[108]"The Gospel of Swadeshi," Madras, 1922.
[109]In this "Gospel," however, are words of great moral force and beauty. Exert no vengeance. "That which is passed is passed. The past cannot be called back; it is part of eternity and man has no recourse against it. Do not try to exert reprisals as punishment for past injustice and offence! Let the dead past bury its dead. Act in the living present, heart within and God o'erhead."
The cold purity of the glaciers blows through the book, from one end to the other.
[110]Tagore was particularly sensitive to such writings since there had sprung up a sort of rivalry between Gandhi's Ashram (where this "Gospel" was written) and Tagore's Santiniketan, a rivalry which both men tried to smooth out. In an article published February 9, 1922, Gandhi, in "Young India," complains that a journalist misquoted him, making him say things about his Ashram which might be construed as criticisms of Tagore's Santiniketan. Gandhi expresses his respect for Tagore's school and adds, rather humorously, that if he had to determine the superiority of one school over the other, he would vote for Santiniketan, in spite of the discipline of Ashram. Santiniketan is the older brother, older in age as well as in wisdom, but, says Gandhi, "Let the disciples of Santiniketan beware the growth of little Ashram!
[111]To my mind Gandhi is as universal as Tagore, but in a different way. Gandhi is a universalist through his religious feeling; Tagore is intellectually universal. Gandhi does not exclude any one from the communion of prayer and daily duties, just as the first apostles did not differentiate between Jews and Gentiles but imposed the same moral discipline on both. This is what Gandhi aspires to do, and herein lies his narrowness; not in his heart, which is as large as that of a Christ, but in his spirit of intellectual asceticism and renunciation. (And this, too, is of a Christ!) Gandhi is a universalist of the Middle Ages. While venerating him, we understand and approve Tagore.
[112]September 1, 1921.
[PART THREE]
§ 1
In 1921 the non-coöperation movement evolved rapidly. The whole year was one of uncertainty, expectancy, and violent outbreaks. Gandhi inevitably reflected its oscillations.