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ranjitjat
October 5th, 2003, 03:00 PM
Gandhi more relevant today than ever

GANDHIJI continues to be the one name among the billion people of India, which is spelt out with respect in the many nations of the world. Men still wonder how a ‘half-naked fakir’ mobilised millions of Indians to fight successfully and non-violently for independence.

What is the relevance of Gandhi to the present generation? Among the several programmes arranged for television audience on Gandhi Jayanti day, the one on the Asianet channel anchored by a well-known film director, Balachandra Menon, was very thought provoking. Around him were a few schoolchildren, teenaged boys and girls, trying to figure out how he had impressed them.

‘Keeping the environment clean’—that is Gandhiji to some. A few others rated his love and sacrifice for the nation as inimitable. ‘Non-violence’ summed up the spirit of Gandhi to a few others. Quoting recent statements of some politicians that there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics, the film director attempted a contrast between the Mahatma’s great ideals and the sharp deterioration that had set in society.

At least initially, Rabindranath Tagore was not among his admirers. Yet, in an article written in January 1938, the poet had to admit this about the saintly nature of the Father of the Nation: “An ascetic himself, he does not frown on the joys of others, but works for the enlivening of their existence day and night. He exalts poverty in his own life, but no man in India has striven more assiduously for the material welfare of his people. A reformer with the zeal of a revolutionary, he imposes severe restraints on the very passions he provokes. Something of an idolater and also an iconoclast, he leaves the old gods in their dusty niches of sanctity and simply lures the old worship to better and more humane purposes. Professing his adherence to the caste system, he launches his firmest attack against it, where it keeps its strongest guards, and yet he has hardly suffered from popular disapprobation, as would have been the case with a lesser man who would have much less power to be effective in his efforts.”

He advises his followers to hate evil without hating the evil-doer. It sounds an impossible precept, but he has made it as true as it can be made in his own life. I had once occasion to be present at an interview he gave to a prominent politician who had been denounced by the official Congress party as a deserter. Any other Congress leader would have assumed a repelling attitude, but Gandhiji was all graciousness and listened to him with patience and sympathy, without once giving him an occasion to feel small.’’ Here, I said to myself, is a truly great man, for he is greater than the party he belongs to, greater even than the creed he professes.’’

It is this greatness of his as a man that still interests a vast ocean of humanity. Greatness is marked by all the qualities he displayed in his life.

He donned many roles—as a politician, as an organiser, as a leader of men, as a moral reformer, as a spiritual teacher and so on. But he was greater than all these as a man and had set the best example for the country of his birth in its attempt to solve its many problems..

We miss him today when the pluralistic nature of society plunges it into problems of intolerance, suspicion and mutual hatred. Though people still pay him only lip service, he has set the standards for best behaviour in societies as diverse as ours.

“Let me own this. If I could call myself, say, a Christian, or a Mussalman, with my own interpretation of the Bible or the Koran, I should not hesitate to call myself either. For then, Hindu, Christian and Mussalman would be synonymous terms. I do believe in the other world there are neither Hindus, nor Christians nor Mussalmans. They all are judged not according to their labels or professions but according to their actions irrespective of their professions. During our earthly existence there will always be these labels.

I therefore prefer to retain the label of my forefathers so long as it does not cramp my growth and does not debar me from assimilating all that is good anywhere else.’’

That is the example he has left us –in the matter of accepting one another disregarding all the differences. He maintained that his is not a religion of a prison house. “It has room for the least among God’s creations. But it is proof against insolence, pride of race religion or colour.’’

Gandhiji has believed too that the principal religions of the world constitute revelations of Truth, but they have been outlined by imperfect men; they have been affected by imperfections alloyed with untruth. “We must not be impatient with those we consider to be in error, but must be prepared if need be to suffer in our own person. One must therefore entertain the same respect for the religious faith of others as one accords to one’s own.’’

Another relevant lesson for us today from his life is his emphasis on the truth and the purity of the means. He insisted that men in their fight for claims must only so assert their rights, whether as individuals or as groups, as never to violate their fundamental obligation to humanity, which is to respect life.

All these principles have their root in his spirituality; his deep faith in God. “I am in the world feeling my way to light ‘amid the encircling gloom.’ I often err and miscalculate. My trust is solely in God. And I trust men only because I trust in God. If I had no God to rely upon, I should be, like Timon, a hater of my species.’’

