Happy Independence day to you all!! - A tribute to Mahatma Gandhi

[Guest guest]

Happy In dependece Day to my Indian brothers and sisters!!!

If you want to change a person then change his/her values - Anonymous.

Please take time from your busy schedule to remember the great sacrifice " Bapu " or Mahatma Gandhi had made for our country's independecne.

 

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Gandhi with textile workers at Darwen, Lancashire, September, 1931

 

Line Drawing by K. L. Kamat

 

Quotes by Gandhi

- An eye for an eye will make the whole world go blind. — Gandhi

- I believe in the fundamental Truth of all great religions of the world. And I believe that if only we could, all of us, read the scriptures of the different Faiths from the stand-point of the followers of those faiths, we should find that they were at the bottom, all one and were all helpful to one another.

 

 

- Belief in one God is the cornerstone of all religions. But I do not foresee a time when there would be only one religion on earth in practice. In theory, since there is one God, there can be only one religion.

 

 

- The one religion is beyond all speech. Imperfect men put it into such language as they can command, and their words are interpreted by other men equally imperfect. Hence the necessity for tolerance, which does not mean indifference towards one's own Faith, but a more intelligent and pure love for it.

 

- For me the only certain means of knowing God is non-violence, ahimsa, love.

 

- Islam's distinctive contribution to India's National Culture is its unadulterated belief in the Oneness of God and a practical application of the truth of the Brotherhood of Man for those who are nominally within its fold.

 

- There is one thing which came to me in my early studies of the Bible. It seized me immediately. I read the passage: 'Make this world the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and everything will be added unto you'.

 

- If were asked to define the Hindu creed, I should simply say: Search after Truth through non-violent means. A man may not believe even in God and still call himself a Hindu. Hinduism is a relentless pursuit after Truth and if today it has become moribund, inactive, irresponsive to growth, it is because we are fatigued and as soon as the fatigue is over Hinduism will burst forth upon the world with a brilliance perhaps unknown before. Hinduism is the most tolerant of all religions. Its creed is all embracing. Hinduism tells every one to worship God according to his own Faith or Dharma and so it lives at peace with all the religions

- God's Laws are eternal and unalterable and not separable from God Himself. The Buddha disbelieved in God and simply believed in Moral Law. Great as Buddha's contribution to humanity was, in restoring God to His Eternal place, in my humble opinion, greater still was his contribution to humanity in his exacting regard of all life, be it ever so low.

 

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The Great Experimenter

 

 

 

Gandhi was no emperor, not a military general, not a president nor a prime minister. He was neither pacifist nor a cult guru. Who was Gandhi ? If anything, Mohandas K. Gandhi was a constant experimenter. Spirituality, religion, self-reliance, health, education, clothing, drinks, medicine, child care, status of women, no field escaped his search for truth. His thoughts when appeared in the form of talk or article became official words of action with the masses of India. He was a man who did what he said and led an exemplary and a transparent life. Not many people can claim " My life is an open book " . There were millions of Indians who treated Gandhi's suggestions as supreme commands and acted upon them (hence the name Mahatma). Born in Gujarat, fluent with Hindi and English, and residing in the minds of millions, Gandhiji was able to unite India like none other. An adamant idealist, courageous fighter, a deep thinker, and a great leader of men and ideas, it was possible for him to do that because he identified himself with struggles and pains of the common Indians. He quickly became the sole voice of the downtrodden and the exploited. They completely believed that Gandhiji understood their difficulties and would provide justice for them. Among Gandhiji's disciples were kings, royals, untouchables, rich, poor, foreigners, and women. When this selfless and pure man became leader of the nation, he gave a clear and unambiguous direction to the Himalayan problems facing India. Most important of them were poverty, religious conflict, exploitation, ignorance and colonization by the British. Here, we try to disseminate his complex personality through articles, tributes, pictures and quotations.

 

-Vikas Kamat Last Updated : March 18, 2004

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do we think of Gandhi as Man of the Century?When I was 12 years old, I asked my father why Gandhi never won the Nobel Peace prize. He told me it was probably due to politics. " But son, if they had awarded the prize to Gandhi, the prize would have been honored " he told me. We think that Gandhi's position in human history is quite un-

equaled (especially since naming Buddha, Mahavira and Jesus Christ as human has become inappropriate.) So Man of the Century or not, Gandhi is the Greatest.

 

--Vikas KamatEditor, Kamat's Potpourri

 

Quotes by Gandhi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forgiveness is the quality of the brave, not of the cowardly. -EFG,Pg.45

 

Even as a tree has a single trunk, but many branches and leaves, there is one religion but any number of faiths.

-EFG,Pg.42

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and non-violence are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as vast a scale as I could.

 

 

To forgive and accept injustice is cowardice.

