365bet娱乐

鈥淢Y LIFE IS MY MESSAGE鈥� 鈥� Gandhiji

Let us remember Gandhiji on this August 15th of 2008. He is as old as the Himalayas and as fresh as the dew drop on the lotus.

Gandhiji was one of the towering personalities and master minds of the world. He was the morning star of Indian independence. He was born in slave India and died in independent India. He was an experimenter in truth, an apostle of love and non-violence, a crusader for values and a pioneer in innovative strategies to tackle the major evils of the world 鈥� (1) Racism (2) Colonialism (3) Consumerism and (4) Fanaticism. He successfully fought the two evils but the third remains and the fourth one claimed his life. The physical violence has now become hydra-headed terrorism.

The world is now riven with discord. Fissiparous tendencies are on the rise. Corruption has become rampant. Politicians have lost their credibility. Society has become re-stratified and as the bottle is shaken the sediment has floated to the top. Middlemen, bootleggers, contractors, scamsters and gangsters are having gay time. Fair is foul and foul is fair. In such a contaminated atmosphere, we can say that Gandhi鈥檚 time has not passed but his message has become more relevant. As Gandhi feared, the modern man has dazzling technological achievements to his credit and numberless but mindless conquests of nature are made, but he has allowed his inward eye to go blind. He is overexposed outside but underdeveloped inside!

According to Gandhiji there are seven deadly social sins:

1.聽 Politics without principles
2.聽 Wealth without work
3.聽 Pleasure without conscience
4.聽 Knowledge without character
5.聽 Commerce without nobility
6.聽 Science without humanity and
7.聽 Worship without sacrifice.

All these sins are now present in their full strength!

It was Gandhiji who placed before the Congress the three important ideals 鈥� Political freedom, economic justice and social equality.

On Religion he said:

鈥淎ll of my India is my family.鈥�
鈥淭here should be no state religion.鈥�
鈥淭he root of religion is like the root of the tree with many religions 鈥� Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Sikhism.鈥�
鈥淎ll religions belong to me.鈥�
鈥淏y a long process of prayerful discipline I have ceased to hate any body.鈥�
鈥淚 have long been trying to be a fakir.鈥� (Reply to Churchill who called him a 鈥榟alf naked fakir鈥�)
鈥淐leanliness is next to godliness.鈥�

According to him, religion is not confined to Monday bhajan, Sunday sermon or Friday namaz, although they have limited use to purify the mind. It should be 鈥榖eing and doing and disinterested service鈥�.

Gandhiji has great concern for the poor, particularly for the villagers. In a letter to Jawaharlal Nehru in 1945 he wrote, 鈥淚 believe that if India is to attain true freedom and through India the world as well, then sooner or later we will have to live in villages 鈥� in huts, not in palaces. A few billion people can never live happily and peacefully in cities.鈥� He did every thing to improve health and sanitation in villages. He started the movements of 鈥楪O TO VILLAGES鈥�, 鈥楪ROW MORE FOOD鈥�. He appealed to teachers and social workers to explain to the villagers modern methods of cleanliness. He himself set an example by sweeping streets and cleaning latrines.

Gandhiji鈥檚 insistence on the wearing of Khadi was a matter of high policy to fight the British and weaken their rule. It was a great blow to the British mills. It was the beginning of economic freedom and equality of all people in our country. Yet he did not blindly condemn every thing foreign. He said that books and certain other useful articles like surgical instruments made in foreign countries could be used. 鈥楽wadeshi鈥� meant that we should learn to produce the necessaries of our countrymen in India through the labour and intellect of our own people by providing employment to the rural folk. He wanted village panchayats to develop the villages and settle all local disputes.

