature of Atman unite the different individuals with each other. The abandonment of one’s own self is the way of liberation towards the truth:

‘[…] one will not shed the sense of “I” and “mine” till one has attained knowledge. One can attain self-realization only if one sheds this attachment to the ego. […] We can follow truth only in the measure that we shed our attachment to the ego.’^[12]

Truth can be followed only if the attachment to the ego becomes weaker. Following truth proves to be incompatible with the attachment to the ego.

[6] Only by following sattva can the individual develop himself:
‘XIV 17. Of sattva knowledge is born, of rajas, greed; of tamas, heedlessness, delusion and ignorance.’
‘XIV 18. Those abiding in sattva rise upwards, those in rajas stay midway, those in tamas sink downwards.’ (see Desai, The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita according to Gandhi, pp. 329–330).
The condition of knowledge arises only through sattva. Only through sattva can the individual improve his position within reality. The way of knowledge is the way which ought to be followed.
[7] See The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. XXXII (November 1926 – January 1927), p. 336.
[8] The following passage of the Gita can give us elements for the understanding of the qualities which the individual ought to develop:
‘XVI 1. Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in jnana and yoga – knowledge and action, beneficence, self-restraint, sacrifice, spiritual study, austerity, and uprightness; […]
XVI 2. Non-violence, truth, slowness to wrath, the spirit of dedication, serenity, aversion to slander, tenderness to all that lives, freedom from greed, gentleness, modesty, freedom from levity; […]
XVI 3. Spiritedness, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, freedom from ill will and arrogance – these are to be found in one born with the divine heritage, O Bharata.’ (see Desai, The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita according to Gandhi, p. 343).
The complex of the virtues which an individual ought to cultivate and to follow is, as we can see, very great.
[9] Gandhi is confident that human beings have the capability of reaching progressive degrees in the knowledge of the good. He is confident in the consequent maturation of the capability of becoming sattvik. He is nonetheless aware that, despite all efforts which human beings could ever fulfil, human beings have limitations connected to their being corporeal as such. Confidence in one’s own capabilities and awareness of one’s own limitations are two main concepts, i.e., are two main fountains of inspiration which often come to the surface throughout Gandhi’s discussion of the Gita.
[10] See The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. XXXII (November 1926 – January 1927), p. 106.
[11] See The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. XXXII (November 1926 – January 1927), p. 109.
[12] See The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. XXXII (November 1926 – January 1927), pp. 106–107.
There is a clear separation and opposition between the sphere of the senses and the sphere of reason. The level of truth can be grasped only by reason. The senses are not appropriate instruments for the understanding of the superior level of reality. If the individual can arrive at that level of reality, the individual will not lose contact with the truth. That level can be arrived at only through reason.
‘VI 21. Where he experiences that endless bliss beyond the senses which can be grasped by reason alone; wherein established he swerves not from the Truth.’ (see Desai, The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita according to Gandhi, p. 231)
The effect on the individual of reaching the new dimension is to reach an inner calm.
‘VI 25. With reason held securely by the will, he should gradually attain calm and with the mind established in Atman think of nothing.’ (see Desai, The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita according to Gandhi, p. 233)
A process of purification from the wanderings of the mind is needed for the individual to reach Atman.
‘VI 26. Wherever the fickle and unsteady mind wanders, thence should it be reined in and brought under the sole sway of Atman.’ (see Desai, The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita according to Gandhi, p. 233)
The knowledge consists in the apprehension of the nature of the Atman:
‘XIII 11. Settled conviction of the nature of the Atman, perception of the goal of the knowledge of Truth,–
All this is declared to be Knowledge and the reverse of it is ignorance.’ (see Desai, The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita according to Gandhi, p. 315)

6. The dangers represented by the attachment to the ego and by the influence of the senses

In the individual, there can be a conflict between the mind and the senses if the senses are not educated and are not kept under control. In general, the attachment to the senses is a danger for the individual:

‘A pleasure-loving man wastes his time in aimless wandering; he must have new suits of clothes every day, he eats and drinks what pleases his palate and goes about dressed in finery. If one of his pleasure-loving senses is so undisciplined that it seeks gratification anywhere and anyhow and if his mind is totally enslaved by this one sense, it will drag his intellect behind it as the wind drives a ship before it in the sea and wrecks it on a rock or runs it aground. Thus the man whose senses are completely out of his control and whose mind is totally enslaved by one of them will be ruined through gradual stages explained earlier as the consequences of attachment. If the mind is enslaved by even a single sense, one is lost.’^[13]

The senses are the enemies of the mind. The example given by Gandhi is illuminating; if the mind is enslaved by senses such as the pleasure-loving ones, the mind will never be free. Gandhi clearly states that the senses are a danger:

