No, I'm not trying to disrespect him. I am simply remembering him with the utmost fondness. He will always be Mahatma Gandhi to me. I remember growing up and drawing line drawings of his portrait. I remember researching his life (before there was Google) for school projects. I remember studying about him in every class, in every subject. I remember singing his songs and songs about him. He is everywhere we look - in the roads named after him in every Indian city, in our wallets, in the very essence of what makes a united, free India.
Where I wish we kept him more often, was in our hearts and in our minds.
I don't really know many people who grew up before independence but I did once happen to hear the story of what 15th Aug 1947 was like from someone who was 5 at the time. It was a celebration that resounded in every Indian's heart.
All of us who were born in independent India cannot even begin to imagine what life was like when a foreign power ruled over us. I pray, we never have to find out.
Perhaps this is why we take our freedom for granted. Perhaps it is because we don't know what it was like. Perhaps this is why we don't appreciate all that we have and spend a lot of our time criticising our government, our leaders and our fellow Indians. Perhaps this is why we don't really work towards making our great nation better. Perhaps because it is easier to just sit around, complain and wait for someone else to fix it.
I am not saying our country is perfect. Far from it. However a nation isn't made of the land or the resources, it is made by its people. I really hope we all can take a moment today, and everyday, to remember the teachings of this great man and try and live by just a few of the principles he spoke of.
Here's a small reminder of his wisdom:
I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
Where there is love there is life.
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
Action expresses priorities.
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
The future depends on what we do in the present.
Hate the sin, love the sinner.
Nobody can hurt me without my permission.
Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.
Let us live with him in our hearts and his teachings in our minds. Let us work to be better everyday so we can collectively be better as a nation. This will perhaps be the biggest birthday gift we can give him!!
"De di humein aazaadi bina kavach bina dhaal
Sabarmati ke sant tuney kar diya kamaal...."
XOXO
Vibhinta
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