Gandhi and the Gita Faisal Devji

Faisal Devji (born 1964) is a historian who specializes in studies of Islam, globalization, violence and ethics. He is Professor of Indian History at the University of Oxford and Director of the Asian Studies Centre at St Antony's College

Like many of his contemporaries, Gandhi saw the Bhagavad-Gita as a text of dharma. Since its teaching seemed to counsel killing, however, the Mahatma was often asked if it did not in fact contradict his ideal of non-violence. While he thought the great battle recounted by the text was a depiction of some inner struggle, Gandhi nevertheless accepted dying and killing as a duty on occasion. This lecture will demonstrate how such an idea of duty was congruent with the Mahatma’s non-violence