‘He who lives his senses no longer subject to attachments and aversions and perfectly under his control becomes fit for God’s grace. […]

What is the natural work of the ear? We describe a man as established in samadhi when his atman abides in serene content in itself. His senses must be under his perfect control. The ears of a man whose mind has become one-pointed must have become the servants of his atman. Actually, however, we are the slaves of our senses. From this slavery we must win swaraj for the atman. The ears should in fact listen only to the divine music of the atman. They would not, then, hear even the loud beating of drums. While the atman dwells in this body, it should live as the latter’s master and god, and use the senses to do only their natural work.’^[14]

Exclusively the individual who can reach a condition of control of the senses is fit for God’s grace. A change of the direction of the attention of the senses is indispensable: the senses ought to be redirected towards Atman. The individual who has reached the due foundation is an individual whose senses are submitted to Atman. The individual should shift himself from the condition in which he is a slave of the senses to the condition in which his senses are submitted to Atman. Atman ought to become the master of the body.

Gandhi points out that the individual ought to change his condition. From the slavery of the senses, the individual ought to arrive at the government exercised on him by Atman. Individuals are initially slaves of their senses and of their individuality. Individuals should free themselves from this slavery by reaching a condition in which Atman governs them, since they have previously managed to limit their individuality and the influence of their senses. Atman ought to substitute the senses as regards the direction of the mind.

Gandhi individuates a dualism between mind and senses; there is at least the possibility that the senses influence the mind. Senses are not immediately under the control of the mind; they can invade the mind. The influence of the senses and the corporeal dimension bring the individual away from Atman and from truth, since the senses imprison the individual. The senses and the corporeal dimension represent a hindrance for the individual; they enslave and enclose the individual in a limited, particular dimension. Individuals are slaves of their senses. The duty of the individual and the road of development of the individual consists in coming back to Atman. Atman, not the sense dimension, ought to direct the individual.

The government of Atman ought and needs to be reached. If Atman governs the individual, the individual is governed by himself, since the very nature of the individual is Atman. The government of Atman over the individual proves to be, on closer inspection, the self-government of the individual^[15]. The self-rule of the individual begins from his becoming aware of his being essentially Atman; it goes ahead with the individual fulfilment of the process of letting his life be conducted by Atman, and it ends up in the individual’s bringing his new condition into the social dimension. Self-rule begins with the relation of the individual to Atman^[16].

To have control of the sense-dimension is the first, indispensable step to direct one’s own mind to Atman^[17]. If the influence of the senses is at least partially limited, and the bounds of the ego are also partially limited, the individual will be transferred into a condition which transcends the limits imposed by the senses. The road to Atman is the road out of the particularity connected to the individuality. The self-government of the individual has precise political consequences, since it means the abandonment of the separation between individuals.

Reaching Atman ought to be the target of the individual. The individual ought to be aware that his position is, at the beginning of his life, disadvantaged: the senses and, generally, the corporeal dimension represent a dangerous hindrance for the individual and for his moral development. Senses can enslave and enclose the individual in a limited dimension. To have control of the sense dimension is, therefore, for the individual, the first indispensable step in order that he can reach Atman.

[13] See The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. XXXII (November 1926 – January 1927), p. 142. Thereafter, the text of the Bhagavad Gita quotes the following passage from the Bhagavad Gita, II 68 and II 69:
‘Therefore, O Mahabahu, he whose senses are reined in on all sides from their objects, is the man of secure understanding.’;
‘When it is night for all other beings, the disciplined soul is awake; when all other beings are awake, it is night for the seeing ascetic.’ (see also Desai, The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita according to Gandhi, p. 166)
The second quotation of the Gita is commented in Desai, The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita according to Gandhi, p. 166, in the following way:
‘This verse indicates the divergent paths of the disciplined ascetic and sensual man. Whereas the ascetic is dead to the things of the world and lives in God, the sensual man is alive only to the things of the world and dead to the things of the spirit.’
There is a complete difference between the ascetic man and the sensual man. The ascetic man lives in God; the sensual man ignores God and directs his attention exclusively to the things of the world.
[14] See The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. XXXII (November 1926 – January 1927), p. 139.
[15] Correspondingly, the government of the senses within the individual is the government of an external factor since the nature of the individual is Atman. To come back to Atman represents, for the individual, the return to his authentic nature, to his authentic essence, to his authentic dimension
[16] Gandhi is bringing the root of swaraj into a transcendent dimension. The first form of swaraj concerns the individual and the individual’s relations both with his senses – i.e., with his whole corporeal dimension – and with his essence, i.e., with Atman. We can read the following contents in the Bhagavad Gita:
‘III 43. Thus realizing Him to be subtler than the reason, and controlling the self by the Self (Atman), destroy, O Mahabahu, this enemy – Lust, so hard to overcome.’ (see Desai, The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita according to Gandhi, p. 189).
Gandhi’s comment on this passage is as follows:
‘When man realizes Him, his mind will be under His control, not swayed by the senses. And when the mind is conquered, what power has Lust? It is indeed a subtle enemy, but when once the senses, the mind and the reason are under the control of the subtlemost Self, Lust is extinguished.’ (see Desai, The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita according to Gandhi, p. 189).
[17] The individual ought certainly to improve sattva in himself. Nonetheless, the improvement of sattva is not the final point, since the individual ought to try to go beyond sattva itself. Sattva too is a quality binding the individual to the body:
‘XIV 5. Sattva, rajas and tamas are the gunas sprung from prakriti; it this they, O Mahabahu, that keep the imperishable Dweller bound to the body.’ (see Desai, The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita according to Gandhi, pp. 326–327; the passage is also quoted in The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. XXXII (November 1926 – January 1927), p. 315).
Hence, the improvement of sattva represents only a stage of preparation for a further passage of the road of development of the individual: in this further passage, the individual merges in Atman.

