Thread by @Hiranyareta

I know that illiterate Italian merely blabbering what she has been asked to read. But I want to say something about her vantage point ie Gandhian ideals of masochism and self-negation.

Let me quote Gandhi.

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"Let us not be afraid of dying. If we are to be killed, would we not rather be killed by our Muslim brothers? Would a brother cease to be a brother because he has changed his religion? "~ Mahatma Gandhi

Speech at Prayer meeting, April 1 1947, CWOMG vol. 87,
pg. 183-86
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In courting death, Gandhi justified his advice by using the idea that one should not fear things like birth and death, telling an April 6th audience in Delhi that:
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"None should fear death. Birth and death are inevitable for every human being. Why should we then rejoice or grieve? If we die with a smile we shall enter into a new life, we shall be ushering in a new India"

Prarthana Pravachan Part I, pp. 29-32, CWOMG vol. 87, pg. 217-19
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While it is true that the Hindu view of birth and death is that the Soul reincarnates into different bodies, it does not consider life to be so insignificant that one should allow oneself to be sacrificed like a lamb.
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But Gandhi’s advice to Hindus was the ultimate denial of life, a complete negation.
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Such deaths do nothing for the spiritual growth of the individual Soul, this being the true purpose of reincarnation, culminating in the Soul - divine in itself though rarely master of the mind and body - becoming a self-conscious master of the mind and body.
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Life is pivotal towards this goal because it is within life that the Soul gathers the experiences necessary to help it achieve full command.
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Life having such significance means that death – while necessary - is not something to be feted, which is what Gandhi did when saying:
“Man after all is mortal. We are born only to die. Death alone is the true friend of man."
CWOMG vol. 87, pg. 200-201
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His obsession with suffering and death led him to not think twice about urging Hindus to walk into their own execution.
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While Hinduism speaks of death and rebirth as necessities for the growth of the Soul (or rather, the
accumulation of experiences needed by the Soul for mastery over matter) in man, Gandhi viewed the deaths of Hindus as something bold and exciting to take part in,
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a means for the creation of a brave new world – one where Islam reigned supreme:

"Hindus should not harbor anger in their hearts against Muslims even if the latter wanted to destroy them.
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Even if the Muslims want to kill us all we should face death bravely. If they established their rule after killing Hindus we would be ushering in a new world by sacrificing our lives."
CWOMG vol. 87, pg. 217-19
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If only the Hindus were to have listened and allowed themselves to be killed, they would have gone down in history not only as creators of a new world, but as the glorious saviors of Islam…and Hinduism…and the whole world!
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Just like with the Khilafat movement, Gandhi wished to save Islam, except this time it was not from the geopolitics of the British Empire, it was from the hands of Hindus in a battle for their lives.
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It was the belief that his ahimsa ideally should be used at all times that made him continually stress mass suicide to the Hindus. Gandhi desired mass suicide because he abhorred violence, because he thought the spiritual thing to do was to reject violence in all situations.
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While we can compliment Gandhi for his wish to remove himself from violence, he was approaching it in the wrong manner.
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In the Sanatana Dharma, the idea is to detach oneself from the results (and the act itself even while performing it) of the action (in this case violence) by surrendering said action and subsequent results to God, as opposed to simply refusing to partake in the act.
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Thus there was not to be any sort of malicious pleasure or despair (modes of rajas) to be taken from violent acts; it was simply action to be undertaken with a Sattvic temperament, based on the knowledge that such killings were only transient deaths.
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This detachment from the action of killing is of a different nature to Gandhi’s wish for the Hindu to remain inert, which is not to be confused with detachment; Gandhi’s advice is instead the practice of inaction or Tamas.
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Because to fight back and to run away are two forms of
action, the latter of which should not always be confused with cowardice, because at times it can be necessary to regroup and regenerate the strength needed to win the battle.
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Choosing to remain and be slaughtered when the possibility of escape appears is the lowest form of Ignorance, of ego, because while we usually associate the ego with attachment to modes of rajas, it also attaches itself to modes of Tamas or inaction.
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It is through concentration and surrender – not callous indifference and refusal to engage - that one removes oneself from attachment, even during warfare.
Gandhi not only preached Tamas to Hindus, he told them to enjoy their fate, to enjoy being killed by Muslims.
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"I would tell the Hindus to face death cheerfully if the Muslims are out to kill them. I would be a real sinner
if after being stabbed I wished in my last moment that my son should seek revenge. I must die without rancor."
CWOMG vol. 87 pg. 394-

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In the same speech, Gandhi made it clear that inertia would reap the Hindus a reward he cherished – that of martyrdom:
"There is nothing brave about dying while killing. It is an illusion of bravery. The true martyr is one who lays down his life without killing.
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You may turn round and ask whether all Hindus and all Sikhs should die. Yes, I would say. Such martyrdom will not be in vain. You may compliment me or curse me for talking in this manner; but I shall only say what I feel in my heart."

CWOMG vol. 87 pg. 394-5
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In short, Congress since 1947 has been feeding this Tamas of Gandhi to Hindus to put them to sleep so that enemy of Hindus can finish them.
And any sign from Hindus of rejecting this Tamas of Gandhi is termed as Hindu communalism by Congress.
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So, Italian calling passing of CAB a Black Day doesn't surprise me.
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