 

 

Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness... It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.

 

 

 

God is because Truth is.

 

 

One must be the change one wishes to see in the world.

 

 

Poverty is but the worst form of violence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q

" Mr.

 

Gandhi, I understand the concept of non-violence and civil dis-obedience. Do you really think it would work in all situations? For example, against a monster like Hitler ? "

 

 

A

Non-violence does not mean making peace. On the other hand, it means fighting bravely and sincerely for truth and doing what is just. Like all fights, there will be a terrible loss and pain. But a satyagrahi (soldier of civil disobedience) must go on. My success with civil disobedience in South Africa and in India has not come easy. A large number of people sacrificed a great deal, including their lives while fighting for truth and justice.

The doctrine of Satyagraha works on the principle that you make the so called enemy see and realize the injustice he is engaged in. It can work only when you believe in God and the goodness of the people to see that they are wrong. As a satyagrahi, I do believe that non-violence is a potent weapon against all evils. I warn you however, that the victory will not come easy- just like it will not come easy with violent methods such as fighting with weaponry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q

Can you tell us about ahimsa or non-violence?

 

 

A

Literally speaking, ahimsa means non-violence. But to me it has much higher, infinitely higher meaning. It means that you may not offend anybody; you may not harbor uncharitable thought, even in connection with those who consider your enemies. To one who follows this doctrine, there are no enemies. A man who believes in the efficacy of this doctrine finds in the ultimate stage, when he is about to reach the goal, the whole world at his feet. If you express your love- Ahimsa-in such a manner that it impresses itself indelibly upon your so called enemy, he must return that love. This doctrine tells us that we may guard the honor of those under our charge by delivering our own lives into the hands of the man who would commit the sacrilege. And that requires far greater courage than delivering of blows.

 

 

 

 

 

Q

What do you think of

 

Christianity ? Did you consider becoming a Christian ?

 

 

A

My association with Christians dates from 1889 and there was a time in my life when I sincerely considered Christianity as my religion. In my pursuit, I met many a scholars and thinkers, who while having a profound effect on me, were not able to convince me. Although I admire much in Christianity, I am unable to identify myself with the orthodox Christianity. I must tell you in all humility that Hinduism, as I know it, entirely satisfies my soul, and fills my whole being.

The missionaries come to India thinking that they come to a land of heathen, of idolaters, of men who do not know God. My own experiences all over India have been on the contrary. An average Indian is as much a seeker after truth as the Christian missionaries are, possibly more so. Please do not flatter yourselves with the belief that a mere recital of that celebrated verse in St. John makes a man Christian. If I have read the Bible correctly, I know many men who have never known the name of

 

Jesus Christ, men who have even rejected the official interpretations of Christianity, but would nevertheless, if Jesus came in our midst today in the flesh, be probably owned by him more than many of us. My position is that it does not matter what faith you practice, as long as the soul longs for truth.

 

 

 

 

 

" Don't your duty in war and belief in peace contradict each other? "

 

 

A

 

While war and non-violence do sound contradictory, they are both conflict resolution vehicles. I have said time and again that Satyagraha (non-violent struggle) is not same as making peace. It is still a fight that has to be fought as bravely as a soldier in a war -- just the weapon is different. Many people mistake non-violence as compromise or avoidance of conflict. It is not. On the other hand, it is standing up for what is right (truth) and justice. Fighting a violent war is better than accepting injustice. So, really there is no contradiction in fighting a just war, and believing in non-violence. Both are duties to be carried out to preserve justice and truth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q

What were your inspirations? Specifically, where did the ideas of equality, independence, and non-violence come from?

 

 

A

The inspiration for non-violence is from the great religions of India, specifically Jainism and

Vaishnavism that were prevalent in the part of India where I grew up. I have found profound inspiration in the wisdom of great men and women who preceded me, as well as my contemporaries. Many of these great souls are from India (saints of the

Bhakti Movement, Dadhabahi Navaroji, Rabindranath Tagore

, Balgangadhar Tilak,

Gopalakrishna Gokhale) while yet many are of foreign origin (Thoreau, Christ, Tolstoy, Annie Besant, William Hunter).

I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and non-violence are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as vast a scale as I could.

 

 

 

 

 

Q

Why do they refer to you as Mahatma - the Great Soul ?

 

 

A

The title Mahtma (great-soul) has deeply pained me a number of times. I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and non-violence (ahimsa) are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as vast a scale as I could. But I certainly like to narrate my experiments in spiritual field which are known only to myself, and from which I have derived such power as I possess for working in the political field. A large number of people have told me that they revere me because I understand them like none other.

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(Source: http://www.kamat.com/mmgandhi/mmgandhi.htm )

 

 

----- " Let Noble thoughts come to us from every side " .- RigVeda (1-89-i)