Mahatma Gandhi: embodiment of simple living and high thinking

by A. S. Poovendran

From time to time, Buddhas, Mahatmas, prophets, saints, seers and rishis have descended upon this earth and roamed along the mountains, valleys, villages, fields and towns spreading sacred messages to make mankind live a true and virtuous life. All their exhortations and practices in life have withstood the ravages of time and tests and still remain a beacon light to the entire world.

Ahimsa will overpower Himsa and Truth and Dhamma will be resolutely established ultimately, when evil tries to rule the world. Lord Krishna enunciates in the Bagavad Gita, Jana Karma Sanyasa Yoga" (Chapter 4) as follows:

"Yada - yada hi dharmasya glavibhavati bharata

Abbyuttahanam adharmasya tada tamanam Sraya aham"

English text is as follows:

"Whenever there is decay of dharma; and rise of adharma, then I embody myself O Bharata".

Lord further exhorts as follows:

"Paritranaya Sadhunam, vinasaya ca duskrtaam;

Dharma samasthapanarthaya sambhavani Yuge, yuge"

English version as follows:

"For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of dharma I am born age after age".

We must reflect for a while on the exemplary life of the great apostle of peace and Ahimasamoorthy and Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, in the above words. His parents called him Mohandas K. Gandhi. But, his followers conferred on him the title of Mahatma. 'Mahatma' means, a person who is worship worthy.

A person who is an embodiment of truth. A person whose life is seen as a beacon light to entire mankind. That was why Mahatma Gandhi, who was once called the 'Half naked Fakeer' by the then Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, came to be respected and revered equally in East and West.

Mohandas Karamachand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 to Hindu orthodox parents in Borpandar. He was the fourth child in the family. He was mediocre in school, but was resolute in his ways. His marriage to Kasturbai took place when he was still a child. Child marriage, though misunderstood and ridiculed and now legally banned, had its own value then.

There is a question remaining unanswered about Mahatma Gandhi's life; was Mahatma Gandhi a born leader or did time thrust it upon him? In all fairness and reverence, the writer's view is that the latter would be more appropriate.

Due to the humiliation, sufferings and oppression he and his countrymen were subjected to by imperialists, particularly the Britishers, he became resolute in his stand to free India from the yoke of English hegemony. The Britishers always said that the sun will never set on the British Empire.

Their empire was so vast that it made them believe that the sun will never set. One of Sri Lanka's illustrious lawyers and politicians once when addressing an assembly in UK, jokingly said, "Perhaps God never trusts the Englishman in darkness".

The true turning point in Mahatma's life came about after his two bitter experiences. Once he was thrown out of a train in Africa for travelling with whites and the other was the humiliation he suffered subsequently when he was not allowed to land on his return to Africa by ship to fight for the freedom of the Indians living in Africa.

He resolved to destroy white supremacy. He was determined to drive the white outs of India. He demonstrated an extraordinary patience and tolerance towards all the inhuman, degrading and at times cruel treatment meted out to him and his followers by the English masters. He was diametrically opposed to the beliefs and policies of Subash Chandra Bose, the Lion of Bengal.

The Bengali born Subash Chandra Bose believed in an eye for an eye, while Mahatma Gandhi adopted non-violence as the means to achieve his end. At the beginning, even most of the Indians could not agree with him. Britishers ridiculed his approach. They never knew that Dharma was more powerful than their guns and bullets.

They never realised that the mills of God grind slowly, but surely. Neither were they aware that the force of the soul was mightier than their swords and cannons. They never even for a moment would have believed that one day this half naked fakir would change the history of India.

Mahatma Gandhi tortured himself physically (through fasts) to off set the sinister plans of the Britishers to continue their dominance over the Indians. As a leader, until the bullets from the assassin's gun snatched his life, he led India alone.

He unified the diverse forces in India into one. He rescued the Indians from the clutches of British slavery and gave them a new lease of life. He led a life of purity. He was a saint in his own way. Simple living and high thinking were the true hallmarks of his life. Though he is no more in his mortal frame, his spirit hovers all over the mountains, valleys and fields. He remains the guardian angel of India, particularly to those down trodden, the oppressed and the depressed. His spirit continues to govern and lead the men of his generation (politicians) and that's why India has not disintegrated.

His love for his country and the people of the world is very clearly amplified in his own words. He said, "I am wedded to India, because I believe absolutely that she has a mission for the world and my religion has no geographical limits. I have a living faith in it which will transcend even by love for India herself."