Abstract

The duties that Gandhi believed we should follow came chiefly from the Jain religion, whose main precept is ahimsa—perhaps the only word I understood in the second musical piece performed for us earlier by Sudha Ragunathan. Ahimsa means non-harm or nonviolence, for which we gather here today. Another important precept for Gandhi and the Jains is Truth. But it is important to understand why Gandhi himself attached so much importance to these precepts of nonviolence and Truth. Gandhi said, "God is Truth, Truth is God." And he meant that quite literally. He believed that God comprised all of reality, that reality comprised Truth, and that to understand all of reality was to realize God. He believed that we should pursue God, pursue Truth.