602 NON-CO-OPERATION
sorry for their separation from you. Many, besides you, miss their genial faces. For me they had. become in- separable. I seem to be without my arms. For anything connected with Mussalmans, Shaukat Ali was my guide and friend. He never once misled me. His judgment was sound and unerring in most cases. With the Brothers among us, I felt safe about Hindu-Muslim unity whose work they understood as few of us have.
But whilst we all miss them, we must not give way to grief or dejection. We must learn, each one of us, to stand alone, God only is dur infallible and eternal Guide.
To be dejected is not only not to have known the Brothers, but it is, if I may venture to say so, not to know what religion is.
For do we not learn in all religions that the spirit of the dear ones abides with us even when they physic- ally leav us. Not only is the spirit of the Brothers with us, but they are serving better by their suffering than if they were in our midst giving us some of their oourage, hope and energy. The secret of non-violence and non-co-operation lies in our realising that it is through suffering that we are to attain our goal. What is the renunciation of titles, councils, law courts and schools, but a measure, very slight indeed, of suffering* That preliminary renunciation is a prelude to the larger suffering the hardships of a gaol life and even the final consummation on the gallows if need be. The more we suffer and the more of us suffer, the nearer we are to our cherished goal.
The earlier and the more clearly we recognise tnai it is not big meetings and demonstrations that, would
�� �
