Mahatma Gandhi: Forgettable or Immortal?

 More than ever before, I have on this 154th birth anniversary not felt the need to defend or justify my positive feelings for the man who is still called by many the Father of the Nation. While there has never been a dearth of Gandhi critics in his lifetime and later, many worshipped him and considered him to be a great soul (Mahan Atma or Mahatma) a title bestowed on him by none other than Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore who differed from Gandhi and disagreed with him on numerous occasions. 

  As I write today I have started rereading a recent biography of Gandhi before India and will follow it up with the Indian part of Gandhi's story. Only after I finish these will I be able to answer this question adequately. Even as I reflect on my life I feel that it is extremely difficult to understand the true essence of a man especially in hind sight. Suffice to say that he was certainly different from any other giant leader of the Indian freedom struggle. Many critics circulate evidence to prove  that India got it's final freedom as a result of circumstances which made it untenable to hold on to India and I do not dispute that for a moment. All I can say is that for Gandhiji, political freedom was not the ultimate goal but Swarajya translated as Self Rule which meant that national freedom was not possible without individual freedom for all Indians and no discrimination of any kind was justifiable.  

  What attracted  me a young school college student and doctor to a great leader like Gandhi was the early reading of the Autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi and its title My Experiment's with Truth. All Gandhi books had a disclaimer in which he claimed that there was a possibility that he would contradict himself and in such a case the view expressed later should be considered his view. The fact that he was a seeker and experimenting with life showed a humility which was rare as well as totally refreshing to me. His autobiography and his books are perfect examples of clarity of thought and communication. His schooling and background was as ordinary as can be and he showed no academic brilliance. He was a timid awkward youth but over time he showed extraordinary determination and steadfastness to become a callosal leader. 

  Most Indian National Congress leaders like Gandhi were English speaking and educated barristers similar to Mahatma Gandhi. The difference lay in the exposure he had in South Africa and later in India he to different thoughts and cultures. The list of books that influenced Gandhi made me realize why he was so different. 

Rather than dwell on his life or relevance, I would like to point out some reasons why I respect Mahatma Gandhi above all others. 

• Practice what you preach: is a dictum which applied to Gandhi more than anybody. His life was an open book and there are many uncomfortable private things about his life relating to his vow of celibacy which he revealed to the public even if it meant inviting criticism and censure from his associates. Another example was when he teased his wife about her unwillingness to give up salt when she was diagnosed hypertensive. When she challenged him to leave something he liked he gave up sweets and salt for one full year to give her company.
• Use of wrong means to achieve ends however noble can never be justified: Many instances come to mind, the most popular being the Chauri Chaura incident in Gorakhpur UP in 1922. At the height of the Civil Disobedience movement the whole nation erupted in non-violent protest against British Raj. Gandhi had prepared the masses for non-violent protest and in the days where the methods of mass communication were primitive, Gandhi and his group of freedom fighters had the situation under control and the protests remained completely non violent. This one protest at Chauri Chaura became violent and the protestors turned back and set the police station on fire. In a gruesome act of retaliation 22 policemen were burnt alive. Gandhi who had the British Empire at it's knees and just when victory was in sight he called of the movement and gave the British a reprieve. A  temporary retreat led in creating a huge impact on the final contour of freedom. Many nations have achieved independence by resorting to armed violent protests and most of them do not have democracies and rule by dictatorship. Violence leads to violence and Gandhi never once wavered from his commitment to non-violence and truth. 
• Truth is God meant that he truly imbibed the Vedantic concept of Sat Chit Ananda that is Knowledge- Consciousness- Bliss. God was within you and was the Real Self within one and was not an obscure abstract power. The power of the difference of the utterance God is Truth vs Truth is God was such that if there was something of an agnostic or atheistic tendency in me it quickly disappeared from my thoughts. The concept of Brahman was clear to me by the simplicity of the statement Truth is God. 
• Environmentalist and Natural Healing Much before the environmental activism he understood the need to preserve the resources provided by mother earth and even as he bathed in the river he thought of it as a shared resource to be used sparingly. He replied to letters on the back of the paper and cut the envelopes he received letters in such a manner to allow reuse. He believed in Natural Healing to the greatest extent possible but also believed that faith played a large part in healing. The example of  his son who had Typhoid fever comes to mind. He had to make a choice between feeding his son beef broth vs using mud packs. He tried the latter but was not getting results. He then tried the pack once more and left the result in the hand of Lord Rama whose name he chanted till he returned home to a cured joyous son. 
• Passage Meditation is something I practice I imagine his All Religions prayer with concentration and rapt attention to each and every word was a real example of this kind of meditation. Many eyewitness accounts talk of the meditative atmosphere in these meetings where Gandhi seemed one with his prayers thoughts and words, a perfect example action in actionlessness. 
• Physical and Mental Fitness of the highest order marked his life and his book keys to health give many ideas which are modern day discovered super foods. He did intermittent and regular fasting, ate frugally and yet was energetic to the extent that at age of over 60 he was walking 20 kms daily in the Dandi Yatra at a brisk pace which made many struggled to keep pace with. 
• Communal Harmony & Religious Reform He made Hindu Muslim Unity, and abolition of caste based discrimination a key element of his life's work. His assassination was what probably ended the frenzy of partition cross border killings. His refusal to attend marriages where one of the partners was not from the lower caste was an example of his commitment to removing untouchability. 
• Living in the moment a hall mark of Gandhi was shown in the movie on Gandhi where in the midst of his discussion on an important issue relating to the tactics needed to fight the British, Gandhiji just walked off as he had a task of feeding his goat was his task for that time of the day. I did not realize what this meant and just felt that this was a fad of his and he was a bit rude in moving to something which appeared trivial at that time. Later, I read a book Gandhi: The Man where Easwaran as a young man who with his friends had an appointment with Mahatma Gandhi at Sevagram. They were waiting in the evening for the time slot, but they were witnessing a frenzy of activity and turmoil as top Congress leaders were busy and seemed to want Gandhi's guidance on matters of National interest akin to the situation in the movie. So they felt that in this situation Gandhi would not pay attention to them or would cancel the appointment. To their pleasant surprise the Mahatma came at the appointed hour looking as fresh as a rested person. He gave undivided full attention and answered all their question with clarity. He gave advise to the youth and at the end of the time allotted he left them and asked them to continue this conversation at his evening walk. His ability to switch on and off with all the worries he remained calm and composed without a worry about the past and anxiety about the future. 

  He had his faults and had not very complimentary things to say about doctors and lawyers with respect to their not being averse to prolong disease or dispute as case maybe in order to make more money for themselves. However, today I have experienced that my colleagues in the medical field and many lawyers are working overtime to prove him right. In his treatment of Kasturba, his wife in the early years of her life and his eldest son Gandhi may have been at fault. He was painfully aware of his limitations and deficiencies and willingly acknowledged them.

In conclusion I am sharing my feelings for Gandhiji or Bapu as he was known to his followers. I do not care what his critics feel as they will in these polarized times. He to me will never be forgettable and will be Immortal. I rest my case and like Gandhi will take all criticism of his without being affected. I request all readers to relook at the real Gandhi and make their own judgement. 

Vispi Jokhi