The Disciple Elect

[The following is a rendering from Kannada of extracts from a sketch of Mahadev Desai written by Sri. S. Krishna Sharma in his book "Wardha Yatre" published in 1939. The writer has several volumes to his credit regarding Gandhiji and his life and message, and is a popular writer of prose sketches in Karnatak.]

A piligrimage to Wardha without getting acquainted with Mahadev Desai is like playing Hamlet leaving out the Prince of Denmark. His life is so inextricably mixed up with Gandhiji’s. If Gandhiji is Rama, Mahadev is Lakshmana. Their relation to each other is as of thought to word, of object to image.

Where Gandhiji is it is needless to ask if Mahadev Desai is present. He is inseparable, moving always in the ground, like Gandhiji’s own body. Whether in the Ashram or on tour, whether during conversations or in an assembly, one may observe a figure, its pair of eyes fixed on Gandhiji, its hand holding paper and pen. That figure is no other than Mahadev Desai, Gandhiji’s disciple elect.

Mahadev Bhai is well known as secretary to Gandhiji. But he is not like other secretaries. Secretaries usually look after the correspondence, the visitors, and the personal accounts of their masters. Not so Mahadev Bhai And Gandhiji too does not think so. In matters of politics or of religion, whether in society or in solitude, in all things, this secretary is with the master, and moves as his life companion. Gandhiji cannot spend a day without him. He needs Mahadev for every item of his work. In conversations with co-workers, in negotiations with opponents, in discussions with leaders, in all these Gandhiji requires Mahadev’s presence as that of a witness, as his conscience embodied.

Mahadev usually resides in Wardha, in Maganwadi. He, his wife Durgaben and his son-these are half of his family life. If all these occupy half of a room the rest of the room, and of the house, is needed for his books and papers, which form the other half of his family life. Books, books and more books everywhere. Mahadev is crazy about books. One can always find him reading–reading books of all kinds. He has a valuable library. Many of the best authors in English from allover the world delight to present him with their works. He gets books of other languages also. And he attempts to keep pace with them as they pile up, and to read all of them. It has thus become a habit with him to burn the midnight oil.

He has the ability to digest all that he reads and the skill to use it in his own writings. The interesting articles bearing the initials M. D are all from his pen. He has an English style all his own. Like beauty unadorned his writing is both simple and graceful. The many illustrations, references and quotations that one may see in his articles bear testimony to his wide reading and scholarship.

Mahadev starts on his daily pilgrimage from Maganwadi to Sevagram after the post has arrived. In sun or shower, in heat or cold, in dust or mire Mahadev has never missed this daily routine for some years. Such severe penance is beyond the endurance of any secretary to any leader in the annals of the world. Mahadev Bhai’s single-minded devotion, his unsurpassable earnestness, the joy of serving his master are such as never was and never will be.

He is a son of Gujerat. In his college days he was known as a fire-brand. If Gandhiji had not returned from South Africa, Mahadev Desai would probably have settled downs as a lawyer and amassed riches. God has endowed him with talents to pursue such a course. But how should such a confined and sordid life appeal to him? As soon as Gandhiji returned to Gujerat Mahadev enlisted himself among his followers.

Gandhiji’s companionship is no bed of roses. His rigid discipline and fierce simplicity lead away from the primrose path of ease and pleasure. Duty alone is a thing of beauty and joy–this is Gandhiji’s way of life. Many have shrunk from wearing this crown of thorns. It is Mahadev’s lot to live and grow on the fringe of this fire ablaze. But he has come out unscathed–his wings have not been singed.

For more than twenty years Mahadev has rendered his service to Gandhiji without rest or intermission. First Young India and now Harijan. Mahadev’s aid in running these has been invaluable. These are not newspapers. They have been weekly messengers of Gandhiji’s Gospel. They are not a mere compilation of people’s views. They contain the weekly lessons to workers in the task of national re-construction that Gandhiji has been giving during twenty years. These are the media for the communication of Gandhiji’s ideas and principles. In this task Mahadev and Pyarelal have been Gandhiji’s assistants. And every week it has been Mahadev’s part to portray Gandhiji’s doings in charming prose, and to help to rouse among the people an unexampled devotion to Gandhiji. He has presented Gandhiji’s doctrines in an attractive style and in a manner acceptable to the common man. Without his hand in it Harijan would be spiceless and insipid. Sometime ago Mahadev fell ill and went to Simla for rest. That proved a great wrench to Gandhiji. He asked the readers’ forgiveness for the deficiencies of the paper in the absence of Mahadev. He even hinted that Harijan might have to be stopped.

The master and disciple have wrought almost a revolution in the world of journalism. It is a change such as has no parallel in the history of journals in the world. Instead of the editorial ‘We’ it is Gandhiji who has introduced the ‘I’ in a journal in giving expression to his views. No one has yet dared to follow his example in this matter. And there has been no one who gives weekly pictures of his master and leader as Mahadev has done. And by strict adherence to Truth and self-restraint in the conduct of Harijan Mahadev sets a shining example. He is an inspiration to younger craftsmen. "Mahadev would spend his last moments with a pen in hand," once wrote Gandhiji. A Fit themes for a cartoon of Mahadev–one that can hardly be improve upon!