“Have faith in God.” Is it what he meant when he said, “My life is my message!’’ There is reason to believe so.

ranjitjat
October 5th, 2003, 03:10 PM
Making us aware of politicians’ doublespeak
by Humra Quraishi

CO-INCIDENTALLY or not so, on the 134th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, I received a copy of Sadhav Mission Patrika. A small publication which focusses on issues relating to justice and a non-violent way of dealing with crisis, it is brought out by Mr V.K. Triparthi.

A professor at IIT Delhi, I have heard Triparthi speak at seminars and forums. The man is so taken up by the turbulence in society that he and his friends got together to bring out this publication. Not just leaving things to the written word, he even organises door-to-door campaigns and shanti paths to reach out to people and make them aware of the doublespeak of the politician.

Reacting and writing rather too blatantly at the chaos around: “Elections in India are round the corner…there is talk of temple, uniform civil code, cow and similar issues that are not even marginally relevant to the grave crisis of the survival of the masses and freedom of the nation…”

With my mind still focussed on Gandhi and the simplicity he stressed on, I walked into the library attached to the Bhai Vir Singh Sadan. I came face to face with the man in charge of this library — J.S. Anand. No, I can’t describe him to be an ordinary librarian, for this elderly man seems so very different. He speaks with so much patience and gentleness as though he has all the time in the world for you...and

with that I got talking to him for what seemed hours and you know just one sentence from him was enough to hit. “The biggest virtue in a person is simple thinking... blessed are those who think straight, for people who are complicated in their thinking and approach make life hell for others and also for themselves.

“And with that Anand went into the hidden virtues of simple thinking...

No great wonder that men like Mahatma Gandhi managed to take on the might of the British, through the simplicity of approach. Right now clutched in my hands are 125 postcards on Mahatma Gandhi made by the country’s top artists and put together in an attractive pack by SAHMAT. An excellent and affordable gift for keeps, for generations to come.

ranjitjat
October 6th, 2003, 05:10 PM
Linking Gandhian ideology with Tibetan tenet


Chandigarh, October 5
A group of Tibetan students from the city had the fortune of a chance meeting with their spiritual head His Holiness, the Dalai Lama today. On his way to Delhi from Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama sojourned in the city, where he talked to Tibetan students, who gathered in good numbers to attend their Head’s discourse at Punjab Bhavan in Sector 3. Coming from Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama was on his way to Delhi to further proceed for a four-nation tour to France, Spain, Germany and Czech Republic.

Speaking in Tibetan, the Dalai Lama shared with the students his experience of visiting the Pathankot Gandhi Ashram on October 2 and meeting the 95-year-old Gandhian Sidh Raj Dada, who is busy following the course Gandhi set for the world. Stressing on peace, which seemed so elusive the Dalai Lama established a clear connection between the Gandhian philosophy of ahimsa and the Buddhist tenet of non-violence.

Digressing from Gandhi, the Dalai Lama struck another interesting piece of conversation when he talked about connection between religion and science. Referring to his recent meetings with scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, which he visited during his US tour, the Dalai Lama talked of scientific facts that had roots in religion. He said, “It’s a myth that religion has nothing to do with science. My discussions and meetings with the scientists in Boston also confirmed this.” The Dalai Lama exemplified the statement by equating the concept of “shunya” in the Buddhist philosophy with quantum physics in science.

Urging the students to take interest in Buddhist studies, he stressed the need to practice Buddhist philosophy in letter and spirit. “Even the Chinese take interest in Buddhism. Reciting mantras or making offerings at temples is not sufficient. It is important to practice the soul of religion, which lies in goodness and all its elements of compassion, affection and non violence,” preached the Dalai Lama.

Making a mention of his US visit where he met the US President, Secretary of State, Senators and the Congressmen, the Dalai Lama said everyone in the USA was supportive of Tibet’s cause. The spiritual head, who also met 38 Chinese students at the Haward University in the USA, added that the Chinese students in America were open to logic. “They criticised their own country for its repressive policies. Once I met some Chinese students in Delhi. They also broke into tears on hearing of how much the Tibetans had suffered under the Chinese rule,” informed the Dalai Lama.

After a brief halt in Chandigarh, the Dalai Lama proceeded for Delhi where he has a couple of functions to attend tomorrow. The very first is his discourse at Budha Jayanti Park in Delhi. Later, the Dalai Lama has to attend a chanting festival, to be graced by saints of different religious faiths. Finally, the Dalai Lama will participate in a meeting on “Spiritual ways of sustainable and non-aggressive living”, to be held at India International Centre.