MAN has a tendency to cling to catch-words and to allow his action to be determined by them almost mechanically without bringing his action into direct relation with the living perception which these words embody. Going behind words Words have their own place and use in life, but if action is to be intelligent, it is imperatively necessary that the meaning which these words are intended to convey should be carefully analysed and fixed. Among the words which need such exploration few are as important as “violence” and “non-violence.” They have a direct bearing upon the ideologies which shape not only particular actions but also the entire tenor of life.
Spiritual life is a matter of perception and not of mechanical conformity to rules, even when these rules are meant to stand for the highest values. Spiritual understanding goes beyond formulations It implies an understanding which goes beyond all words or formulations. All words and formulations have a tendency to limit the Truth. Therefore those who seek to bring out the spirit underlying these formulations often have to launch upon a searching analysis of the formulated principles, and supplement this analysis by constantly retaining touch
with concrete examples taken from life. This is particularly true of those guiding principles formulated through the opposite concepts of violence and non-violence.
The words “violence” and “non-violence” are, in ordinary references, applicable to such diverse situations in practical life that no exposition of the issues involved can be complete, unless it Starting with representative situationstakes note of these diverse situations and uses them as a starting point. However, for the purpose of exposition, it is not necessary to exhaust numerically all the possible diversities which would be covered by these words. It is enough to consider some of the most representative situations. The representative situations mentioned below have been selected because of their capacity to shed abundant light on the fundamental values which centre round the concepts of violence and non-violence.
Situation No. 1. Suppose a man, who does not know how to swim, has fallen into a lake and is drowning and that there is another person nearby who is good at swimming and wants to Case of drowning man save him. The drowning man has a tendency to grasp desperately at the person who comes to his help and the hold is often so restricting that it may not only make it impossible to save the drowning man, but may even cause the drowning of the one who came to help. The one who wishes to save the drowning man must therefore strike him unconscious by hitting him on the head before he can help him. Striking the drowning man on the head under such circumstances cannot be looked upon either as violence or nonviolence.
Situation No. 2. Suppose a man is suffering from some disease which can only be cured through an
