REMEMBERING GANDHI JI, THE MAHATMA
Today, the 2nd October 2021, is the 162nd birth
anniversary of Gandhiji, the Mahatma. To remember him is no obligation to him. On
the contrary, It is of great benefit to him who remembers him. Such is my case.
I have for long regarded him as my intellectual father. I lost my biological father long ago and the
vacuum created by him was immediately filled by Gandhiji by his teachings on almost every problem of life. For me he became
not only an omniscient teacher but also a world university. There was hardly an
issue on which he had not some great idea to bestow upon me.
His ideas on life’s innumerable problems were based on his
practical experiences which he called ‘MY
Experiments with Truth.’ Truth, which according to him, has
no form. Everyone forms such an idea or image of Truth as appeals to him, and
there will be as many images of Truth as there are men These will all be true
as long as they last. For, they enable a man to obtain every thing he wants.
There is a lot which he says about Truth and that is what I
think we must always remember for our
unassailable peace of mind .
Here are a few quotes gratefully selected by me from: The
Encyclopaedia of Gandhian Thoughts, complied by Anand T. Hingorani and
Ganga A. Hingorani, and Published by All India Congress Committee
(I), 24 Akbar Road New Delhi in the year
1985.
1.“The
definition of Truth is deposited in every human heart. Truth is that which you
believe to be true at this moment and that is your God. If a man worships this
relative truth, he is sure to attain the Absolute Truth, i.e. God, in, in
course of time.“
2. “All
reading is fruitless so long as we have not
learnt to live a truthful life. A
lover of Truth will not try to appear different from what he is. His thoughts,
words and actions will be harmonious. This condition is easy to attain for
those who recognised Truth as God.”
3. “Truth
is not to be found in books. Truth resides in every human heart, and one has to
search for it there, and to be guided as one sees it. But one has no right to coerce others to act according to his
own view of Truth.”
4.”There
should be Truth in thought, Truth in speech, and Truth in action. To the man
who has realized this Truth in its fulness, nothing else remains to be known,
because all knowledge is necessarily included in it. What is not included in
it, is not Truth, and so not true knowledge.”
5. It is
not given to man to know the whole
Truth. His duty lies in living up to the Truth as he sees it and , in doing so,
to resort to the purest means, i.e. to
non-violence.”
These quotes on Truth with which I would like to end this short write-up
are indeed an infallible guide to leading a perfectly peaceful life In this
otherwise turbulent world. However, Truth is not the only subject on which you
can go to Gandhian literature for your profound enlightenment. He writes even
on mundane issues like sewing machines, clapping,
dinners, tea and coffee.
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2nd
October 2021 G.R.Kanwal
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