Memories of Mahatma

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“Friends and comrades the light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere…our beloved leader Bapu as we call him, the father of the nation is no more. Perhaps I am wrong to say that; nevertheless we will not see him again… and that is a terrible blow, not only for me, but for millions and millions in this country”, the words of Nehru, at the funeral of Gandhi tell the tale of the man who master minded the future of this nation. A peace lover, non violent, man of the century, father of the nation, a true Karma yogi, a visionary and a true human- Mahatma Gandhi continues to live in the lives of millions of Indians . Oct 2, is the day to remember the deeds of this holy soul who walked on this earth and scripted the story of liberation of our nation.

Mohandass Karamchand Gandhi was born on Oct 2, 1869, in Porabandar. Records say that he was not an extraordinary student with regard to his studies. He shone neither in the classroom nor in the playing field. One of the terminal report rated him as , ' good at English,fair at Arithmetic, weak in geography; conduct very good, bad handwriting.' Let's not forget the way he held on to the value of honesty, challenging his teacher, who in fact forced him to copy. An ordinary guy in the intellectual field but he was already an extraordinary human in the making.

Gandhi experienced racial discrimination in South Africa. The popular incident of being pushed out of the train for refusing to vacate the place for a white man. This experience later inspired Gandhi, to look a the Indian society critically and to launch the freedom struggle forcefully. Gandhi, initially was a shy and quite timid in going about, say the writings. But the hard reality that he encountered, awoke the sleeping spirit, a dynamic leader within him; a leader world has neither seen before nor after.

Having been a victim to the racial discrimination in South Africa, Gandhi was back for a battle. The struggle of the people possibly forced Gandhi to stand up to the challenge and lead the people. His entry into Indian National Congress then, led to organizing people for a single cause; to put their heads together for one goal- Freedom. As a leader, he was more an open minded Indian than a narrow minded fundamentalist. He was a leader with a vision and a tactic. He had in him the skill to reach out to the people and en-kindle the fire within them. Gandhi was a charismatic leader.

Gandhi was a man convinced of himself and his actions. At a time, when violence was seen as the only means to freedom, Gandhi's holding on to the idea of ' non-violence' captured the attention of the world community. He introduced to the world a unique and a powerful tool to combat the might of Englishmen. No wonder, he attracted many and inspired them. He loved peace and believed that peace cannot be won through violence. Possibly, he had understood the strength of nonviolence, a tool which finally won us the freedom.

Gandhi was a spiritual man. A person , deeply in touch with himself and the divine within.'God is truth' he said initially which he later corrected as 'Truth is God'. He believed in truth, that transcends all barriers as God. His respect towards other religions, which led from the deep study of other scriptures made him a true leader of the masses. A man who regularly spent his time in spiritual activities and his spiritual life provided him the necessary inner stamina to fight his battle.

'Satyagraha' -adherence to truth was the highlight of the movement he led. He aimed at uprooting antagonism without harming the antagonist. The non-violent fasts he used to undertake as part of 'Satyagraha', bore him enormous results. For Gandhi Satyagraha was not merely a political resistance, but a spiritual act. The evidences available tell us that, before every Satyagraha or open fasting, he in fact spent days together in intense prayer and fasting, to purify his intentions. He believed that hatred can never yield peace; it can only yield hatred. Thus he would always begin his Satyagraha with a pure intention. He was a man, who discerned every move that he made; A person who was daring enough to critique himself.

Gandhi was also a man deeply in touch the reality around. The struggle s and the cry of the people kept him moving in his mission, focused and determined. In this line, it would be apt to have a conversation between Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore:

Tagore: Gandhiji, are you so unromantic? When in the early dawn the morning sun rises, does it not fill your heart with joy to see its reddish glow? When birds sing, does not your heart thrill with its divine music? When the rose opens its petals and blooms in the garden, does its sight not bring cheer to your heart?

Gandhi seem to have replied: Gurudev, I am not so dumb and insensitive, as not to be moved by the beauty of the rose or the morning rays of the sun or the divine music of the birds. But what can I do? My one desire, my one anxiety, my one ambition is when shall I see the red tint of the rose on the cheeks of hungry, naked millions of people? When shall I hear the sweet and melodious song of the birds in place of their agonizing sights? When will such music come out of their soul and when will that day come when the light of the morning sun will illumine the heart of the common man in India? When will I see its lusture and brightness on his face? Truly, Gandhi was a contemplative in action.

Gandhi opposed untouchability but indirectly, he seem to have supported caste system-a contradiction , may be he himself was not aware of. He infact refused to see the intrinsic relationship between the former and the later. His calling of -Harijan was out of concern for the people but the very expression, in the long run turned out to be more oppressive than liberative. May be Gandhi lacked a depth level societal analysis.

It is quite clear, Gandhi loved the poor. For him a nation's development meant , the development or uplift of the poor. In his own words: “ I will give you a 'talisman'.Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man you have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore to him control over his own life and destiny? In other words will it leasd to 'Swaraj' for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?”

The one question that arises in my mind is that, whether Gandhi relevant today? There were differences in opinions about his ideas during his own life time. Gandhi once stated, “ There was a time when people listened to me because I showed them how to give fight to the British, without arms, when they had no arms, but today I am told that my non-violence can be of no aval...” Gandhi believed in political and economic sufficiency. The idea sounds outdated today as we live in a global village. Today we have no other go than interdependence. His vision was clear, liberty from the colonialism of Englishmen. Take to account the recent move of the government- FDI. Are we more and more getting colonized even today in subtle ways? Will this uplift the poorer sections of the Indian society or crush the poor?
I think that the spirit behind Gandhian principle is still relevant. No doubt, that the spiritual and the humanitarian principles will remain as a guiding force to the millions to come. Let's not forget that Gandhi read the signs of the time and responded accordingly.

He was a hard core visionary. Long before the nation could attain freedom, Gandhi visualized, what does this freedom mean? He had his own dreams about the functioning of independent India. He already had an idea of the hard path that was lying ahead of rebuilding the nation after British. For him freedom , did not mean mere transferring of British administrative structure into Indian hands. He warned, “ You would make India English, It will not be called Hindustan but Englisthan. This is not the Swaraj I want.” For Gandhi democracy was nothing but a way of life. Thus Gandhi was a visionary who understood the reality around at its grass root level.

Life of Mahatma, his principles has inspired thousands and caused revolution in different parts of the world. World popular scientist,Albert Einstein often exchanged letters with Gandhi. He called him, “ a role model for the generations to come.” His life has greatly affected the living in this country. Gandhi will continue to remain as an inspiration to the young, who look forward to do something unique and special and strength to the old, to lead with their experience.

Nehru quoting Gandhi, in his inaugural independence day said, “The ambition of the greatest men of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but so long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over."

Let's continue to work for the least, the lost and the last. Taking the inspiration from Gandhi, let's love the unloved, care for the uncared for and try to wipe every tear from every eye. Let Mahatma continue to inspiring the generations to come.