Though Mahatmaji improved upon the word ‘Sadagraha’—suggested by his nephew Maganlal Gandhi [son of Laxmidas Gandhi, elder brother of Mahatmaji] meaning ‘firmness in a good cause’—by renaming it Satyagraha, the way he elaborately explained the difference between Passive Resistance and Satyagraha is worth noting. In that sense, while people occasionally adopt forms of passive resistance even today, both the concept and spirit of Satyagraha seem to have died along with him, now remaining only in the archives of history.
But even understanding this unique “soul-force”—the moral and spiritual essence that sustained Satyagraha—is worthwhile, even if we are unable to live it out fully today in letter and spirit. After all, there is no Mahatma now to lead such a movement, though many may long to follow one.
The following summary, prepared with the help of ChatGPT, offers an overview of Mahatmaji’s reflections on Satyagraha. Still, it is far better to read his own words—if not the entire book, then at least pages 107 to 111 of Satyagraha in South Africa, available at www.mkgandhi.org.
Summary prepared with the help of ChatGPT
In Satyagraha in South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi explained in detail (pp. 107–111) how Satyagraha differs radically from Passive Resistance:
- He initially used “passive resistance” for convenience, but later rejected it, recognizing that it misrepresented his method. While passive resistance implies mere defiance, Satyagraha is rooted in Truth (Satya) and firmness (Agraha)—hence the name.
- Passive resistance may rely on tactics, pressure, or even the threat of violence when circumstances allow. Satyagraha, by contrast, is always nonviolent, no matter the consequence or opposition.
- The goal of passive resistance is often external or political: to change a law or policy. But the aim of Satyagraha is to awaken the conscience of the opponent and transform relationships through moral strength and self-suffering.
- Gandhi described Satyagraha as a weapon not of the weak, but of the strongest, powered by an inner courage he called soul-force. It demands discipline, sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to truth, never retaliation or bitterness.
| Aspect | Passive Resistance | Satyagraha |
| Nature | Unarmed defiance, but tactical | Absolutely nonviolent, principled |
| Use of force | May allow armed escalation | No violence, ever |
| Goal | Resist injustice tactically | Convert adversary, awaken conscience |
| Moral basis | Political strategy | Inner truth, self-suffering, discipline |
| Strength | Power of numbers or leverage | Soul-force, moral courage |
Conclusion (author’s own, with editorial assistance from ChatGPT)
In a time when political and social struggles are often reduced to strategies and headlines, revisiting Gandhi’s distinction reminds us of a deeply moral, spiritual, and transformative path of resistance—not rooted in retaliation, but in the courage to suffer for truth. Of course, we must also recognize that such soul-force seems nearly impossible today, in a world where the clashes of civilizations continue—not only between civilizations (such as Western vs. Eastern, or American vs. Chinese), but also within civilizations themselves (for instance, India vs. Pakistan within the broader South Asian tradition, or Europe vs. Russia within the Western heritage).
Even more troubling are the internal fractures within a single civilization—such as communal violence in India among people who share the same civilizational roots, or ongoing racial tensions in the United States where Black and White Americans still experience deep social divides despite sharing a common national and cultural framework. These conflicts reveal just how distant we are from any shared moral force like Satyagraha.
Ashram, June 25, 2025
Let me know if you’d like to adjust the tone further or condense it for a shorter blog format.
Though Mahatmaji improving the word suggested by Maganlal Gandhi ‘Sadagraha,’ meaning ‘firmness in a good cause.’ to Satyagraha, the way he elaborately explained the difference between Passive Resistance and Satyagraha is worth nothing. In that sense now, occasionally people would follow Passive Resistance now both the concept and spirit of Satyagraha died along with him now remain in the archieve of history. But even to know what is the ‘Soul force’ that remained behind Satyagraha is worth reading if not able to follow both in letter and spirit now as there is no another Mahatma to lead though many would like to follow one such.
Ashram. June 25, 2025
From13. SATYAGRAHA V. PASSIVE RESISTANCE
…I have no idea when the phrase ‘passive resistance’ was first used in English and by whom. But among the English people, whenever a small minority did not approve of some obnoxious piece of legislation, instead of rising in (p.107) rebellion they took the passive or milder step of not submitting to the law and inviting the penalties of such non-submission upon their heads. When the British Parliament passed the Education Act some years ago, the Non-conformists offered passive resistance under the leadership of Dr. Clifford. The great movement of the English women for the vote was also known as passive resistance….Dr. Clifford and his friends had the vote, but as they were in a minority in the Parliament, they could not prevent the passage of the Education Act. That is to say, they were weak in numbers. Not that they were averse to the use of arms for the attainment of their aims, but they had no hope of succeeding by force of arms. And in a well regulated state, recourse to arms every now and then in order to secure popular rights would defeat its own purpose. Again some of the Non conformists would generally object to taking up arms even if it was a practical proposition. The suffragists had no franchise rights….
