Abstract

This essay explores the evolution of Gandhi’s philosophy of brahmacharya (celibacy) after World War I. I argue here that Gandhi broadened his understanding of brahmacharya after he assumed leadership of the nationalist movement, rendering it into a concept that was applicable to the wider population of India rather than just to himself and a set of especially disciplined activists. A major reason for this development was Gandhi’s concern with deflating the claims of sexual science and birth control at a time when global sexology was gaining a foothold in Indian middle-class society. In this context, Gandhi specifically came to contest the notion that human ‘nature’ made brahmacharya inapplicable to ordinary people, suggested that husbands and wives could follow brahmacharya even while married, and insisted that the general practice of brahmacharya was essential to the collective health of the Indian nation. In the process, he imparted a significant eugenic component into his philosophy.

抽象的

本文探讨了第一次世界大战后甘地的婆罗门经（独身主义）哲学的演变。我在这里辩称，甘地在领导民族主义运动后拓宽了对婆罗门的理解，使之成为适用于更广泛人群的概念。印度，而不仅仅是他本人和一群纪律严明的维权人士。这种发展的主要原因是，在全球性学在印度中产阶级社会中站稳脚跟之际，甘地（Gandhi）担心缩减性科学和节育的主张。在这种情况下，甘地专门提出质疑人类“自然”造就了婆罗门的观念并不适用于普通百姓，建议丈夫和妻子即使在结婚后也可以跟随婆罗门婆罗门，并坚持说婆罗门婆罗门的普遍习俗对印度民族的集体健康至关重要。在此过程中，他将重要的优生成分赋予了他的哲学。