FINDING GOD .. the Gandhian Way

A part from being the father of the nation and the driving force behind our freedom struggle, Mahatma Gandhi was also a man whose faith instilled a moral compass of the highest order in not just his followers but anyone who performed public service.  If one observes the Mahatma's life, he or she would understand that spirituality was at the centre of every action undertaken by him.  Liberating the country with his concept of ashima (non-violence) and tolerance, the Mahatma had imbibed the highest ideals of faith in his followers, urging them to renounce the use of force to prove a point and treat each faith with the same respect that they would afford their own.  And it is a well known fact that Gandhi's commitment to religion did not mean commitment to a single religion.  
***
Every faith had full freedom and complete equality, and in his prayer meetings his Gita has the same space as the Holy Quran, the Bible and the Guru Granth Saheb.  He spoke of a Ram Rajya because Lord Rama was an ideal, an image that most Indians could identify with, but there was no propaganda in his concept of divinity, and there was always equal space for all faiths.  When Gandhiji was asked about his opinion on God and spirituality he said, "The Truth is my God."
***

And it's that universal truth which has inspired the likes of everyone from Martin Luther King Jr to Nelson Mandela.  That truth laid the foundation for the way in which Bapuji conducted his life.  He never really considered himself a religiously or communally inclined person.  Nevertheless in his morning prayers and even in his last breath - his belief in the truth being a manifestation of God was unwavering.

***

Once he was asked about the relevance of the phrase Hey Ram in his life.  And he replied that he felt the same degree of peace and contentment when he uttered the phrase that another individual would feel uttering the name of Mohammed.  If both names were capable of invoking a similar effect - that of utmost calmness and fulfilment - weren't they one and the same thing?  It was just one of the pointers to how secular Gandhi was in his outlook.

***

On the eve of India's independence, when Sardar Patel and Pandit Nehru unfurled and tricolour at the Red Fort,  Gandhiji was nowhere in sight.  When Bapuji was questioned about the same, he said India would not have achieved true independence until the day the Hindus and the Muslims learned to co-exist in harmony.  He literally lived by the mantra of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which means the whole world is one family....

................THE WRITER IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE GANDHIAN STUDIES CENTRE AT BHAVNAGAR UNIVERSITY.....................
****

MORE THAN A CENTURY AFTER MAHATMA GANDHI, THE FATHER OF THE NATION USHERED IN THE ERA OF A SPIRITUAL AND HOLISTIC APPROACH TO POLITICS AND SOCIETY, HIS PHILOSOPHY FINDS A MODERN DAY RESONANCE IN ALMOST EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE............

***
.............'''''''''If one observes the Mahatma's life, he or she would understand that spirituality was at the centre of every action undertaken by him'''''''''''''''........................