90

A PILGRIMAGE FOR PEACE

life. He used to be a tyrant at home, he said. His tyranny
was the tyranny of love. " 1 used to let loose my anger
upon her. But she bore it ail meekly and uncomplain-
ingly. I had a notion that it was her duty to obey me, her
lord and master, in everything. But her unresisting meek-
ness opened my eyes and slowly it began to dawn upon
me that I had no such prescriptive right over her. If I
wanted her obedience, I had first to persuade her by
patient argument. She thus became my teacher in non-
violence. And I dare say, I have not had a more loyal and
faithful comrade in life. I literaUy used to make life a
hell for her. Every other day I would change my resi-
dence, prescribe what dress she was to wear. She had
"been brought up in an orthodox family where untouch-
•ability was observed. Muslims and untouchables used to
frequent our house. I made her serve them all regardless
of her innate reluctance. But she never said ' no '. She
was not educated in the usual sense of the term and was
simple and unsophisticated. Her guileless simplicity con-
quered me completely."
" You have all wives, mothers and sisters at home/'
continued Gandhiji. " You can take the lesson of non-
violence from them. You must besides take the vow of
truth, ask yourselves how dear truth is to you and how
far you observe it in thought, word and deed. A person
who is not truthful is far away from non-violence. Un-
truth itself is violence."
Referring to the month of Ramzan that had just set
in, he told them how it could be used to make a start in
non-violence. " We seem to think that the observance of
Ramzan begins and ends with abstention from food and
drink. We think nothing of losing temper over trifles or
indulging in abuse during the sacred month of Ramzan.
If there is the slightest delay in serving the repast at
the time of the breaking of the fast, the poor wife is hauled
over live coals. I do not call it observing the Ramzan,
but its travesty. If you really want to cultivate non-vio-
lence, you should take a pledge that come what may, you
will not give way to anger or order about members of