Contemplating Truth and the Divine in Gandhian Philosophy: An Analytical Exploration

- By Dr. Saikat Bandyapadhyay*

Abstract

In this paper, I would like to bring forth and analyze the concepts of Truth and God according to Mahatma Gandhi. As a first step, this paper will attempt to examine Gandhi's assertion 'God is truth’. We will see that this assertion can erase all arbitrary divisions of the concept of God and connect the concept of God with truth, which is the highest principle of morality and points to the Absolute existence. After gaining his great experience and insightful wisdom, he later came to believe that 'Truth is God' must be a more appropriate assertion to describe the essence of God. In this paper, I will examine how and why Gandhi arrived at such a proclamation. I will also show whether such a derivation from 'God is truth' to 'truth is God' is justified or not.

Introduction

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was one of the leading philosophers in 20th Century India. Like his valuable role in the Indian freedom movement, he made an immense contribution to the field of Contemporary Indian Philosophy. But he repeatedly declared that he did not intend to preach any new philosophical doctrine. He also professed his constant commitment to infusing ancient Indian. He claimed nothing more than the practice of philosophy in everyday life. Gandhi, in this context, said, “There is no such thing as ‘Gandhism’ and I do not want to leave any doctrine after me. I do not claim to have propounded any new principle or doctrine...all my philosophy if it may be called by that pretentious name is contained in what I have said, you will not call it ‘Gandhism’, there is no ism about it.”¹ Though he said this with modesty, it is an undeniable fact that we cannot repudiate the impact of Gandhi’s philosophy in the post-Gandhian era. Even if he did not claim the prerogative of ‘Gandhism', it cannot be denied that Gandhi's philosophy is one of the true visions of today's world and it has a certain freshness in principles that may be counted as a new thought in the philosophical sphere. When Gandhi was involved in the exposition of Truth and God, we find that Gandhi had taken a definite philosophical methodology and arrived at a certain conclusion which is, no doubt, a concrete philosophical doctrine in the domain of philosophy.

What is special about Gandhian philosophy is that he combined the concept of truth with the theory of God and gave the concept a newer meaning. He believed that the concept of God as creator, sustainer and destroyer of the world does not correspond to the nature of God. This is because this assertion is very speculative and there is no concrete evidence for it.

But primarily his view was the concept of God is associated with values and morality. Gandhi said, “God is the indefinable something which we all feel, but which we do not know. To me, God is Truth and Love, and God is ethics and morality. God is fearlessness, God is the source of light and life and yet He is above and beyond all this.”²

God is Truth

These words of Gandhi carry enormous philosophical significance. He admitted that the word ‘God’ cannot be defined. But one can feel His entity. God is the symbol of truth and love. He is also the symbol of bravery, liveliness and light, though He is distinct and more superior than these. This view of Gandhi has a distinct implication in the field of philosophy. Gandhi had acknowledged the existence of God but did not classify Him with a heavenly underling, rather identifying Him as truth, love, fearlessness, light and liveliness. But later on, he realized that though God can be indicated by those concepts, He should be finally conceptualized by the idea of truth. Because ‘love’, ‘fearlessness’ etc. words designate precarious and vague concepts, they do not remain the same in all experiences. But the truth remains the same all along the process of experience. Again, “Truth is a simpler, less ambiguous notion.”³ Even the status of truth cannot be changed in different individuals’ experiences. This is why Gandhi has arrived at the opinion that ‘God is truth’. From this point of view, we get a novel thought in Gandhian philosophy with respect to traditional Indian philosophical thought. Go astray from the traditional theory of God, he claimed that God is nothing but the highest principle of values and ethics. It is quite clear that the word ‘truth’ signifies the highest principle of values and ethics. Margaret Chatterjee in his book, Gandhi’s Religious Thought, illustrated this point by saying, “His truth was a unique combination of a personal style of life and a technique for tackling injustice...”⁴ In this sense, God should be equated with nothing but the truth.

