52. Soul Force

The rowdy people keep shouting. They say, "This man didn't salute me! Let us kill him!"

Gandhiji always asked us not to mix with such people or behave like them. He also asked us not to be afraid of such people. He asked us to practice non-violence. He said that when these people will get tired of fighting, they would learn non-violence from us.

"Don't be afraid of getting killed by the shouting crowd while you are trying to be non-violent. You have fear because you don't know the strength of non-violence. In fact, non-violence can even win the enemy."

The people, all over the world, don't believe this.

At some place, they raise an army of thousand men. At another place they raise an army of five thousand men.

The third one has ten lakh men.

A nation builds hundred fighter planes. Another one gets a thousand. Yet another gets ten thousand fighter planes.

Those who have less fighter planes cannot sleep peacefully. They are always anxious to get more and more planes.

The fighter planes cannot be made without money. One has to pay millions of Pounds for them.

And what is a 'Pound'?

A 'Pound' is earned by shedding the people's sweat, by using their energy.

The weapons of non-violence, which Gandhiji gave us, can earn a 'Pound'.

Those weapons are Satyagraha, non-cooperation, and tolerance.

Looking at the tolerant public, the tyrant feels ashamed of himself. See, he is loosing his strength!

Now tell me, which weapon is powerful? The cannon or the non-violence? Which strength is more effective, the strength of the cannon or the soul force?

Gandhiji doesn't preach things he read somewhere. He has earned this gem of non-violence through a lot of hardship.

Remember, India is hailed throughout the world just because of 'non-violence'!