Gandhi's Idea

Gandhi’s ideas were inspired in part by, the strong beliefs of his mother, the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, the teachings of Christ, and the writings of 19th-century American writer Henry David Thoreau. From these influences he developed his philosophy of civil disobedience. But Gandhi believed the terms civil disobedience or even passive resistance to be inadequate, so he coined his own term for it, Sanskirt, meaning “truth and firmness.”
Although many of his ideas were based on the teachings of Christ, Gandhi saw him only as a great teacher of humanity, but not the only begotten son of God. Instead he believed all people to be sons of God in a metaphorical sense. He was a deeply devoted Hindu, but wished not to undermine peoples’ faith, because that would mean superiority of one religion, instead of realizing as he said, “[that] all religions [are] true and also that all [have] some error in them.” He thought only that “a Hindu should be a better Hindu, a Muslim a better Muslim, [and] a Christian a better Christian.” He respected all religions, but did not believe in the conversion of one person by another, because religion is such a deeply personal thing.
After nearly 20 years in South Africa, the government fulfilled many of Gandhi’s, including recognition of Indian marriages, and abolition of the poll tax. With his work in South Africa complete, Gandhi returned to India in 1914, at the age of 45. While supporting the British in World War I, he began to become interested in Home Rule for India, and became a dominant influence in the National Congress movement. Although facing a new challenge, Gandhi’s philosophies remained unchanged: non-violent, non-cooperation. During his civil disobedience campaign Gandhi was jailed many times, and British soldiers killed many of his followers. In 1930 he led one of the most widely known demonstration during his campaign in which he led a 200-mile march to the sea to collect salt, in symbolic defiance of the government...