TODAY is the 142nd birth anniversary of truly one of the greatest men to have set foot on the face of the earth, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
His teachings of peace and non-violence have become even more relevant albeit after more than six decades since his passing.
Adopted as Mahatma (The Great Soul), Gandhi was a freedom fighter, spiritual leader and humanist. He was also a remarkable and courageous individual, combining his spiritual beliefs with his struggle for freedom and justice with his only weapon being truth and non-violence.
He was a man of impeccable and uncompromising moral principles.
As Bertrand Russell noted: “Gandhi’s successes throughout his career depended upon a combination of deep religious conviction and astute political insight. He was immovable when he was certain that one of his many moral principles was involved. He was flexible whenever there was negotiation within the limits of his principles. When his followers got out of hand and practiced violence that he could not countenance, he would punish himself by a fast. And as his devoted adherents imagined him becoming daily more emaciated and risking death on account of their misbehaviour, they inevitably repented and, like naughty children, promised not to do it again. His motive in all this was religious, but the effect was to reveal his power upon the whole movement that he had created. Who could venture to disobey a revered and beloved leader who would inflict upon himself suffering, and perhaps death, in expiation of the sins of others? It was a perfect technique, but it was perfect because in his own mind it was not a technique, but obedience to the dictates of duty.”
He demonstrated to the world that political change could be achieved without the use of guns and violence even though his political adversaries resorted to these brutal and barbaric methods.
Even those in the western world became heavily influenced by his non-violent methods of struggle and as such, the great American civil rights leader Martin Luther King (Jr) became a disciple of Gandhi employing similar methods in his struggle against racial discrimination and oppression of Black people in the United States.
The South African political icon Nelson Mandela was also overwhelmed by the teachings and methods of Gandhi’s political struggle.
And, of course, Guyana’s late President Cheddi Jagan was deeply influenced by the struggles of the Mahatma in his quest to liberate India from the yoke of British colonialism.
Gandhi’s philosophy was built on three main pillars – truth, passive resistance and non-violence.
Truth or ‘Satya’ was the sovereign principle of Mahatma Gandhi’s life. The Mahatma’s life was an eternal conquest to discover truth and his journey to that end was marked by experiments on himself and learning from his own mistakes.
Fittingly, his autobiography was titled ‘My Experiments with Truth’. Gandhi strictly maintained that the concept of truth is above and beyond all other considerations and one must unfailingly embrace truth throughout one’s life.
He pioneered the term Satyagraha which literally translates to ‘an endeavour for truth.’
In the context of the Indian freedom movement, Satyagraha meant the resistance to the British oppression through mass civil obedience. The tenets of truth or Satya and nonviolence were pivotal to the Satyagraha movement and Gandhi ensured that the millions of Indians seeking an end to British rule adhered to these basic principles steadfastly.
The principle of non-violence or Ahimsa has been integral to many Indian religions and Mahatma Gandhi espoused for total non-violence in the Indian freedom struggle. He was determined to purge the Satyagraha movement of any violent elements and incidents of violence by Satyagrahis in Chauri Chaura, Uttar Pradesh led him to call off the civil disobedience movement.
Gandhi’s adoption of vegetarianism is often regarded a manifestation of his faith in the principles of nonviolence.
His philosophy is even more relevant in today’s world which is embroiled in senseless violence and wars which are snuffing out the lives of thousands of innocent people, including women and children and causing suffering to millions of people throughout the world.
On this birth anniversary of this Great Soul today, mankind should really reflect and re-examine his teachings and in so doing draw the inspiration and motivation to reject violence and wars as a means to resolving differences among people.
India’s first Prime Minister and co-leader of the independence struggle, Jawaharlal Nehru, in his eulogy to the Mahatma, summed it up beautifully: “He has gone, and all over India there is a feeling of having been left desolate and forlorn. All of us sense that feeling, and I do not know when we shall be able to get rid of it.
“And yet together with that feeling there is also a feeling of proud thankfulness that it has been given to us of this generation to be associated with this mighty person. In ages to come, centuries and maybe millennia after us, people will think of this generation when this man of God trod on earth, and will think of us who, however small, could also follow his path and tread the holy ground where his feet had been. Let us be worthy of him.”