Gandhiji condemned luxuries, extravagance and wastage.聽 He said 鈥淲hy does the Viceroy need such a big house?鈥� He wanted the Viceroy鈥檚 palace which is today the Rashtrapathi Bhavan with 340 rooms stretching over 350 acres containing luxurious Mogul gardens to be turned into a hospital for the poor. During 1942-45 at Sevagram Ashram, Birla guest house, a palatial building was constructed. It was meant for the convenience and comfort of the foreign and other guests who visited the Ashram. When it was built, Gandhiji was in jail. After his release he was surprised to see the big building. He was not satisfied with the reasons explained to him. Immediately he changed it into a hospital. He said 鈥淪ick people are the only guests fit to live in such a building.鈥�

There was an interesting incident. Once Gandhiji and Lala Lajpatrai were guests in the house of Gupta, a friend. They were put up in the same room. Lajpatrai went out leaving a pile of used clothes for washing in the bathroom. When he returned on the next day he found all the clothes washed, pressed and neatly kept on the bed. Pleased with the efficient service, Lajpatrai wanted to pay a large tip to the servant who washed them so well. When Mr. Gupta called the servant, he told them that they were washed by Lajpatrai鈥檚 roommate (Gandhiji). Gupta and Rai were astonished at Gandhiji鈥檚 humility and service mindedness and ashamed of themselves.

The jailor once brought for Gandhiji in Yeravada prison special furniture and other expensive things. He said 鈥淲hat is all this?鈥� The officer replied 鈥淭he government has allowed us to spend Rs. 300 a month on honoured guests like you.鈥� Gandhi said 鈥淭ake it away, please. This money comes from the Indian treasury. I do not want to increase the burdens of my country men.鈥�

Once Lord Mountbatten went to see him in Birla House for an important discussion. Gandhiji was seen engrossed in conversation with two villagers. They were all sitting on a mat. Gandhiji received Mountbatten very politely and wanted to know what brought him. Lord Mountbatten asked him to spare some time to be alone with him to discuss 鈥渕atters of state鈥�. With his characteristic smile Gandhi asked him to talk in their presence. He added 鈥淚t is their state鈥�. He sincerely believed that India belonged to the poorest of the poor.

When he went to England to attend the Round Table Conference, he lived in the East-End, a working class locality. He did not accept offers of accommodation from rich friends in hotels and palaces.

When he was in Sabarmati Ashram, a letter came from Poona. Mahadev Desai, his secretary read the letter first. He told Gandhiji that it was a useless letter and therefore should be thrown into the waste paper basket. When he was about to throw it, Gandhiji asked whether there was not anything in it he could use. Desai said 鈥楴o鈥�. Gandhi took it, removed the pin and left the papers. Even a pin was not wasted.

Once Gandhiji had to send a telegram to his lawyer Mavlankar, who later became the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly. When he came to know that it was a holiday and the post-office would charge extra money, he put the telegram in a cover and posted it. On another occasion he lost a small pencil. His men searched every corner for it but could not find. Somebody brought a new pencil. But Gandhiji was not satisfied till the missing pencil was traced and brought to him. When he saw the small stub, he received it with a big smile. Nothing was too small for him in value.

Once thieves entered Sabarmati Ashram and stole Kasturba鈥檚 box. Gandhiji did not report this to the police. He was surprised to know that his wife had a box. She told him that there were only their grand children鈥檚 clothes in the box. This reply did not satisfy him. He said 鈥淐hildren and grand children should look after their own future.鈥� He expected such a high standard of conduct from every one.

Before he left South Africa, friends presented him gold ornaments and money. He formed a trust and put every thing in it for the service of the poor.

When some one said 鈥淕andhiji, your followers did not possess enough personality to carry your message in a living form to the people鈥�, Gandhiji smiled and said 鈥淲hich of Christ鈥檚 disciples had given proof of great ability during his life time?鈥�

Today we have globalisation. What has happened? Let me quote a verse from Oliver Goldsmith鈥檚 famous poem 鈥楾he Deserted Village鈥�:

鈥業ll fares the land to hastening ills a prey
Where wealth accumulates and men decay.鈥�

It is the youth whose bodies do not carry mercenary bones that should spread his message and ensure his second coming.