When Gandhi used the phrase ‘God is Truth’, we see he, following the lines of traditional Indian philosophy, refers to the term ‘truth’ in another sense. Indian Philosophy holds that the term ‘truth’ whose Sanskrit transliteration is ‘sat’ means the existence of something. The sentence ‘the pot is sat’ entails that the pot is an existent thing in reality. But in Vedanta philosophy, the term ‘sat’ has been used in the stricter sense where the term refers to absolute existence. ‘The Brahman is sat’ means the Brahman has absolute existence. Gandhi said in his own words, “In fact the Sanskrit word for Truth is a word which literally means which exists- Sat.”⁵ Therefore, when Gandhi uttered ‘God is Truth’ he also meant that God is a being which has real existence. Again, we see that Gandhi, in his philosophical discussion, had overridden the literal meaning of ‘sat’ and accepted the Vedantic connotation of the term. For Gandhi, God is the only absolute or undeniable existence, He is the real truth. Gandhi, in this context, said, “He is the purest essence. He simply is to those who have faith...We are not, He alone is.”⁶ Clearly, Mahatma Gandhi described God as truthfulness and this attribute seemed to be more specific and relevant to him.

It is pertinent to note that the journey of his philosophy of life had started with the quest for God, whom he wanted to know and comprehend. He also tried to depict the nature of God through language. In his earlier stage of life, he did not have any doubt about the existence of God and he tried to comprehend Him closely. But in this journey, he also apprehended that there is sheer confusion in those traditional doctrines of God. Even religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Persianism disclose a confused idea of God because their views are not similar, sometimes contradictory to each other. Gandhi, at the same time, realised that if we conceive God with the notion of truth, then most of the traditional views of God will remain insignificant. Reason can deny anything but the truth. Man, finally rests on truth and trusts it without any hesitation. Gandhi, therefore, concluded the statement ‘God is truth’. He firmly affirmed that he does not care for God if He is anything but Truth, anything but the undeniable Reality revealed in man and outside.

Gandhi had tried to connect the concept of God with the idea of truth. But this attempt describes God as an abstract being. We note, however, that Gandhi's philosophy also recognizes the embodied nature of God. He affirmed that God is synonymous with truth in the finest mental vision, but that in many ways we cannot deny His personal nature. He said “He is a personal God to those who need His personal presence. He is embodied to those who need His touch.”⁷ To people who have great reverence for the Almighty, God reveals Himself as an embodied and personified entity. It seems that Gandhi accepted the path of bhakti worship, which is prevalent in both Hinduism and Vaishnavism. But apart from the question of bhakti or devotion, God is nothing but truthfulness. Gandhi boldly said that beyond the personal God, there is a formless essence that our mind cannot comprehend. Evidently, Gandhi like an Advaita Vedantist described God from two viewpoints—a personified God who is subject to devotion and a God without form and determination. In the latter aspect, God must be equated with Truth, the only comprehensible nature of God.

Truth is God

Although in Gandhi’s earlier thought, he arrived at the opinion that God is truth. But in later days when a pearl of profound wisdom and experiences weighed high on his thought and he realized that truth is God instead of the assertion God is truth. This new assertion ‘God is truth’ is undoubtedly logically derived from ‘truth is God’. In deductive logic, if we say ‘All men are rational animals’, from this statement we can logically derive ‘All rational animals are men’. This logical derivation is valid because the subject and predicate are co-extensive. In a similar fashion, in Gandhi’s opinion, those two words ‘God’ and ‘truth’ are co-extensive. As two words are co-extensive, therefore these are logically equivalent words. Following the rule of conversion, we can easily conclude ‘Truth is God’ from the assertion ‘God is Truth.’

Gandhi accepted truth as God or the Ultimate Reality because of appropriate reason. According to him, we cannot doubt the existence of God. Although the atheist community may diminish the existence of God by dint of proof and arguments. But they cannot deny the existence of truth by any means. Because if truth has been denied, then there would be no essence in their affirmation. Their affirmation could anytime be falsified. Therefore, both atheists and theists must affirm the existence of truth.

