ould finally
manifest itself as violence," he was forced to find a new word to carry
his idea. The result was a combination of the Gujerati words _Sat_,
meaning truth, and _Agraha_, meaning firmness--hence "truth force," or
as it has been translated since, "soul force."[58]

FOOTNOTES:

[53] Shridharani, _War Without Violence_, 165-167.

[54] M. K. Gandhi, _The Story of My Experiments with Truth_, translated
by Mahadev Desai and Pyrelal Nair (Ahmedabad: Navajivan Press,
1927-1929), the earlier portions of Vol. I.

[55] _Ibid._, I, 322; Shridharani, 167.

[56] Quoted by De Ligt, _Conquest of Violence_, 89.

[57] _Ibid._, 89-90.

[58] Gandhi, _Experiments with Truth_, II, 153-154.

The Process of Satyagraha

Shridharani, who considers himself a follower of Gandhi, has given us a
comprehensive analysis of Satyagraha as a mass movement. He begins his
discussion with this statement of the conditions under which it is
possible:

"Satyagraha, as an organized mass action, presupposes that _the
community concerned has a grievance which practically every member
of that community feels_. This grievance should be of such large
proportions that it could be transformed, in its positive side,
into a 'Cause' rightfully claiming sacrifice and suffering from the
community on its behalf."[59]

This necessity for community solidarity is often overlooked by followers
of Gandhi who advocate reforms by means of non-violent direct action in
our western society. Given the grievance of British rule, Shridharani
believes that the Hindese were willing to accept Satyagraha first
because, unarmed under British law, no other means were available to
them, and then because they were predisposed to the method because of
the Hindu philosophy of non-violence and the mystic belief that truth
will triumph eventually since it is a force greater than the
physical.[60]

The first step in Satyagraha is negotiation and arbitration with the
adversary. Under these terms Shridharani includes the use of legislative
channels, direct negotiations, and arbitration by third parties.[61] In
reading his discussion one gets the impression that under the American
system of government the later stages of Satyagraha would never be
necessary, since the Satyagrahi must first exhaust all the avenues of
political expression and legislative action which are open to him. If
any sizeable group in American society displayed on any i