Gandhi's Plea for the Soul
the soul," he said in conclusion, "it must be recognised that soul force is better than body force: it is the sacred principle of love which moves mountains. To us is the responsibility of living out this sacred law; we are not concerned with results."
Mr. Gandhi protested against the mad rush of to-day and, instead of blessing the means by which modern science has made this mad rush possible, that is, railways, motors, telegraph, telephone, and even the coming flying machines, he declared that they were diverting man's thoughts from the main purpose of life; bodily comfort stood before soul growth; man had no time to-day even to know himself; he preferred a newspaper or sport or other things rather than to be left alone with himself for thought. He claimed Ruskin as on his side in this expression to protest against the drive and hurry of modern civilisation. He did not describe this development of material science as exclusively British, but he considered that its effect in India had been baneful in many ways. He instanced the desecration of India's holy places, which he said were no longer holy for the "fatal facility" of locomotion had brought to those places people whose only aim
11
