Influence of Different Texts and Religions on M.K. Gandhi’s Philosophy of Peace

Abstract

Peace refers to both internal peace as well as external peace. M.K. Gandhi believed that the path of truth is the path of peace and he added a new facet of non-violence to the world of philosophy to find the path of truth. He wanted to build a world of peace based on non-violence where there would be no war, no revolution and no bloodshed. He said that peace would not come until the great powers boldly take decision to disarm them. So there needs to be a limit on the production of swords in the world just like the production of opium because swords are probably the cause of more human misery than opium. Violence can never be beneficial to mankind. So violence has to be completely given up in the world affairs and it is possible when love and non-violence are the rules of human existence. In fact he believed that peace can be established through non-violence. It has to be said that in adopting the principle of non-violence and truth. Gandhi was influenced by various religions such as Vaishnavism, Jainism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam apart from texts.