A True Tribute to our ‘Mahatma’

2^nd October, 2018 was commemorated in India to mark the 149^th birth anniversary of Gandhiji. Even after seven decades of his demise, people all over the country, fondly remember him as ‘Mahatma’ who crumbled the colossal British Empire in India with the weapons of truth and non-violence. Every year this day is also observed as The International Day of Non Violence.

In a world (during Gandhiji’s time) that was being ravaged by wars round the globe and where ‘an eye for an eye’ was the only prevalent school of thought, Gandhiji’s philosophy worked as a balm for the bleeding souls. His beliefs resonate with the divinity of the saints’ sermons as they aim at the piousness of soul than just body.

Gandhiji’s immense faith in the ultimate arbiter of our fate-God, ‘Satya’, ‘Ahimsa’, love, equality, justice and yearning for an ideal society make his philosophy pertinent even to today’s scenario. A mere glimpse around the world proves the veracity of this point. ‘I did cheat in the exams but it was just a one mark question’, ‘One year of my child will get wasted, so there is no harm in taking admission by paying exorbitant price for it’, ‘Nothing wrong in mustering illegal funds for success in the elections’, ‘I tricked him into admitting his guilt’… commonly heard statements and an allusion to the fast-pace degradation of our values. Bereft of truthfulness, our ethics need to be revamped with virtuosity and an understanding commensurate with Bapu’s thoughts. If only we begin to express our disapproval with the statement that ‘ends’ justify the ‘means’, just like Gandhiji, the world will not witness the want of nobility and grandeur of souls.

Years of bickering over Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri masjid issue has brought together hundreds of politicians and ‘saviours of religion’ unitedly to claim the disputed land, boisterously raising the slogans of ‘adherence to dharma’ but conveniently forgetting the supreme ‘dharma’ -service to mankind and love for God’s creation, the principle, lived in spirit and essence by Gandhiji.

How easily ‘malice’ , ‘hatred’ , ‘spite’ find their way into the hearts of the people today and  the expanding sway of terrorism is a testimony to it. If only Gandhiji’s spirit could pervade the vindictive human mind, it would have expounded them that true might lies in forgiveness and ’ahimsa’ in an attribute of a strong person.

Let this era be the revival of Gandhian philosophy, let’s live up to his ideals, let Gandhiji be our inner eye…. This will be the true tribute to our ‘Mahatma’!