Tolstoy and Anarchism and Gandhi

[Hawk1981]

Leo Tolstoy contemplated his existence for decades. In a restless quest to ascertain meaning to life when death could be the only ultimate outcome, he searched the writings of the great thinkers of science, religion philosophy. As he later noted in What I Believe (1884), Tolstoy found not only the meaning to the Bible, but also the solution to his existential anxiety in this selection from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount:

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,' But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you."

The implications to Tolstoy were revolutionary and indicated to him the basis for a new organization of society based on literal Christian interpretation and anarchist principles. Tolstoy observed that mankind has always been caught in a vicious cycle of tit-for-tat evil and violence. People are constantly trying to resist evil with evil, and to deal violently with issues of violence, and to wage war to avoid another war. Reflecting on Jesus' advice, Tolstoy realized that the destructive power of evil, anger and revenge could only be overpowered by a patient cycle of love, forgiveness and sacrifice.

First published in 1894, Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God is Within You describes the principles of nonviolence when confronted by violence. Describing the messages taught by the church, which was merged with the state and fully supported the state's policies, as being contrary to the true meaning of the message in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Tolstoy takes the viewpoint that all governments who wage war, and churches who in turn support those governments, are an affront to the Christian principles of nonviolence and nonresistance. In his book, Tolstoy calls for a society based on compassion, nonviolent principles and freedom.

Leo Tolstoy

The book's emotional and moral appeal lies in Tolstoy's emphasis on fair treatment of the poor and the working class. His view of Christianity as a workable philosophy and not as a mystical religion extends its appeal to secular and religious readers. Drawing on the history of nonviolence from the foundations of Christianity, Tolstoy confronts those who would maintain the status quo in this passage from his book:

"That this social order with its pauperism, famines, prisons, gallows, armies and wars is necessary to society; that still greater disaster would ensue if this organization were destroyed; all this is said only by those who profit by this organization, while those who suffer from it - and they are ten times as numerous - think and say quite the contrary."

In his autobiography, Mohandas Gandhi wrote that Tolstoy's message "overwhelmed" him and "left an abiding impression" when he first read it as a young protester living at the time in South Africa. Gandhi declared it to be a source of "independent thinking, profound morality and truthfulness." Later Gandhi noted that The Kingdom of God is Within You was one of the three most important influences of his life. Tolstoy and Gandhi maintained a correspondence from 1909 until Tolstoy's death the following year. The influence on Gandhi was apparent on his organization of nationwide nonviolent strikes and protests in India from 1920 through the successful struggle for Indian independence in 1947.

Mohandas Gandhi

In response to critics who called his ideas utopian and unrealistic, Tolstoy said:

"It may be affirmed that the constant fulfillment of this rule is difficult, and that not every man will find his happiness in obeying it. It may be said that it is foolish; that as unbelievers pretend, Jesus was a visionary, an idealist, whose impracticable rules were only followed due to the stupidity of his disciples. But it is impossible not to admit that Jesus did say very clearly and very definitely that which he intended to say: namely, that men should not resist evil; and that therefore he who accepts his teaching cannot resist."

 

[Hawk1981]

Tolstoy was studying Law and Oriental Languages in the University of Kazan when he first came in contact with Indian culture. Following Tolstoy’s participation in the Free Hindustan magazine which published his A Letter to a Hindu (1908), with which he responded to the editor’s request to share his vision on the situation of India, Gandhi wrote to Tolstoy giving rise to a fluid correspondence.

Both thinkers exchanged their opinions concerning the state of the world, and coincided in recognizing non-violence as the only path towards change. Gandhi, influenced by the Hindu law of ahimsa (non-violence), saw his inclinations bolstered by the Russian’s passionate review of the message of Jesus Christ, specifically of the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus called pacifiers sons of God.

As Gandhi notes in his introduction to Tolstoy's book:

"If we do not want the English in India we must pay the price. Tolstoy indicates it. 'Do not resist evil, but also do not yourselves participate in evil—in the violent deeds of the administration of the law courts, the collection of taxes and, what is more important, of the soldiers, and no one in the world will enslave you', passionately declares the sage of Yasnaya Polyana."