The Isavasya Riddle

To understand Mahatma Gandhi’s position on political economy, one must go to the first few verses of his favourite Upanishad.JAITHIRTH RAO

 

- Jaithirth Rao

MAHATMA GANDHI continues to be quoted by people of different political persuasions. He is seen by some as a “friend of capitalists” and by others as a “votary of socialism”. It is my contention that in order to understand Gandhi’s position on political economy, one needs to understand the sources of Gandhi’s ideas. Who influenced him and how? Gandhi was an English barrister and clearly Common Law concerns about trusts and trusteeship were part of his education and training. He was very friendly with Quakers, who almost certainly influenced him with respect to pacifism. Quakers have also had fairly strong views on issues like slavery, wealth, inherited wealth and so on. In the religious field, the influences of the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramcharitmanas, Gujarati Vaishnava hymns and the Sermon on the Mount are well-known. In this article, I propose to review the influence that the Isavasya Upanishad had on Gandhi and how it accounts for his surprisingly unusual and radical views on wealth, capitalism and trusteeship.