Chapter 6: Imagination, the workshop of the mind
Imagination is more powerful than knowledge, because while knowledge is limited to all that we now know and understand, imagination embraces the entire world and all there ever will be to know and understand.
Imagination is the realm of the mind where one can see things that do not yet exist in this world, but which one day might. Generally authors, artists and musicians have great imagination. An author has to create in his mind characters, locations, plot and incidents. A musician has to hear in his mind the interaction of many musical instruments in order to create great music.
Imagination should not be confused with daydreaming or fantasizing, in which many people like to indulge. Daydreaming is a form of killing time whereas imagination is a form of constructive thought followed by action.
Man can create or achieve anything which he can imagine. The imagination is the workshop of mind where all plans are created by man. The thought impulse, 'the desire', is given shape, form, and 'action' through the aid of the imaginative faculty of the mind.
Through the aid of his imaginative faculty, man discovers, and harnesses forces of nature. Man has conquered the earth, water and air so much that the animals, fish and birds are no match to him in running, swimming or flying. Inventions such as wheels, vehicles, telephones, Internet are the examples of ideas or imagination that have transformed the world.
The imagination functions in two forms; synthetic imagination and creative imagination.
- Synthetic imagination: Through this faculty, you can transform old concepts, ideas, or plans into new combinations. This faculty creates nothing new. It merely works with the material of experience, education, and observation with which it is fed. It is the faculty used most by common men.
- Creative imagination: The faculty of creative imagination is one which the majority of people never use during an entire lifetime, and if used at all, it usually happens by mere accident. The great leaders, writers, musicians, and poets become great, because they acquire the habit of relying upon the "still
small voice" which speaks from within, through the faculty of creative imagination.
When ideas or answers flash into one's mind, they come from one or more of the following sources:
- One's subconscious mind, wherein is stored every sense impression and thought impulse whichever reached the brain through any of the five senses
- From the mind of some other person who has just released the thought, or picture of the idea or concept, through conscious thought, or from subconscious mind
- Inspirations
For instance Benzene is a natural constituent of . The empirical formula for benzene was long known, but it's highly structure, with just one atom for each atom, was challenging to explain. After several years it was explained by a chemist, . He claimed that he had discovered the ring shape of the benzene molecule after having an imagination of a snake seizing its own tail.
In Gandhiji's life too there were many instances that he received inspirations. By January 1930 Gandhiji was clueless as to what to do next in the freedom struggle. He spent many sleepless nights and was restless. By the middle of February his struggle came to an end and there was an idea in his mind. The next battle has to be through salt sathyagraha.
Salt can be easily made near sea shore and many Indians are dependent on this business. In addition, because of the weather in India even poor people must use salt every day. So the monopoly and taxation on the manufacture and trade of salt is a symbol of the British authority over India.
Gandhiji thought that by refusing to pay taxes on salt, people could demonstrate their opposition to the British rule. He visualized multitudes of people standing in lines making, selling and buying salt. If the government arrested and punished the volunteers, more and more people would fill their places and thus the sathyagraha would become stronger.
Gandhiji wrote a letter asking the British Government to remove the salt tax, but it refused to do so. Gandhiji wrote another letter to the Viceroy saying
'On the eleventh of this March I shall proceed to break the salt law. It is open to you to arrest me. I hope, there will be tens of thousands ready to take up the work after me.' But there was no reply from the British authorities.
On March 12th, at 6.30 in the morning, Gandhiji started on foot from his Ashram at Ahmedabad, with a band of carefully selected volunteers, on a march to break the salt-law. His steps were firm. His look was peaceful and fearless.
The whole world watched with wonder and curiosity and thousands of people joined the march on the way. At last, after 24 days, the march ended 241 miles away, on April 5th at Dandi a village on the west coast. Gandhiji spent that night in prayer. In the morning, he went to the sea-shore and bathed in the sea. Then he bent down and picked up a lump of salt and thus broke the salt-law. He issued an appeal to the world in a simple note 'I want world sympathy in this battle of right against might.'
The sathyagrahis wouldn't harm the police but would just continue their work of making salt and willing to be beaten down on the heads with cracked skulls as they fall down. As one row of sathyagrahis fell down, the next row of sathyagrahis would come and offer their skulls to be broken. That was a different form of resistance that the British had ever faced.
The representatives and media from all over the world had come there to witness the great event. They praised the spirit of courage and dedication of the Satyagrahis. In the eyes of the world the British Empire suffered a serious blow to its moral authority. All over the country, even in distant villages, men and women came out in processions, held meetings, observed protests and manufactured salt without paying any tax. The Government brutally beat the demonstrators, even resorted to firing. Yet the struggle didn't stop. More than a hundred thousand Satyagrahis were imprisoned. The jails were so full to overflowing that barbed wire jails were created in the open.
The British Government had called a Round Table Conference in London to draft a future constitution for India. But they couldn't move on without Gandhiji, so they released him from the prison. The Viceroy talked with him in terms of equality and entered into treaty with him. This treaty is known as Gandhiji-Irwin Pact. It was a great victory of Satyagraha. Gandhiji suspended the movement and the Government released all the political prisoners. Then Gandhiji went to England as an honoured guest of the British Government to attend the Round Table Conference. When somebody in London pointed out that his clothes were not appropriate for a meeting with the King, Gandhiji humorously replied 'the King has enough clothes on him for both of us'.
Gandhiji could move people into a kind of action called passive resistance. He showed that breaking the cycle of violence isn't about weapons. It's not about fight or flight. When we cower from conflict, we empower those who desire to inflict violence on us. On the other hand, when we respond to
violence with violence, we escalate the cycle. This is the meaning of the saying 'if someone hits you on one cheek, turn the other cheek'. When someone hits us, we don't hit them back, and we don't run away either. We should turn our cheek, forcing them to look into our eyes before hitting again.
Gandhiji said, “My claim to hear the voice of God is nothing new. Unfortunately there is no-way I can prove the claim except through results. God will not be God if He allowed Himself to be an object of proof by His creatures. But He does give His willing slave the power to pass through the fiercest of ordeals. I have been a willing slave to this most exacting Master for more than half a century. His voice has been increasingly audible as years have rolled. He has never forsaken me even in my darkest hour. He has saved me often from myself and left me not a vestige of independence. The greater the surrender to Him, the greater has been my joy”.
Gandhiji's ideas such as non-cooperation, boycotting foreign clothes, Quit India movement also originated from inspirations or imaginations. The British government used to send cotton and other raw materials from India to Britain. Textile mills in Britain manufactured cloths and then these were imported back into India and sold at high prices.
The British Government imposed such restrictions that it was impossible for Indian manufactures to import machinery for factories or do business because of heavy duties. Such measures completely destroyed Indian industries, employment and people's purchasing power. Gandhiji imagined that the way to oppose British exploitation was through boycotting British clothes and by encouraging Indian manufacturers and homespun clothes.
Imaginative faculty may become weak through inaction. It can be revived and made alert through its constant use. For now, let us focus our attention on the development of the synthetic imagination, because this is the faculty which we will use more often in the process of converting desire into achievement.
Things are always created twice: first in the workshop of the mind and then, in reality. We can call the process 'blueprinting' because anything that you create in your outer world began as a simple blueprint in your inner world. When you learn to take control of your thoughts and vividly imagine all that you desire from this worldly existence in a state of total expectancy, dormant forces will awaken inside you. You will begin to unlock the true potential of your mind to create the kind of magical life that you deserve.
From now onwards, forget about the past. Dare to dream that you are more than the sum of your current circumstances. Expect the best. You will be astonished at the results.