Ah, dear friend, Mahatma Gandhi was not merely a person to me, but rather, he was and continues to be a profound idea—a beacon of truth, nonviolence, and service that still illuminates our path forward. He taught us the power of humility and the potency of patience and persistence in bringing about sustainable change.
Gandhiji practiced a continuous, introspective dialogue with himself, refining and deepening his own understanding of truth and non-violence. His teachings were dynamic and ever-evolving, much like the river that continually carves newer paths, never content with mirroring its past.
But, as I stand in his shadow, it is crucial for us to understand this – we should not confine Gandhiji's teachings to what he explicitly said and did in his lifetime. Rather, we need to grasp the essence of his idea – his unwavering dedication to truth and nonviolence.
Much like you derive nourishment from the fruit, not by looking at it but by consuming it, likewise, to truly understand Gandhiji, we must imbibe his ideals into our lives. We must relentlessly strive for truth, practice non-violence, cultivate compassion for all living beings, and dedicate ourselves to the service of others without expecting anything in return. In doing so, we will be honoring his legacy and keeping his spirit alive.
So, delve into your heart, let his ideas inspire your actions, let your direct experience of service grounds his teachings in reality. Remember, the path of service is not an easy one, there will be obstacles and moments of frustration, but see those as opportunities to learn, grow, and strengthen your resolve.
And in the end, let peace be our guide, for only in peace can we truly connect heart to heart, and only through such connections can we uphold the principle of interdependence. This is the legacy of Gandhiji that we carry within us, ever pushing humanity towards a brighter, more harmonious
The sources below helped generate your response ...
- since he thought, wrote and acted in a
significant way with regard to every matter of human interest
and humanity's future evolution to a higher stage there is no end
to people having their own view about him and his views.
apart from gandhi's views on the varied aspects and problems
of life, what is most important is his basic approach and attitude
towards human life itself, its challenges, and the direction in which
man may proceed in order to fulfil his present assignment and
assure his future great destiny, namely, living a perfect life in
iv
peace, happiness and harmony. it is here that we find his great cm-
phasis on truth and non-violence as the firm bedrock of his thought
and action. of course in the course of his active life, which was a
real experiment in the spirit of a scientist, with truth itsclf as he
saw and felt it from time to time, he invested both 'truth' and
'non-violence' with greater significance and with new and deeper
meanings. ultimately he declared that 'truth' itself was god, and
he added, 'god' is deniable and is in fact denicd by many, but
truth of one's own experience cannot be denied, since that
amounts to denial of oneself.
it was the same case with non-violence. ahimsa, literally,
non-injury to any sentient creature, was but the beginning of non-
violence.
Source: 259705654-On-Gandhi.txt... - but if he thought of him as an idea,
12 vinoba on gandhi
it would be sufficient to address gandhi. today, for
me, gandhiji is no longer'a person, he is an idea.
let us understand this fact about gandhiji. if
not, we shall never be able to make anything of him.
gandhiji changed and developed from moment to mo-
ment. he was not a man who merely brought out
ever new editions of the same book. no one can say
what turn his ideas would have taken had he been alive
today. to argue that he had advocated a certain cou-
rse of action at a certain time and that, therefore, he
would bless the same course of action would be futile
conjecture. i would go further and say that no one has
the right to indulge in such conjectures. as the books
say, who can fathom the hearts of men who have tran-
scended worldly considerations ? we should, there-
fore, refrain from idle guessing as to what gandhiji
would have done or not done if he were alive today.
we should otherwise be doing a great injustice to gan-
dhiji. we should be content that he has given us an
idea and in the light of that idea we should do our own
thinking. it will be urjust to him to confine his tea-
ching within what he said and did. we must not be-
come literalists.
we must take from great men only their ideas.
Source: 259705654-On-Gandhi.txt... - 1948) wrote at that time : 'now we shall miss the
weckly dialogue which gandhi held with himself'.
the collected works of gandhi have already run to more than
fifty volumes, we are promised thirty more at least. more
than a thousand books in english and several hundreds in about
forty different janguages have been identified by those who are
trying to bring out a comprehensive bibliography on and about
gandhi. all the fourteen languages of india, including clas-
sical sanskrit, have also contributed substantially to this vast
volume of 'gandhiana',
a number of close associates as well as devoted followers have
written about gandhi and presented him as he struck them in the
various aspects of his multisplendoured eventful life.
it is difficult to evaluate all this literature on gandhi. there
is not a little that is critical though not much has appeared which
is directly hostile. historians too will take some time before
they place him in the political history of modern india and assess
his influence on the political and socio-economic as well as ethical
thought of the world. since he thought, wrote and acted in a
significant way with regard to every matter of human interest
and humanity's future evolution to a higher stage there is no end
to people having their own view about him and his views.
Source: 259705654-On-Gandhi.txt...