The Man in Khadi

vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je
peed paraayii jaaNe re
par-dukhkhe upakaar kare toye
man abhimaan naa aane re

I have always been a great admirer of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. No, my friend, this post is definitely not inspired by Lage Raho Munnabhai.:) It was 2nd October yesterday. Also a discussion with a friend of mine about Gandhiji sparked off this post. I felt that I had to write about this "larger than life" person.

Right from my primary school, I used to watch the film, "Gandhi" on October 2nd. The DD would telecast it every year. I never got bored of this movie. Every year, I felt that I understood the movie better. And then I got hold of "My Experiments with the Truth" five years ago. I was amazed by the truth and the honesty in that book. I also loved the way he experimented with everything and learnt lessons from his experiments. His simplicity fascinated me.

And then one day, I started reading about Bhagat Singh. The fact that Gandhiji could have saved the lives of the three brave revolutionaries was unknown to me. But Gandhiji did not do so. I also read about Gandhiji's family. I felt that his children were the ignored lot. There are also rumours about Gandhiji being partial to Jinnah. After reading all that, the impression of Gandhiji being a perfect person disappeared.

But when I think about it, I find that I have equal respect for Bhagat Singh and Gandhiji. Their paths were entirely different. But they were great personalities in their own ways.

The other day, my friend was telling me that Gandhiji was a great leader. True, he led the masses of India very effortlessly. And the majority of them trusted his abilities and leadership. He was a man who lived his life strictly bound to his principles. He fought the freedom struggle in a unique way. Certain principles of Gandhiji like Satyagraha and Ahimsa were instant inspirations with the youth of the country. Yes, Gandhiji did some mistakes. Unfortunately, they were major mistakes. But then he was not God. He was human after all. And the way he fought for freedom selflessly can never be forgotten.

I don't know how much of his principles will be followed by our and the future generations. But his simplicity, determination, and honesty will definitely continue to inspire me, as always.