By KK Muktan,
This year we observe Mahatma Gandhi’s 151st birth anniversary. On this occasion India is celebrating his birthday with befitting solemnity and paying respectful homage to the Father of the Nation. Prayer meetings are being held at Sabarmati Ashram, religious discourses are organized and Gandhiji’s philosophy is being propagated across India. It is, however, lamentable that of late, Indian people have been losing their faith and reverence for Bapuji and practically departed from his ideals. His birthdays are observed merely for the sake of formality and his great philosophy is discussed in academic institutions only. Many of us tend to hold the view that Gandhian philosophy has become old and obsolete and has no relevance with the present day order of things. While the Gandhian ideology is being revered across the world, it is unfortunate that in his own home country many of his great ideals are gradually fading away.
In 2015 a huge statue of Mahatma Gandhi was erected at the Palace of Westminster, London within the premises of Parliament Square. Gandhian philosophy is gradually gaining ground among people across the world today. Gandhiji’s beloved prayer song – Vaishnava janato ene kahiye, pir parai janere, is sung with reverence in countries like South Africa, South Korea, Denmark, Germany etc. every day, but rarely in our own country. Universal truth and ideals propounded by great men never fade away ; they remain forever, as a great leading force and inspire humanity for peace, love and happiness.
Gandhiji’s teachings are universal and more relevant today than ever before. However, one has to go deep into the root of the matter to really comprehend his philosophy. For example, Ahimsa (non-violence) literally means non-killing. But the doctrine of Ahimsa propounded by Gandhiji has a world of meaning and takes one into much higher realms that are infinitely deeper than what it appears to be in the literal sense. Ahimsa really means that one must not offend anyone nor harbour uncharitable thoughts even against one’s enemy. For Gandhiji there is no room for enemy, he denied the very existence of enemy. Gandhiji’s ahimsa admits no retaliation or a grudge in one’s mind. If one returns a blow for blow, he departs from the doctrine of ahimsa. For Gandhiji non-violence was a weapon which he used during freedom movement of India against the British and he actually succeeded in his mission, finally.
Gandhiji propounded Satyagraha or adherence to truth. Truth, for Gandhiji means what the inner voice tells us. Truth is within ourselves. Gandhiji says, there is an innermost center within all of us where truth abides in fullness. Every wrongdoer knows within himself that he is doing wrong, but only a few refrain from repeating that wrong. The law of truth is merely understood to mean that we must speak the truth. Truth is the source of our character. Love and truth are two faces of the same coin. A person cannot be true if he does not love God’s creation. Truth and love are, therefore the complete sacrifice. Gandhiji said, true love is boundless like the ocean and, swelling within one, spreads itself out and, crosses all boundaries and frontiers, envelops the whole world. Love unites while hatred divides.
From the above expositions it is clear that the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi are extremely relevant to the prevailing situations in the world, especially in India today. The growing hatred and intolerance between man and man, between community and community, class and class prevalent in our country can be assuaged only through the path shown by Gandhiji. Ahimsa, truth and love are the only antidote to the disease that our country suffers today. India has plunged into a deep orgy of hatred and intolerance leading to violence and mindless killing. Every day the front pages of newspapers are hit by news of ghastly acts of lynching and killing innocent people simply on the grounds of differences in faith, belief and culture. People who belong to the minority communities are systematically discriminated against, assaulted and even killed. This state of affairs is sickening the conscience of every sensible Indian.
Sexual violence against women has become one of the biggest social menace in India. According to National Crime Records Bureau, one woman is raped every twenty minutes in India. Statistics reveal that the incidence of rape and murder is on the rise. Within the period of one year from 2011 to 2012, sexual violence against women has increased by 3 percent. This is based on the cases reported while many such cases of violence go unreported because of various reasons.
Violence against children has become widespread and pervasive in India. It has many forms, such as – physical, sexual abuse, negligence, and child labour. Today millions of children across India are victims of all kinds of violence.
Acts of intolerance and hatred against low caste people by higher class Hindus in India is another social menace that has remained a harsh reality for millions of Hindu Dalits. The Dalits are socially humiliated, economically oppressed and physically assaulted. Mahatma Gandhi was against the caste system. He called the low caste people “Harijana” (children of God) and gave equal respect to them.
In short the tragedy of India today is the religious and class conflicts that have plagued it since long past. It is against this menace that Mahatma Gandhi fought consistently until he finally lost his life, for this cause. He undertook hunger strike unto death in order to end the human holocaust that was perpetrated by Hindus and Muslims against each other. He looked upon all religions with equal respect and advised others to honour each others’ religion. He sang the famous prayer song “Hindu Muslim, Sikh, Ishai, hum sab hai bhai bhai” and often held that honesty and ahimsa should be the principle of all religion and social classes.
Mahatma Gandhi was the one person who seemed to comprehend the grave consequences of India’s partition. Unfortunately, a wrong message was spread about his having agreed to the partition of India along communal lines. Gandhiji neither agreed to the proposal of partition nor was a party to it in any way. Because Gandhiji made his position clear by saying – ‘let it not be presumed that Gandhi was party to India’s vivisection’.
If only Mahatma Gandhi were alive today, the situation of our country would have been different. Let us hope that the India of tomorrow will fulfill the dream of the Mahatma which is reflected in this prayer written by him on January 18, 1948 as he broke his final fast, which he had undertaken to bring an end to the waves of violence between Hindus, Muslims and other religious groups throughout India.
Let me conclude this article with his famous prayer which he wrote in January, 1948, just seven days before he was assassinated by a Hindu fundamentalist, as he was about to begin a public prayer meeting.
“From untruth lead me unto truth/ From darkness lead me unto light/From death lead me unto life everlasting…….”
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