The suffragist movement did not eschew the use of physical force. Some suffragists fired buildings and even assaulted men. I do not think they ever intended to kill anyone. but they did intend to thrash people when an opportunity occurred, and even thus to make things hot for them. But brute force had absolutely no place in the Indian movement in any circumstances, and the reader will see, as we proceed, that no matter how badly they suffered, the Satyagrahis never used physical force, and that too although there were occasions when they were in a position to use it effectively. Again, although the Indians had no franchise and were weak, these considerations had nothing to do with the organization of Satyagraha. This is not to say, that the Indians would have taken to Satyagraha even if they had possessed arms or the franchise. Probably there would not have been any scope for Satyagraha if they had the franchise. If they had arms, the opposite party would have thought twice before antagonizing them. One can therefore understand, that people who possess arms would have fewer occasions for offering Satyagraha. My point is that I can definitely assert that in planning the (p. 108) Indian movement there never was the slightest thought given to the possibility or otherwise of offering armed resistance. Satyagraha is soul force pure and simple, and whenever and to whatever extent there is room for the use of arms or physical force or brute force, there and to that extent is there so much less possibility for soul force. These are purely antagonistic forces in my view, and I had full realization of this antagonism even at the time of the advent of Satyagraha. We will not stop here to consider whether these views are right or wrong. We are only concerned to note the distinction between passive resistance and Satyagraha, and we have seen that there is a great and fundamental difference between the two. If without understanding this, those who call themselves either passive resisters or Satyagrahis believe both to be one and the same thing, there would be injustice to both leading to untoward consequences. The result of our using the phrase ‘passive resistance’ in South Africa was, not that people admired us by ascribing to us the bravery and self sacrifice of the suffragists but we were mistaken to be a danger to person and property which the suffragists were, and even a generous friend like Mr. Hosken imagined us to be weak. The power of suggestion is such, that a man at last becomes what he believes himself to be. If we continue to believe ourselves and let others believe, that we are weak and helpless and therefore offer passive resistance, our resistance would never make us strong, and at the earliest opportunity we would give up passive resistance as a weapon of the weak. On the other hand If we are Satyagrahis and offer Satyagraha believing ourselves to be strong, two clear consequences result from it. Fostering the idea of strength, we grow stronger and stronger every day. With the increase in our strength, our Satyagraha too becomes more effective and we would never be casting about for an opportunity to give it up. Again, while there is no scope for love in passive resistance, on the other hand not only has hatred no place in Satyagraha but is a positive breach of its ruling principle. While in passive resistance there is a scope for the use of arms when a suitable occasion arrives, in Satyagraha physical force is forbidden even in the most favourable circumstances. Passive resistance is often look upon as a preparation for the (p109) use of force while Satyagraha can never be utilized as such. Passive resistance may be offered side by side with the use of arms. Satyagraha and brute force, being each a negation of the other, can never go together. Satyagraha may be offered to one’s nearest and dearest; passive resistance can never be offered to them unless of course they have ceased to be dear and become an object of hatred to us. In passive resistance there is always present an idea of harassing the other party and there is a simultaneous readiness to undergo any hardships entailed upon us by such activity, while in Satyagraha there is not the remotest idea of injuring the opponent. Satyagraha postulates the conquest of the adversary by suffering in one’s own person. These are the distinctions between the two forces. But I do not wish to suggest that the merits, or if you like, the defects of passive resistance thus enumerated are to be seen in every movement which passes by that name. But it can be shown that these defects have been noticed in many cases of passive resistance. Jesus Christ indeed has been acclaimed as the prince of passive resisters but I submit in that case passive resistance must mean Satyagraha and Satyagraha alone. There are not many cases in history of passive resistance in that sense. One of these is that of the Doukhobors of Russia cited by Tolstoy. The phrase passive resistance was not employed to denote the patient suffering of oppression by thousands of devour Christians in the early days of Christianity. I would therefore class them as Satyagrahis. And if their conduct be described as passive resistance, passive resistance becomes synonymous with Satyagraha. It has been my object in the present chapter to show that Satyagraha is essentially different from what people generally mean in English by the phrase ‘passive resistance’. While enumerating the characteristics of passive resistance, I had to sound a note of warning in order to avoid injustice being done to those who had recourse to it. It is also necessary to point out that I do not claim for people calling themselves Satyagrahis all the merits which I have described as being characteristic of Satyagraha. I am not unaware of the fact that many a Satyagrahi so called is an utter stranger to them. Many suppose Satyagraha to (p. 110) be a weapon of the weak. Others have said that it is a preparation for armed resistance. But I must repeat once more that it has not been my object to describe Satyagrahis as they are but to set forth the implications of Satyagraha and characteristics of Satyagrahis as they ought to be. In a word, we had to invent a new term clearly to denote the movement of the Indians in the Transvaal and to prevent its being confused with passive resistance generally so called. I have tried to show in the present chapter the various principles which were then held to be part and parcel of the connotation of that term.(p.111)—pp. 107-111. In www.mkgandhi.org
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