Latter-day Satyagraha

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Although the word Swaraj means self-rule, Gandhi gave it the content of an integral revolution that encompasses all spheres of life. “At the individual level Swaraj is vitally connected with the capacity for dispassionate self-assessment, ceaseless self-purification and growing self-reliance”. Politically swaraj is self-government and it means a continuous effort to be independent of government control, whether it is foreign government or whether it is national. In other words, it is sovereignty of the people based on pure moral authority. Economically, Swaraj means full economic freedom for the toiling millions. And in its fullest sense, Swaraj is much more than freedom from all restraints, it is self-rule, self-restraint and could be equated with moksha or salvation.

Adopting Swaraj means implementing a system whereby the state machinery is virtually nil, and the real power directly resides in the hands of people. Gandhi said, “Power resides in the people, they can use it at any time.” This philosophy rests inside an individual who has to learn to be master of his own self and spreads upwards to the level of his community which must be dependent only on itself. Gandhi said, “In such a state (where swaraj is achieved) everyone is his own ruler. He rules himself in such a manner that he is never a hindrance to his neighbour”; and also “It is Swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves.”

Since achieving Swaraj could not be possible without the elimination of all forms of domination, Gandhi decided to undertake a number of constructive activities aimed at reducing the dependence of Indians from the British and simultaneously also making them self-reliant. Therefore, he founded many voluntary organisations throughout his life to carry out such social welfare programs. Gandhi also decided to popularise the spinning wheel in India to make hand-spun cloth out of Khadi. The intention was to reduce India’s dependence on foreign made cloth. This movement called The Khadi Movement later gained fame by the term Swadeshi. Gandhi himself spun and weaved cloth from spinning wheels and handlooms in his ashram. The spinning wheel or the Charkha became a symbol of the Indian freedom struggle, and was incorporated into many flags.

Mahatma Gandhi described Swadeshi as “a call to the consumer to be aware of the violence he is causing by supporting those industries that result in poverty and harm to workers and to humans and other creatures.” Gandhi believed that alienation and exploitation often occur when production and consumption are divorced from their social and cultural context, and that local enterprise is a way to avoid these problems. ”Swadeshi is that spirit in us which requires us to serve our immediate neighbours before others, and to use things produced in our neighbourhood in preference to those more remote. So doing, we serve humanity to the best of our capacity. We cannot serve humanity by neglecting our neighbours.”

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The responsibility for our social, emotional, spiritual, physical, and economic well-being rests first on ourselves, second on our family, and third on the Church. Under the inspiration of the Lord and through our own labors, we should supply ourselves and our family with the spiritual and temporal necessities of life.

We are better able to take care of ourselves and our family when we are self-reliant. We are prepared to endure times of adversity without becoming dependent on others.

We can become self-reliant by (1) taking advantage of educational opportunities; (2) practicing sound principles of nutrition and hygiene; (3) preparing for and obtaining suitable employment; (4) storing a supply of food and clothing to the extent the law allows; (5) managing our resources wisely, including paying tithes and offerings and avoiding debt; and (6) developing spiritual, emotional, and social strength.

In order to become self-reliant, we must be willing to work. The Lord has commanded us to work (see Genesis 3:19;D&C 42:42). Honorable work is a basic source of happiness, self-worth, and prosperity. For more information about the Church’s Welfare program, please check: http://www.providentliving.org/