Today is the Birthday of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, otherwise called as Mahatma Gandhi. I thought I will write down a few things about Mahatma in today’s post.
I have always admired Gandhiji. I prefer to call him as Gandhiji rather then Mahatma. This is because the title Mahatma makes him almost godlike and the expectation from him increases almost tenfold. What – I think – we should not forget is that Gandhiji was after all a human being. He was no demi God. He made his share of mistakes (like we all do). I see Gandhji’s life as a triumph of the human will. His life inspires me, and I am a great fan of his.
I am sure there will be a lot of people out there who will not agree to what I write. They will be people who criticize gandhiji, who feel that he was after all not as great as people project him to be. For them I have to say this – I respect your views; you have the freedom of your views. But in the similar way I have my freedom as well, and for me Gandhi is a Hero.
Now let me try and rationalize why I love Gandhiji. What is it in him that appeals to me? Why do I think he is great person? Well, one of the reasons for it I can say is I read his Autobiography – My experiments with truth – at a very early age (when I was in class eighth). This book of his has made a profound effect on how I see this person.
I learnt from this book that after all he was a human. He too has faced the same problem that we all faced. He too tried his hands on Beedi in his youth, he too used to lie like all of us do, he too felt angry like each and every one of us when we see injustice, he too used to spent his night with his wife when his father was n the deathbed ailing. He too felt strongly about what he believes in, and went all out to convince others when he felt that he was right. In short, he was very much human like you, me, or the person moving on the street.
If he had all the drawbacks like each and every one of us – what is it that made him Mahatma?? Why is it that even people around the world including Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther king Jr, Mother Teresa, Richard gere, Dalai Lama and countless other people around the world are charmed by him?? No, he did not have a great physique. No, he never used a gun. No, he was not a great orator. No, he was not rich. No, he was not an intellectual genius. He was a very common and passable Indian. No, he was no king. No, he was not vested with any power.
What is it then that made him such a phenomenon?? I personally feel the reason for this was that a common Indian man could connect himself with him. They could identify with what he said. They could easily walk his talk. That was possible because he did not tell people to go on war. He did not tell people to leave their near and dear ones and go into hiding. He did not ask for Blood – ours or our enemies.
Just take this small exercise frankly. Let’s say two different people come to you for a good cause. One of them asks you to take a gun and come along with him so that the root cause of the problem can be shot to death. The other person tells you to show small acts of defiance (like stop buying certain cloths, stop paying bills, stop using foreign materials etc) and assures you that doing so on a large scale will non violently kill the root cause of the problem. Whom will you follow??
He just asked people to be themselves. He asked them to assert themselves. He asked people to stand for what you felt was right. He walked with people. He lived the common man’s life. He was very Indian even in his stature. Indian people, by their very culture nature, could – as I previously said – connect to what he said. And it is this factor that made Gandhiji such a great person. He did not develop an Atom Bomb. He developed the concept of being yourself and nonviolently assert yourself for the cause of truth.
People will still raise 100 questions on gandhiji. Yes, maybe he might have been wrong at times. That’s because he was a human like each and every one of us. That is what makes Gandhiji such a phenomenon.
Gandhiji – you inspire me and you are my hero!!!!
I have always admired Gandhiji. I prefer to call him as Gandhiji rather then Mahatma. This is because the title Mahatma makes him almost godlike and the expectation from him increases almost tenfold. What – I think – we should not forget is that Gandhiji was after all a human being. He was no demi God. He made his share of mistakes (like we all do). I see Gandhji’s life as a triumph of the human will. His life inspires me, and I am a great fan of his.
I am sure there will be a lot of people out there who will not agree to what I write. They will be people who criticize gandhiji, who feel that he was after all not as great as people project him to be. For them I have to say this – I respect your views; you have the freedom of your views. But in the similar way I have my freedom as well, and for me Gandhi is a Hero.
Now let me try and rationalize why I love Gandhiji. What is it in him that appeals to me? Why do I think he is great person? Well, one of the reasons for it I can say is I read his Autobiography – My experiments with truth – at a very early age (when I was in class eighth). This book of his has made a profound effect on how I see this person.
I learnt from this book that after all he was a human. He too has faced the same problem that we all faced. He too tried his hands on Beedi in his youth, he too used to lie like all of us do, he too felt angry like each and every one of us when we see injustice, he too used to spent his night with his wife when his father was n the deathbed ailing. He too felt strongly about what he believes in, and went all out to convince others when he felt that he was right. In short, he was very much human like you, me, or the person moving on the street.
If he had all the drawbacks like each and every one of us – what is it that made him Mahatma?? Why is it that even people around the world including Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther king Jr, Mother Teresa, Richard gere, Dalai Lama and countless other people around the world are charmed by him?? No, he did not have a great physique. No, he never used a gun. No, he was not a great orator. No, he was not rich. No, he was not an intellectual genius. He was a very common and passable Indian. No, he was no king. No, he was not vested with any power.
What is it then that made him such a phenomenon?? I personally feel the reason for this was that a common Indian man could connect himself with him. They could identify with what he said. They could easily walk his talk. That was possible because he did not tell people to go on war. He did not tell people to leave their near and dear ones and go into hiding. He did not ask for Blood – ours or our enemies.
Just take this small exercise frankly. Let’s say two different people come to you for a good cause. One of them asks you to take a gun and come along with him so that the root cause of the problem can be shot to death. The other person tells you to show small acts of defiance (like stop buying certain cloths, stop paying bills, stop using foreign materials etc) and assures you that doing so on a large scale will non violently kill the root cause of the problem. Whom will you follow??
He just asked people to be themselves. He asked them to assert themselves. He asked people to stand for what you felt was right. He walked with people. He lived the common man’s life. He was very Indian even in his stature. Indian people, by their very culture nature, could – as I previously said – connect to what he said. And it is this factor that made Gandhiji such a great person. He did not develop an Atom Bomb. He developed the concept of being yourself and nonviolently assert yourself for the cause of truth.
People will still raise 100 questions on gandhiji. Yes, maybe he might have been wrong at times. That’s because he was a human like each and every one of us. That is what makes Gandhiji such a phenomenon.
Gandhiji – you inspire me and you are my hero!!!!
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