by Yogesh Kumar Goyal
Born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, Mahatma Gandhi remained an ideal hero for the people of India throughout his life. The entire world is well acquainted with his unforgettable contribution to India’s freedom struggle. Following the path of non-violence, Gandhi led India towards freedom from British rule and influenced the entire world with his thoughts. Based on his experiences, he wrote several books, which continue to show us a new path in life even today because his experiences and thoughts remain as meaningful today as they were during that era. In the truest sense, Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, continues to be a guide for crores of young Indians.
There were three important principles in his life. The first was the use of the broom to remove social filth. The second was to give importance to collective prayer, rising above the barriers of caste, creed and religion. The third was the spinning wheel, which later came to be regarded as a symbol of self-reliance and unity.
Gandhi ji often used to say that happiness is the only perfume that, when you pour it on others, a few drops of it also fall upon you. He used to say that a person’s identity is not determined by his clothes but by his character. With the aim of sowing the seeds of positivity among those who obstruct the progress of others and those who possess negative thinking, he said, “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.” Inspiring people to understand the importance of time and make proper use of it, he said that those who save time also save money, and the money saved in this manner is as important as the money earned. He would say that whatever work you do may be of little importance, but the most important thing is that you do something. Inspiring people to learn something new every day and every moment of life, Gandhi ji used to say, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow, but learn as if you were to live forever.” His words had a deep impact on the hearts and minds of the people of India.
There was such power in Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughts that even his opponents could not refrain from praising him. Several anecdotes also reveal clear glimpses of his honesty, outspokenness, truthfulness and courtesy. Once, Mahatma Gandhi was playing badminton with Mrs. Sarojini Naidu. Mrs. Naidu had an injury to her right hand. Seeing this, Gandhi ji also held the racket in his left hand. When Mrs. Naidu noticed this, she burst out laughing and said, “You don’t even know which hand the racket is supposed to be held in?” Bapu replied, “You too are holding the racket in your left hand because your right hand is injured, and I do not want to take advantage of anyone’s helplessness. If you cannot play with your right hand because of your difficulty, why should I take advantage of my right hand?”
Once, Gandhi ji was addressing a meeting organized in the locality of the Harijans and the Meman community in Jaitpur. The Meman community is a particular community of Kathiawadi Muslims. In those days, the boys belonging to this community were known to be very unruly, mischievous and wayward. As soon as Gandhi ji began his speech, a boy of about 10–12 years also arrived at the venue. Pushing his way through the people, he reached the front, smoking a bidi and staring rudely at Gandhi ji while blowing out smoke. Gandhi ji noticed the boy and immediately stopped his speech. Looking towards him, he said, “Oh, look, such a small boy is smoking a bidi. Come on, brother, throw it away, throw the bidi away.” Gandhi ji’s simple words had a magical effect on the boy. He immediately took the bidi out of his mouth and threw it away, then sat politely among the audience and listened very attentively to Gandhi ji’s speech.
Once, Mahatma Gandhi was travelling by train from Champaran to Bettiah. As there was not much crowd in the train, he went into a third-class compartment and lay down on a berth. At the next station, a farmer boarded the compartment. Seeing Gandhi ji lying on the berth, he abused him and said, “Get up from here. You are sprawled across the berth as if this train belongs to your father.” Without saying anything to the farmer, Gandhi ji quietly got up and sat to one side. The farmer then comfortably sat on the berth and began singing merrily, “Blessed be Gandhi Maharaj! Gandhi ji, the one who removes the sufferings of the distressed…” Interestingly, the farmer was actually travelling to Bettiah to have Gandhi ji’s darshan, but since he had never seen Gandhi ji before, he failed to recognize him in the train. When they reached Bettiah and thousands of people gathered at the station to welcome Gandhi ji, the farmer realized what had happened and, overcome with embarrassment, lowered his eyes. He fell at Gandhi ji’s feet and begged for forgiveness. Gandhi ji lifted him up and affectionately embraced him.
Another anecdote dates back to the time when Gandhi ji was serving a sentence of rigorous imprisonment. One day, after he had completed all the work assigned to him, he sat to one side and began reading a book in his free time. Just then, a prison guard came running to him and told him that the jailer was coming to inspect the prison and therefore he should keep himself engaged in some work so that the jailer could see him working. But Gandhi ji categorically refused to do so and said, “It would be better to send me to a place where there is so much work that it cannot possibly be completed ahead of time.”
When the Second World War began, most of the leaders of the country were of the view that this was exactly the right opportunity to free the country from the British and that they should take advantage of this golden opportunity by launching a large-scale movement in the country. In fact, they believed that since the British government would be preoccupied with the Second World War, it would not be able to confront such a movement by the people of India and would ultimately be forced to bow before the nationwide movement, thereby compelling the British to grant India independence with relative ease. When the same issue was raised before Gandhi ji, he refused to take advantage of the British government’s predicament. Although Gandhi ji did launch a movement against the British during that period, his movement was not a mass movement but one conducted at the individual level.
(Author is ajournalist who has been active in journalism for 36 years and is the author of several books, including ‘Sagar Se Antariksh Tak: Bharat Ki Raksha Kranti’)
