Non-Violence as an Ethical Principle: With Special Reference to the Views of Mahatma Gandhi

The book opens with an introduction to the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, emphasizing that Gandhi did not construct a closed academic system but reinterpreted inherited Indian ethical principles for modern life. The study then defines ahiṃsā through early and contemporary meanings, including non-injury, reverence for life, love, non-exploitation, and the active assistance of living beings. It proceeds to trace the history of ahiṃsā in Brahmanism, Jainism, Buddhism, and major Indian philosophical schools. Later chapters examine the root of ahiṃsā, the meaning of hiṃsā, the relation between violence and niṣkāma karma, and the negative and positive modes of non-violence. The work further discusses voluntary suffering, non-resistance, love, truthfulness, self-control, asteya, aparigraha, peace, justice, non-violent social order, and the moral treatment of vegetable, animal, and subhuman life. The final chapters respond to common criticisms of ahiṃsā, including the claims that life is impossible without violence, that violence is natural to human beings, that non-violence is weakness, and that history is governed by violence.