Mohandas’s Talisman

on October 2, 2008

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Kartikey Sehgal

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s ‘talisman’, written just before his death in 1948, is popular and often finds its way in school books. It is often understood as

* The feeling of pity for the poor,

* A call for social service

* Absence of ego in humans.

Here is an interpretation that talks about the individual and her talents instead of a sense of pity for the society.

 

“I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?
Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away.”

Source

 

“Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen”

The poorest man or woman is not the beggar or the leper. It is the person without self-belief who could be a leper or a millionaire.

Mohandas does not say that everybody should apply his talisman; only those who are unsure about their self, their actions and decisions need to apply the talisman. It is understood that others, who are sure of their decisions, would do their best to achieve their full potential. They would invent machines or write literature; build bridges and excel in sports. Such people do not need the talisman. But sometimes people place their self much above their work. After creating a new medicine, a doctor stops working. She holds herself more important than the medicine she has created. Subsequently, “when the self becomes too much with you”, she compares herself-not her work- to the greatest paintings and sculptures, to the best bridges and the most remarkable work of humans.

To get out of this rut, Mohandas asks you to apply his talisman. It does not mean you stop being a doctor and join the social service sector. It means that you balance “too much of yourself” with people without a self. Once you reach your real self, then you can start working again and give importance to your work and create more medicines.

I have often heard that Mohandas’s talisman means that we do work that benefits the society. This is not true. People get carried away by “poorest and the weakest man”. They don’t read “swaraj for the hungry and spiritually starving millions”.

Swaraj implies self dependence. It means that the hungry are able to get food for themselves and not depend on others to make their living.

Therefore, when you discover that you are too full with your self, you must realize that there are people who are not in the position to even think about their self. They don’t know much about their self. They are the “spiritually starving millions”.

Mohandas says that you must ask yourself whether your step is going to be of any use to people who have lost their spirit, their self. You can help them only by helping your self, by not fussing over power and wealth but creating the next masterpiece. This masterpiece would be the medicine for the spiritually starving millions. When they see the power of human creation, they will be encouraged to apply their own talents, which will subsequently give them money, feed their stomachs and also their starving spirits.

 

“Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny?”

You can not give away your self and ask others to have a self. When Mohandas says, “Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away” he means that you will find your excessive self melt away; the self that made you stop your work or indulge in mediocre work.

Mohandas’s talisman is meant to make you the best worker. It does not mean that a singer stops singing classical music for a few to sing ribaldrous songs for the millions. It only means that the singer step down from the pretence of false ego and sing the best classical songs. The singer has to remember that her soulful singing (“the step”) would be of use to the unexplored talents of people and inspire them.

The singer can, of course, remain full of her self and distribute food to the poor. That wouldn’t be useful to anybody.

 

I am a well-known artist and I feel that now I can’t produce any good work.

I recall the face of that man who begged me for work and said that he would sell his soul for it. How can I help him? By getting my photo published in every newspaper? No. I can work better and not stop till I create my next work. When that man sees my work, he will rise above his helplessness. He too will work till he achieves his goal. He will not beg and talk about soul-selling.

And me… with my work, I will find my false self melt and I will be my self again. That’s my talisman.

 

Photograph by Bruno Leyal. Source

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