Editing Satyagraha (section)

==Ahimsa and satyagraha==
There is a connection between [[Ahiṃsā|ahimsa]] and satyagraha. Satyagraha is sometimes used to refer to the whole principle of nonviolence, where it is essentially the same as ahimsa, and sometimes used in a "marked" meaning to refer specifically to [[direct action]] that is largely obstructive, for example in the form of civil disobedience.

Gandhi says:
{{quote|It is perhaps clear from the foregoing, that without ahimsa it is not possible to seek and find Truth. Ahimsa and Truth are so intertwined that it is practically impossible to disentangle and separate them. They are like the two sides of a coin, or rather of a smooth unstamped metallic disk. Nevertheless, ahimsa is the means; Truth is the end. Means to be means must always be within our reach, and so ahimsa is our supreme duty.<ref>Gandhi, Mahatma. Non-violent Resistance (Satyagraha). Mineola, N.Y.: Dover, 2001. Print.</ref>}}

=== Defining success ===
Assessing the extent to which Gandhi's ideas of satyagraha were or were not successful in the Indian independence struggle is a complex task. Judith Brown has suggested that "this is a political strategy and technique which, for its outcomes, depends greatly on historical specificities."<ref>Brown, Judith M., "Gandhi and Civil Resistance in India, 1917–47: Key Issues", in Adam Roberts and Timothy Garton Ash (eds.), ''Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The Experience of Non-violent Action from Gandhi to the Present'', Oxford University Press, 2009 [https://books.google.com/books?id=BxOQKrCe7UUC&q=Civil+resistance+and+power+politics p. 57]</ref> The view taken by Gandhi differs from the idea that the goal in any conflict is necessarily to defeat the opponent or frustrate the opponent's objectives, or to meet one's own objectives despite the efforts of the opponent to obstruct these. In satyagraha, by contrast, "The Satyagrahi's object is to convert, not to coerce, the wrong-doer."<ref>Gandhi, M.K. “Requisite Qualifications” ''Harijan'' 25 March 1939</ref> The opponent must be converted, at least as far as to stop obstructing the just end, for this cooperation to take place. There are cases, to be sure, when an opponent, e.g. a dictator, has to be unseated and one cannot wait to convert him. The ''satyagrahi'' would count this a partial success.

=== Means and ends ===
The theory of satyagraha sees means and ends as inseparable obtain an end are wrapped up in and attached to that end. Therefore, it is contradictory to try to use unjust means to obtain justice or to try to use violence to obtain peace. As Gandhi wrote: "They say, 'means are, after all, means'. I would say, 'means are, after all, everything'. As the means so the end.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gandhi |first1=Mahatma |title=All men are brothers : life and thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi as told in his own words |year=2005 |orig-year=1960 |publisher=Navajivan Publishing House |isbn=9789812454249 |url=https://www.mkgandhi.org/amabrothers/allmenarebrothers.htm |access-date=11 December 2020}}</ref> Separating means and ends would ultimately amount to introducing a form of duality and inconsistency at the core of Gandhi's non-dual (Advaitic) conception.<ref>Cristina Ciucu, "Being Truthful to Reality. Grounds of Nonviolence in Ascetic and Mystical Traditions" in  Sudhir Chandra (dir.), ''Violence and Non-violence across Time. History, Religion and Culture'', Routledge / Taylor & Francis, Londres & New York, 2018, pp. 247-314.</ref>

Gandhi used an example to explain this: "If I want to deprive you of your watch, I shall certainly have to fight for it; if I want to buy your watch, I shall have to pay for it; and if I want a gift, I shall have to plead for it; and, according to the means I employ, the watch is stolen property, my own property, or a donation."<ref>{{cite book |last1=M.K. |first1=Gandhi |title=Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule |date=1938 |publisher=Navajivan Publishing House |chapter=16 |edition=1 |url=https://www.mkgandhi.org/hindswaraj/hindswaraj.htm |access-date=11 December 2020}}</ref>
Gandhi rejected the idea that injustice should, or even could, be fought against "by any means necessary"—if you use violent, coercive, unjust means, whatever ends you produce will necessarily embed that injustice.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gandhi |first1=M. K. |title=Voice of Truth (Selected Works of Mahatma Gandhi: Volume V) |publisher=Navajivan Trust |chapter=12 |year=1927 |isbn=81-7229-008-X |url=https://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/voice-of-truth/index.php |access-date=11 December 2020}}</ref> However, in [[Hind Swaraj]] Gandhi admits that even though his book argues that machinery is bad, it was produced by machinery, which he says can do nothing good. Thus, he says, "sometimes poison is used to kill poison" and for that reason as long as machinery is viewed as bad it can be used to undo itself.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gandhi |first1=Mohandas |title=Hind Swaraj |date=1938-11-12 |publisher=Navajivan Publishing House |page=85 |url=https://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/hind_swaraj.pdf}}</ref> This implies that sometimes, bad means can achieve positive ends.

=== Satyagraha versus duragraha ===
The essence of satyagraha is that it seeks to eliminate antagonisms without harming the antagonists themselves, as opposed to violent resistance, which is meant to cause harm to the antagonist. A satyagrahi therefore does not seek to end or destroy the relationship with the antagonist, but instead seeks to transform or "purify" it to a higher level. A euphemism sometimes used for satyagraha is that it is a "silent force" or a "soul force" (a term also used by Martin Luther King Jr. during his famous "[[I Have a Dream]]" speech). It arms the individual with moral power rather than physical power. Satyagraha is also termed a "universal force," as it essentially "makes no distinction between kinsmen and strangers, young and old, man and woman, friend and foe."<ref name="rules">Gandhi, M.K. “Some Rules of Satyagraha” ''Young India (Navajivan)'' 23 February 1930 (''The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi'' vol. 48, p. 340)</ref>

Gandhi contrasted satyagraha (holding on to truth) with "duragraha" (holding on by force), as in protest meant more to harass than enlighten opponents. He wrote: "There must be no impatience, no barbarity, no insolence, no undue pressure. If we want to cultivate a true spirit of democracy, we cannot afford to be intolerant. Intolerance betrays want of faith in one's cause."<ref>R. K. Prabhu & U. R. Rao, editors; from section [http://www.mkgandhi.org/momgandhi/chap34.htm “Power of Satyagraha,”] of the book [http://www.mkgandhi.org/momgandhi/momindex.htm The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220083923/http://mkgandhi.org/momgandhi/momindex.htm |date=20 December 2010 }}, Ahemadabad, India, Revised Edition, 1967.</ref>

Civil disobedience and non-cooperation as practised under satyagraha are based on the "law of suffering",<ref>Gandhi, M.K. “The Law of Suffering” ''Young India'' 16 June 1920</ref> a doctrine that the endurance of suffering is a means to an end. This end usually implies a moral uplift or progress of an individual or society. Therefore, the non-cooperation of satyagraha is in fact a means to secure the cooperation of the opponent that is consistent with truth and justice.