By: Prof. Jayadeba Sahoo
“Non-violence, to be worth anything, has to work in the face of hostile forces.”
Mahatma Gandhi – The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1927
Mahatma Gandhi and his world-recognized initiatives for establishment of peace and non-violence are no more confined to India and its people alone with the whole humanity across the globe resolving to follow his footprints in letter and spirit. When Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi went to England to study Law and thereafter started working in South Africa, he was an ordinary man, desirous of making a living for him and his family. But when he returned home, he was a changed man. He practised what he had determined to do in his heart. This made him a great man. What actually happened in between in his life? While working as a lawyer in South Africa, in 1904, Gandhi received a copy of Ruskin Bond’s ‘Unto This Last’, during a train journey from Johannesburg to Durban. In his Autobiography, Gandhi says he could not put the book down till he had read it completely. He was so fascinated by its contents that he could not sleep at all. He writes: “I was determined to change my life in accordance with the ideals of the book.” Gandhi summarises what he read in that book:
1. The good of the individual is contained in the good of all.
2. A lawyer’s work has the same value as that of a barber in as much as all have the same right of earning their livelihood from their work.
3. The life of labourer – the tiller of the soil and the handicrafts-man etc. – is also a life worth living.”
The above three statements piercingly shed light on one word : ‘Equality’. It actually stems from a Universal truth of Fatherhood of God and brotherhood of all human beings. Gandhi rightly understood that we all come from God (through our parents), hence have only one Eternal Father, the Heavenly Father, the Supreme Soul; and all human beings are His children and therefore brothers and sisters. Hence no one is superior or inferior, but all are equal and good in their essence, and should have the dignity they deserve. Such an idea will instantly strike to the one whose sanskar is satvik (ontological)! Gandhi had that sanskar though dormant! So he alludes to this fact, when he writes in his Autobiography that one would receive a Guru he deserves! The book refreshed his sanskar! He could not ignore the plight of his ill-privileged fellowmen and was determined to work for the “the uplift of all” and “the welfare of all”. What followed is history. The British Empire came to its knees in front of Gandhi’s determined fight for the downtrodden. He set the model of equality of all in his own Ashram so that it could spread to his country and to other nations of the world. He would often declare: “My life is my message.”
From equality, follows non-violence, which has now internationally become synonymous with Gandhi’s name. Hence Gandhi Jayanti that is observed every year as a national holiday in our country to commemorate his birthday (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) is also observed by the United Nations as the International Day of Non-violence, which aims to disseminate his philosophy, principle and belief in non-violence through proper education and public awareness. The UN General Assembly, in a resolution adopted on 5 June 2007, resolution reaffirms the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence and the desire to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence.
The International Day of Non-Violence is marked on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. The General Assembly, in a resolution adopted on 5 June 2007, established the commemoration, the International Day as an occasion to disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness.
Gandhi & Non-Violence
Non-Violence and Truth were his time-tested weapons throughout his life and he had applied them meticulously even in the extreme situations. He lived on a simple vegetarian diet and fasts rigorous for long periods, for both self-purification and protest in support of his justified demands. By means of a hunger strike, Gandhi had helped bringing about India’s Independence from British Rule, inspiring colonial people to work for their own independence and ultimately dismantle the British Empire. Gandhi’s principle of Satyagraha (truth force) has inspired generations of democratic and anti-racist activists including Martin Luther King Junior and Nelson Mandela. He had often stated that his values were simple, drawn from traditional belief – Satya (truth) and Ahimsa (non-violence). Gandhi’s philosophies and his ideas of truth and non-violence had the influence of the Bhagvad Gita and the writings of Leo Tolstoy. He was also inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s famous essay on Civil Disobedience.
How much India and other countries have adopted his ideals is a different question. What is noteworthy about Gandhi is that, he was open to new ideas. When he got the enlightening ideals from another human, his humility helped him to look at what is being said, not who said it. He enjoyed working for those ideals to the best of his ability which made him great to the point that the greatest genius of that time Albert Einstein commented: “Generations to come, it may well be, will scarce believe that such a man as this one ever in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth.”
His greatness lies in that he is an example for everyone. Youngsters, in general, think that the problem is with others, and if others change, they will be happy. This is in sharp contrast to what Gandhi felt and did: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” He is also an example even for couples. He had the experience of leading a normal and a celibate married life. Comparing the benefits of both, Gandhi says his celibate married life was “more peaceful, sweet and joyful!” He knew very well that lust is “the greatest enemy of the wise.”– Gita 3:39 Gandhi was extremely successful because of his determination to practise the lofty ideals he got, and the way in which he went ahead with that determination. He believed that one’s greatest joy will be the awareness of how close one is with his Heavenly Father. No wonder he admits that, he could remember Shrimat Bhagwat Gita chapter 13 by-heart! Two concepts which he always kept close to his heart appear together in one verse in this chapter: “nonattachment, and even mindedness in desired and undesired events.” (13:9). One’s even-mindedness in all situations is what makes one a ‘supreme devotee’ of God, says Gita (18:54).
This chapter helped him to have a balanced approach towards everyone and in every situation in life, as he viewed himself as “a trustee,” which means one having neither a sense of possession nor of doer-ship! Hence it was easy for him to declare: “Service is my religion.” Gandhi accomplished great things, because he was operating from the realisation that he is a child of God, hence, he possessed infinite potential. His counter-part Nelson Mandela in South Africa, too understood the same fact when he said: “We are powerful beyond measure….. Your playing small does not serve the world.” As we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others…. What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead. No doubt, Gandhi displayed simple, attainable qualities that would, if practised, would make everyone better, no matter in what field they may be!
Let us realize before it is too late, that it is Raj Yoga meditation that removes mental tension, injustice, dishonesty and other kinds of inhuman behaviour. Understanding the theory of the laws of karma, teachers should change their attitude towards the students and their profession by means of spiritual knowledge and world’s only open eyed meditation, which is Raj Yoga Meditation of Brahma Kumaris. One must, therefore, help in this noble task by encouraging more and more people to join Brahma Kumaris, who is selflessly building a better society.
Happy Gandhi Jayanti
(The author is a Faculty, Brahma Kumaris, RERF & Professor (Ex- Dean & Head), Faculty of Education, Rajiv Gandhi Central University, Itanagar)
