By Richard Jaeggi
September, 2007

By a remarkable coincidence of history, September 11, that terrible watershed day in American history, is also the very day that Mohandas Gandhi remembered as the beginnings of his Satyagraha movement. In 1906 the Transvaal government in South Africa had proposed a new ordinance that would require all Indians to register with the government and to carry at all times a special pass— under penalty of imprisonment or deportation.
This was a crisis event for the Indian community of South Africa; it threatened to deprive them of both dignity and security. On September 11, 1906, the young lawyer from Rajkot organized a meeting of the leading citizens at which he presented a resolution that stated that Indians should refuse to submit to the proposed law without regard to the penalties this would entail.
Speakers gave fiery speeches against the ordinance but, as recounted in his book, Satyagraha in South Africa, one speaker in particular startled Gandhi. A Moslem named Habib ended his impassioned speech in favor of the resolution by enjoining God in his declaration that he would never to submit to the degrading legislation.
Gandhi relates that he was deeply surprised, even disturbed by the man’s declaration of religious oath; he was at once conscious of how such an oath differed from the ordinary sort of resolution. It was not at all uncommon for a collective body to make a resolution, Gandhi observed, and then to later amend or even ignore that resolution altogether. This happens all the time and no one thinks much of it. A religious oath on the other hand is entirely different. It is an oath of conscience that is only made rarely and with complete seriousness. A resolution of this type is never passed by a majority vote but can only be undertaken by an individual in the presence of his God.
This recognition of the power of unshakable religious commitment in the context of political action is at the core of Gandhi’s method. Much more than mere “passive resistance;” Satyagraha, or Truth Force, is the power of an individual soul unconditionally devoted to God. For Gandhi, Truth was God. He believed that Satyagraha was not simply more moral than violence but that it was more powerful. A practitioner of Satyagraha was able to conquer men of violence by fearlessly refusing to accept injustice or indignity under any compulsion, preferring instead to suffer violence, or even death.
As we mark the passing of the sixth year since the attack of September 11, 2001, we Americans must not fall back asleep. More than ever we must be alert to the world we live in and conscious of the spirit that moves us. We must wrestle with the deep meaning of this day and refuse to accept ready-made answers. Do not be seduced by the patriotic cynics who would make this day a shibboleth for war (and profits) without end. Neither should we join the sleepers who are eager to return to the blissful ignorance of a self-absorbed America. We stand in mortal danger and our ignorance will only compound it.
Gandhi’s message offers little comfort to a rich and powerful nation. He would oppose our global economic ambitions as surely as he opposed the economic ambitions of Britain in his day. He would reject our materialism, our secularism, and our love of technology. He would absolutely reject our military prowess. In fact, excepting the willingness to kill in the name of God (no small exception) Gandhi’s world view has more in common with Osama bin Laden than it does with Pax Americana.
But if Gandhi’s message offers little comfort to America it does offer hope. The cycle of violence is painfully obvious to all but the most