138 " A PILGRIMAGE FOR PEACE
now to move a step further. Their conception of non-
violence has to be broadened and their practice of it, espe-
cially in its positive aspects, to be made fuller and deeper,
if they are to come out successful in the final heat. Non-
violence is not mere disarmament. Nor is it the weapon
-of the weak and the impotent. A child who has not the
strength to wield the lathi does not practise non-violence.
llore powerful than armaments, non-violence is a unique
force that has come into the world. He who has not learnt
to recognize in it a weapon infinitely more potent than
brute force has not understood its true nature. This non--
violence cannot be l taught' by word of mouth. But it can
foe kindled in our heart through the grace of God, in
answer to earnest prayer. It is stated that today there are
•one lakh of Khudai Khidmatgars who have adopted non-
violence as their creed. But before them as early as 1920,
Badshah Khan had come to recognize in non-violence a
\veapon, the mightiest in the world, and his choice was
made. Eighteen years of practice of non-violence have
only strengthened his faith in it. He has seen how it has
made his people fearless and strong. The prospect of
losing a paltry job used to unnerve them. They feel
different beings today. At three score and ten, my faith
in non-violence today burns brighter than ever. People
say to me, ' Your programme of non-violence has been
before the country now for nearly two decades, but where
is the promised independence ? y My reply is that although
the creed of non-violence was professed by millions, it
was practised by but a few and that, too, as a policy only.
But with all that the result that has been achieved is
sufficiently striking to encourage me to carry on the ex-
periment with the Khudai Khidmatgars, and God willing,
It will succeed."
Gandhiji left Abbottabad to return to Sevagram on
the morning of 9th November. On his way, he paid a
visit to the famous archaelogical remains of Taxila. The
journey was done under the shadow of impending parting.
Four weeks of the closest communion in the common quest
of non-violence had brought Gandhiji ever so much closer