Mahadev is no dry scholar or common literary hack. He is a great artist, his is a skilled hand. His love for literature is deep. He takes his illustrations from the treasures of English, Sanskrit and Hindi literature. At prayer time he can render devotional songs melodiously and possesses a pleasing voice. But, above all, one has to look for his real artistry in the way he can interpret the principles of economics, or of Vedanta in simple and lucid language. It is no exaggeration to say that his pen is like a magic wand–a gift of the gods.

There is an artistic touch in Mahadev’s life, too, not only in his writings. He is a true Gandhian. Art that does not merge with life is no art for him. His neatly kept room bears testimony to this. Everything is clean and spruce. Everything is in its place. The books that he has read and finished lie there as though no one had touched them. And his apparel is ever of pure white khadi. He does not wear, even by accident, clothes with the slightest speck on them. His words are sweet as honey. Agreeable, pleasant, he persuades his opponent to fall in with his views.

It is this quality that has made him the ‘ambassador’ of Gandhiji. His skill as a negotiator is known recently to all India. The release of Sardar Prithwi Singh, the freedom granted to the political prisoners of Delhi are to Mahadev’s credit. But it is not generally known in what numerous individual cases and in how many political crises, this capacity of Mahadev Bhai as mediator has borne fruit.

One may say that the artistic touch, which characterises his life, has as its basis his spirit of self-reliance and his introspection. Mahadev does all his work himself. He washes his clothes, cleans his room, arranges his books and things without depending on others. This routine does not change even when Durgaben is present. Introspection is a trait present in all belonging to the Gandhian group, but it is somewhat more pronounced in the case of Mahadev Desai. A Dictionary is his constant companion. He is meticulous in the use of words. He will spare no pains to study their exact connotation with a view to make his expression as pleasant as might be.

His simplicity adds grace to Mahadev’s life. His office may be said to be a kind of non-official headquarters of India–in some respects of the whole world. Yet there are no tables or chairs. He has no private room as distinct from his office. A mattress covers the floor. Newspapers, and magazines, letters and books are arranged all round. A charka lies in the corner. A revolving cupboard stands in front–filled with books and papers…..The rim of his spectacles is made of nickel–quite an old-fashioned thing!

We have already spoken of Durgaben. She is an old-world orthodox lady. Many of Gandhiji’s reforms do not appeal to her. Mahadev’s views regarding what might be done for Harijans do not seem to be correct to her mind. Still their married life is not marred by a single discord. She has complete freedom to live as she chooses. In this respect Mahadev has set an example to the Gandhian group. It looks as though even Gandhiji has not accorded as much freedom to Kasturba herself.

Some time ago Mahadev Bhai went to Utkal with his family. They visited holy Jagannath. It was Durgaben’s desire that she should visit the sacred shrine there. But that is a temple which none of the Gandhian group would enter. On the day that Gandhiji refused to enter the Rameswaram temple as it was closed against the Harijans, a convention was established regulating the conduct of the Gandhi group in this matter. Mahadev Bhai was in a dilemma. The amenities that he could provide his life’s partner were already meagre in all conscience. Nor did she expect much. But if he visited the Jagannath temple for her sake, it was certain that Bapu would feel upset. And undoubtedly comrades in the Gandhi group would censure him. In this conflict between conjugal harmony and the discipline of his group, the former won, the human factor prevailed. Mahadev furnished an example of the triumph of Truth and non-violence in a new light.

After his return from Utkal, however, the incident ended in something of a tragedy. If such a prominent member of the Gandhi group should himself fail where then was the hope–was the wide spread protest. Gandhiji himself did not approve of his action. Mahadev was severely trounced by the master. He had suffered the rebukes of Gandhiji more than once before. Gandhiji had offered satyagraha, probably he had even gone on fasts for his sake. Mahadev had borne all these as though they were benedictions, and sought to purify his life. On those occasions he had been guilty, or had erred on account of ignorance. In this instance, however, his action had been deliberate, and truthful according to his lights. He argued with Gandhiji that his action was right. But they failed to convince each other.

Mahadev was greatly pained. He washed the master’s feet with his tears and went to Wardha. Durgaben was waiting for him. Mahadev sent in his resignation to Gandhiji that very day.

It was a situation full of epic pathos. The wide ambit of truth’s circumference is inaccessible to the small arm of human imagination!

Both master and disciple passed through a fiery ordeal. "If God wills that what I have done is enough, why demur? The service of the master, and through him that of the country during the last twenty years,–all this was His purpose. If today all this should cease, why should I complain?" This was the way Mahadev argued in his mind. "If ‘God’ become stone-hearted, is that the reason why the heart of the devotee should likewise turn to stone? What justice can there be in this?" Thus brooded and worried Gandhiji.

In the end both were defeated. But out of their defeat they emerged triumphant. Mahadev had to leave for Simla for a change to recoup his health. But before he left the torn fragments of his letter of resignation were scattered and lost amidst the fields of Sevagram.