Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Drishtikone

Home
Hindu
The Real Gandhi: Schizophrenic and a Sadist

The Real Gandhi: Schizophrenic and a Sadist

Last updated on: May 12, 2009 at 7:56 am by Desh Kapoor

The Real Gandhi: Schizophrenic and a Sadist 2009-05-12T07:56:09-05:00 Desh Kapoor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Gandhi was a schizophrenic at best and a crazy guy at worst. He was shrewd and knew how to get his work done and get his way without ever taking any responsibility for any decision. I want to bring here some quotes from books, people and Gandhi himself which make it clear as to what I just said.

Jews, Hitler and Palestine

“But the German persecution of the Jews seems to have no parallel in history. The tyrants of old never went so mad as Hitler seems to have gone. And he is doing it with religious zeal. For he is propounding a new religion of exclusive and militant nationalism in the name of which many inhumanity becomes an act of humanity to be rewarded here and hereafter. The crime of an obviously mad but intrepid youth is being visited upon his whole race with unbelievable ferocity. If there ever could be a justifiable war in the name of and for humanity, a war against Germany, to prevent the wanton persecution of a whole race, would be completely justified. But I do not believe in any war. A discussion of the pros and cons of such a war is therefore outside my horizon or province. “

Article that Appeared in Harijan on November 26, 1938 (Source: Gandhi on Jews)

Then he writes a letter to Hitler in 1941 to say:[1]

“Nor do I believe that you are the monster described by your opponents.”

But what surprises one is the prescription his gives then to the Jews later on.

I mentioned the subject to Gandhi in 1946 when Hitler was dead. “Hitler,” Gandhi said, “killed five million Jews. It is the greatest crime of our time. But the Jews should have offered themselves to the butcher’s knife. They should have thrown themselves into the sea from cliffs… It would have aroused the world and the people of Germany… As it is they succumbed anyway in their millions.”

Remember what he says about the Jews’ claim to Palestine vs that of Arabs in the first quote above? Now, here he turns around to say:

I told Sidney Silverman, the British M.P., that the Jews have a good case. If the Arabs have a claim to Palestine, the Jews have a prior claim because they were there first.

Advise to the British on Hitler and Mussolini

Of course, his non-violence somehow always gave the Violent a “free run” and Victim was left to do the sacrifice:[1]

In 1940, when the British Isles appeared to be on the verge of invasion by the Axis powers, Gandhi offered the following advice to the people of England: “I would like you to lay down the arms you have as being useless for saving you or humanity. You will invite Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini to take what they want of the countries you call your possessions. … If these gentlemen choose to occupy your homes, you will vacate them. If they do not give you free passage out, you will allow yourselves, man, woman, and child, to be slaughtered, but you will refuse to owe allegiance to them.”

******** ********

Gandhi on the British Empire in 1914:

“When Gandhi left South Africa, he still believed in the British empire. though tentatively. “Though Empires have gone and fallen, this empire may perhaps be an exception….it is an empire not founded on material but on spiritual foundations….the British constitution. Tear away those ideals and you tear away my loyalty to the British constitution; keep those ideals and I am ever a bondsman”.

(Source: Martin Green, Gandhi: Voice of a New Age Revolutionary, p. 208)

OKAYYY… WTF was that? Spiritual Foundation?? British Empire on Spiritual Foundation???

Gandhi on Wars by Britain.

Now remember he was a non-violent man – or so we are supposed to believe. And WAR.. is a specialized kind of violence… right? So, this is how he supports the British Wars:

“To return to London in wartime: Gandhi quickly raised his ambulance corps amongst the Indians in England. As before, he had offered his volunteers for any kind of military duty, but the authorities preferred medical workers”……. “Many of his friends did not approve the project. Olive Schreiner, who was in London, wrote him that she was struck to the heart with sorrow to hear that he had offered to serve the English government in this evil war – this wicked cause”.

(Source: Martin Green, Gandhi: Voice of a New Age Revolutionary, p. 247)

And no, it was not always entirely for the “peace loving/humanitarian” causes of medical duty etc. Here is what he did in 1915 on his return to India. He kept organizing “War Recruitment Melas” during those days.

“Gandhi himself had twice volunteered for service in this war, in France and in Mesopotamia, because he had convinced himself that he owed the empire that sacrifice in return for it’s military protection.”

(Source: Martin Green, Gandhi: Voice of a New Age Revolutionary, p. 267)

“Military protection”??? Protection of whom or what?? Were the Brits protecting their ASSETS in India or the Indians? Do we even get the height of Gandhian nonsense?

****** ********

Chaura-Chauri

However, his non-violent streak always awoke, as we have remarkably noticed… when the Victim gets hit and retaliates against the Violent. Here is Gandhi’s quote after Chaura Chauri.

