Gandhi and the World Environmental Crisis

The most important and enduring lesson Gandhi taught is that nonviolence and peace-making are not just activities we engage in when time permits or circumstances require, but are, and should be, part of everyday life. 'Ahimsa' is not something that answers only to a specific need, and it does not merely flow on demand, as waterfrom a tap. Using a different metaphor, Gandhi says, 'Non-violence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our very being' (Gandhi, 1948: I, 61). This much is well known. What is not so well known or studied, however, are the implications of his position for a worldfacing an increasingly serious state of environmental crisis. In this essay, I wish to explore such a theme.