What is Swaraj?
What is Swaraj?
The concept of swaraj, or self-rule, was developed during the Indian freedom struggle. In his book Hind Swaraj (1909), Gandhi sought to clarify that the meaning behind swaraj was much more than simply "wanting [systems of] English rule without the Englishman; the tiger's nature but not the tiger." The crux of his argument centered on the belief that the socio-spiritual underpinnings of British political, economic, bureaucratic, legal, military, and educational institutions were inherently unjust, exploitative and alienating. As Pinto explicates, "The principal theme of Hind Swaraj is the moral inadequacy of western civilization, especially its industrialism, as the model for free India." Gandhi was particularly critical of the deeply embedded principles of 'might is right', 'greed is good' and 'survival of the fittest'.
On another level, the call for swaraj represents a genuine attempt to reclaim the 'self' - our self-respect, self-responsibility, and capacities for self-definition and self-realization - from narratives and institutions of dehumanization and domination. As Gandhi states, "It is swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves." The real goal of the freedom struggle was not only to secure political azadi (independence) from Britain, but rather to gain true swaraj (liberation, localization and self-rule).
The concept of swaraj, or self-rule, was developed during the Indian freedom struggle. In his book Hind Swaraj (1909), Gandhi sought to clarify that the meaning behind swaraj was much more than simply "wanting [systems of] English rule without the Englishman; the tiger's nature but not the tiger." The crux of his argument centered on the belief that the socio-spiritual underpinnings of British political, economic, bureaucratic, legal, military, and educational institutions were inherently unjust, exploitative and alienating. As Pinto explicates, "The principal theme of Hind Swaraj is the moral inadequacy of western civilization, especially its industrialism, as the model for free India." Gandhi was particularly critical of the deeply embedded principles of 'might is right', 'greed is good' and 'survival of the fittest'.
On another level, the call for swaraj represents a genuine attempt to reclaim the 'self' - our self-respect, self-responsibility, and capacities for self-definition and self-realization - from narratives and institutions of dehumanization and domination. As Gandhi states, "It is swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves." The real goal of the freedom struggle was not only to secure political azadi (independence) from Britain, but rather to gain true swaraj (liberation, localization and self-rule).
What's New in The Ecosystem
Love Letters from #LSuC2020
The Learning Societies Un-Conference is an intergenerational gathering which brings together leading “thinker-doers” from around South Asia who are active in challenging the monopoly of factory-schooling and monoculture, and nurturing diverse learning communities, vernacular traditions, intercultural dialogues, ecological sustainable living, decolonization and swaraj.
Findhorn New Story Hub
The Findhorn Foundation's New Story Hub is a resource centre for anyone engaged in the cocreation of a new evolutionary paradigm. We invite you to join us to accelerate our collective understanding of what might be, what is emerging and what must change, both in us and in the Human Story.
Sustainable Human
Changing the way we think is the most difficult and necessary challenge for our species right now. It's like the old adage that says that "fish don't know they're in water." They're so surrounded by it that it's impossible for them to see. The water is like our ways of thinking. The assumptions we make about life have been so reinforced throughout our lives that we have difficulty seeing them. Yet our survival as a species depends us making the choice to understand, develop, and live from a new manner of thinking.