God has been abundantly kind to me. He has warned me the third time that there is not yet in India that truthful and non-violent atmosphere which and which alone can justify mass disobedience….which means gentle, truthful, humble, knowing, never criminal and hateful. He warned me in 1919 when the Rowlatt Act agitation was started. Ahmedabad, Viramgam, and Kheda erred. Amritsar and Kasur erred. I retraced my steps, called it a Himalayan miscalculation, humbled myself before God and man, and stopped not merely mass civil disobedience but even my own which I knew to be civil and non-violent” .

(Source: Collected Works, vol. 22, p.415-21)

Did you notice how he brings in God… and professes how his words are somehow “sanctioned” by God? May so-called Saints, Prophets and God-men have used this “sanction” to perpetuate violence, abuse, and subjugation on people over the centuries. No wonder Gandhi has this aura of a “God-man”.

To this Subhash Bose had retorted:

“To sound the order of retreat just when public enthusiasm was reaching the boiling point was nothing short of a national calamity. The principal lieutenants of the Mahatma, Deshbandhu Das, Pandit Motilal Nehru and Lala Lajpat Rai, who were all in prison, shared the popular resentment. I was with the Deshbandu at the time, and I could see that he was beside himself with anger and sorrow.”

(Source: The Indian Struggle, p.90)

Gandhi on Bhagat Singh/Sukhdev/Rajguru hanging

“The government certainly had the right to hang these men. However, there are some rights which do credit to those who possess them only if they are enjoyed in name only.”

(Source: Collected Works, vol. 45, p.359-61, in Gujarati)

First sentence is obvious in its meaning. In the second sentence, he appears to be defending the RIGHT of British to use the “Authority” they have being an imperial power. Otherwise, he argues, it will be a “power in name only”! Excuse me, but nothing in my reading of Indian history and no other political figure has as much nauseated as Gandhi with this quote justifying the hangings of Bhagat Singh/Sukhdev/Rajguru!!

And…. then the TURNAROUND.. after the hanging on March 23, 1931.

Bhagat Singh and his two associates have been hanged. The Congress made many attempts to save their lives and the Government entertained many hopes of it, but all has been in a vain.

Bhagat Singh did not wish to live. He refused to apologize, or even file an appeal. Bhagat Singh was not a devotee of non-violence, but he did not subscribe to the religion of violence. He took to violence due to helplessness and to defend his homeland. In his last letter, Bhagat Singh wrote –” I have been arrested while waging a war. For me there can be no gallows. Put me into the mouth of a cannon and blow me off.” These heroes had conquered the fear of death. Let us bow to them a thousand times for their heroism.

But we should not imitate their act. In our land of millions of destitute and crippled people, if we take to the practice of seeking justice through murder, there will be a terrifying situation. Our poor people will become victims of our atrocities. By making a dharma of violence, we shall be reaping the fruit of our own actions.

Hence, though we praise the courage of these brave men, we should never countenance their activities. Our dharma is to swallow our anger, abide by the discipline of non-violence and carry out our duty.

Gandhi’s article in Young India March 29, 1931

Ok, so can the REAL Gandhi please stand up??

Do you see the complete turnarounds and schizophrenic personality?

Reference Links:

1. Gandhi was anti-black, charges new biography

India

Previous Post

May 12, 2009

Gandhi on Jews

Next Post

May 14, 2009 US Af-Pak expert echoes Drishtikone's warning

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Aarti Achievement and Leadership AfPak Africa Annual and Year-end Asia Audio Australia Behavioural Sciences Bhagwad Gita Bhagwad Gita Blogging Blogs Business Business Intelligence Business Strategy Cannes Careers Chanakya China Conservation Corruption Creative Daily Links Desh Poems Development & Welfare Devotional Audio Devotional Songs Drama Earth Economics Education Entertainment Environment Europe Everyday Quotes Featured Articles Featured Songs Finance Flickr Pictures Food Geo-Political Global Warming Globalization Health & Medicine Hinduism Historic History Humour India Indian Culture Indian music Indian Weddings Israel Issues Legal Link Love Minorities Misc Motivation and Personal Development Movie Lists Movie Reviews Movies Mumbai terror attacks Natural Disasters Nature News Outsourcing Pakistan Parenting Personal Philosophy Poetry Politics Poverty Quotes Recipe Regular Blog Post Relationships Religion Religious/Spiritual Audio Sciences Showcase Slideshow South Asia Special Stories Spiritual Quotes Spirituality Sports Stories Strategy Technology Technology Terrorism Travel Uncategorized US Video Women Women_s Rights Worship Yoga

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 June 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 September 2014 August 2014 January 2014 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Bethsaida" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

House of Fishing City of Refuge Place of Bread God’s Dwelling