Conclusions

I shall now conclude my remarks with a quotation of Gandhi’s text which connects firmness of mind and satyagraha:

‘The Bhagavad Gita says that women, Vaisyas and Sudras, all classes of people, can win freedom. In the same way, all of us can do this. Whether or not we are stout and well-fed, we can do this work if we are strong in mind. Let us, therefore, cultivate firmness of mind; if we do not let the senses distract the mind, we can become fit for satyagraha.’^[18]

The condition for reaching satyagraha lies in the education of the mind. The firmness and the strength of mind are the condition which the individual ought to reach: the individual ought to free the mind from the influence of the senses. The correct disposition which is necessary for political action derives from a path of self-education: exclusively the path of self-education enables the individual to develop a correct political activity.

In order to be able to be fit for satyagraha, the individual ought to reach the condition of firmness of mind; this condition can be reached only through meditation on the revelation and through the consequent assimilation to the truth. The foundation of the whole behaviour of the individual and, in particular, of the morally right behaviour of the individual depends on the meditation on revelation and on the change in himself produced by the knowledge of revelation. For the individual to reach a new dimension, the individual needs the truth. The individual needs to reach the level of truth; he needs to learn that there is truth and that there is appearance; he needs to learn to distinguish between the appearance and the truth. A long path of education is, therefore, necessary. The foundations which are transmitted through the Gita are in Gandhi’s interpretation, for instance, the following:

1. Atman is the common essence of the individuals: all the individuals are manifestations of Atman.
2. There is no authentic mutual separation between individuals.
3. The separateness of existence is only an appearance.
4. The individuals ought to recognise that Atman is their common essence. They ought to acknowledge that they all are one and the same entity.
5. The individuals ought to detach themselves from their ego by acknowledging Atman as their common essence.
6. The individual ought to put himself under the government of Atman by separating himself as much as possible from the influence of his corporeal dimension, of his senses, and of his ego.
7. The authentic place of the individual is the revelation. The revelation is the key to the individual’s moral development.

These foundations are both the foundation for the individual’s moral behaviour and for political action. The foundations of the right political action need the contents of the revelation, since only the contents of the revelation make available, through and thanks to God’s own manifestation throughout the Gita, the foundational elements of the knowledge of the order of reality, of the place of the individuals in the reality, of the human condition, of the right way of relationships between individuals and reality, and of the right moral behaviour of individuals. The common nature of Atman is a general law of reality which can then be applied to the specific political circumstances, problems, and controversies. The individual’s recognition of the common nature of Atman implies the abandonment of the ego; it implies the beginning of a change of attitude towards reality and of change of the behaviour of the individual.

Of course, the Gita cannot answer the specific problems of politics, but it can give the due disposition on how to deal with the specific problems and questions of politics; the common nature of Atman of all individuals, for instance, could not justify any strategy of marginalisation or of exclusion of individuals and groups, since marginalisation would amount to going against this common belonging.

Gandhi is clear both as regards the authentic aims of the individual life, i.e., to strengthen sattva in himself, and as regards the individual responsibility to strengthen sattva in himself. Rajas and tamas ought to be kept under control; creating sattva ought to be the moral aim of the individual life. The individual is not immediately a complete entity as regards his own nature. The individual’s components are given, but the evolution of the components depends on the individual’s choice: the individual is a dynamic and not a static entity. The development of the individual is a matter of individual responsibility and of individual choice. Therefore, the development of education lies at the basis of the moral improvement of the individual and, consequently, at the basis of the moral improvement of the whole society.

[18] See The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. XXXII (November 1926 – January 1927), p. 141.

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Autore: Gianluigi Segalerba