ABSTRACT
Mahatma Gandhi is often remembered within the public imagination as a prophet of non-violence. This chapter discusses some important interventions that are ingenuously introduced by Gandhi. It discusses two available ways of locating the self in relation to the other. As in the case of Vivekananda, in the life of Gandhi too it is an outsider who directed him to read the Bhagavad Gita. Gandhi clearly prefers violence or rajas if the choice is between rajas and tamas, though he is clear and consistent in advocating the doctrine of non-violence. Non-violence is generally contrasted with violence. However, Gandhi's idea of non-violence is in a triangular relation with violence and inaction. The relation between Gita and Gandhi that was enabled by these two outsiders falls outside the relation that is highlighted by Paul Hacker. The series of radical departures Gandhi introduces overlaps with the intention of the two Englishmen who inspired him to read the Gita.