It is relevant to add here when Gandhi uttered ‘Truth is God’, he understatedly held that truth denotes both the meaning of the highest value and the absolute existence. Which is non-truth and relative existence cannot be counted as ‘God’. Again, he declared that Truth is not the property of God, the essence of truth is the essence of God. Clearly, when Gandhi thought that truth is God, the term ‘truth’ at the same time has an ontological and moral significance. In the ontological sense truth is the absolute reality and in the moral sense truth is the sole just way. Syed A. Sayeed, in his article Ethics of Truth: Non-Violence and Truth relevantly remarks, “Gandhi recognizes that the relation between the ontological notion of truth and the moral dimension of truth...”⁸

When Gandhi uttered ‘God is truth’ firmly, it seems that truth should be the object of worship. If we adore truth and follow the path of truth, then we will worship God. We observe that Gandhi’s life is an ample province of truthfulness. His belief in God gradually turned into the practice of truth and finally resolved that the Truth is the Real essence of God. If we discriminate God from the truth then many divisions and problems may arise. We should worship truth in the form of God. This practice can wipe out all the divisions, and communal sentiments in man. This is why Gandhi boldly asserted, “Nothing is or exists in reality except Truth. That is why say or Satya is the right name for God. In fact, it is more correct to say that Truth is God than to say that God is Truth...”⁹. Therefore, as truth is the sole reality and it is the real nature of the Absolute, Gandhi made the assertion ‘Truth is God’, instead of ‘God is Truth’.

Raman Murti, in his book Gandhi Essential Writings, uploads another argument in favour of such derivation. He alluded that if it is said ‘God is Truth’ then assuming ‘Truth’ means existence, we must say that God is the only existent reality. Naturally, then moral concepts like truth or love themselves become non-existent. In other words, doubt may arise about the reality of truth itself. But if we say the ‘Truth is God’ the problem may not persist.

Conclusion

In the Bible, it is written, 'And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free'. The Upanishad also boldly affirmed, "Satyam Jñānamantam Brahamatti". In alignment with the Bible and the Upanishads, Gandhi placed profound emphasis on the concept of truth within his philosophy, elevating it to paramount significance.. Gandhi was aware of the fact that truth has a close relationship with humanity. It has the greatest appeal to all mankind. The optimism behind humanity lies in the association based on the invocation of reason, and not on an orthodox religious conception of God, which has led to many arbitrary divisions so far.

Since truth is the pure, final and undeniable reality, we can never separate truth from God. Swami Vivekananda, the eminent philosopher and revered monk of the Ramakrishna Order, similarly asserted that we can leave everything but truth. Since truth is an indispensable condition for life, it should be considered as the Supreme Reality. His master Sri Ramakrishna also said that he who keeps the truth lies in the bosom of God. In a similar fashion, Gandhi tried to put forward the view that truth is ultimately God and that nothing other than truth is the Supreme. However, unlike other philosophers of the time, Gandhi provided a complete rationale for this assertion. By advocating 'Truth is God', he actually nullified all misconceptions about God. If we worship the truth, then ultimately humanity can be restored, that would be the proper worship of divinity. The unequivocal proclamation that "Truth is God" is widely acknowledged as the bedrock of Gandhi's philosophy, imparting upon it the profound philosophical eminence it aspired to attain.

References

1. Gandhi, M.K., Harijan Work, (1936), p. 49. Accessed on 15th March, 2023.
2. Gandhi, M.K, Young India, 5-3-1925, (1925) pp. 80-81 Truth and God Accessed on 15th March, 2023.
3. Syad A. Sayeed, Ethics of Truth: Non-Violence and Truth, (Social Scientist, 2006), Vol. 34, No.5/6. May-June, pp. 84-104.
4. Chatterjee, Margaret, Gandhi’s Religious Thought, (University of Notre Dame Press, 1983), p. 34
5. Gandhi, M.K., Young India. 31-12-'31, (1931), pp. 427-28.
6. Gandhi, M.K., Young India. 5-3-'25, (1931), pp. 80-81.
7. Ibid.
8. Syad A. Sayeed. op. cit.
9. Gandhi, M.K., From Yeravada Mandir, (1957) pp. 1-2.

* The author is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Government General Degree College in Singur.