Once Albert Einstein quoted “It is hard to believe such a man with flesh and blood has walked on earth”. Albert Einstein was partly correct when he said this about Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Like all great men, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a bundle of contradictions. An acknowledged saint, he was also a self proclaimed sinner. He preached love and compassion towards every living creature on earth yet he was harsh towards his own wife and cruelly negligent towards his sons. He identified with the poor, yet he accepted the hospitality of wealthy business houses. He was understanding forgiving and warm; he could also be densely stubborn.
This man was devastatingly realistic when it suited him. He would not forgive Subhas Chandra Bose (best of his disciple) for getting elected as congress president, in spite of his defiance. He didn’t hesitate to use emotional blackmail to force Bose to resign. He considered Sardar Patel, C.Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) and Jawarharlal Nehru as his “eye, ear & tougue” and regarded them as soul mates who shared his every sentiment. He discarded Rajaji and Sardar patel in favour of Jawarharlal Nehru when he saw that Nehru had a glamorous appeal the others two lacked. He justified selecting the worst of the three, by saying that “when I am gone, he will speak my language”. Nehru did nothing of that kind, in spite being at the helm of affairs for 16 years (1948-1964), enjoying ultimate control of a young nation.
A harsh husband, cruel father, antediluvian, an annihilator of critics when necessary, a calculating politician who would put glamour above ideological affinity. But what made people perceive him to be a “Mahatma” and made people to suffix “Ji” after his name???
The whole point is that he carried out his mission without trying to hide his human frailties. The positive aspect of his personality reduced the negative aspect to insignificance. Historian have forecasted with confidence that Gandhi’s effect on human history would be more than that of Stalin or Hitler.
Gandhi’s views were not just relevant to India but to the entire world. No doubt India extracted unequalled benefit from his leadership. By attaching his ideas into the Indian freedom struggle, the struggle achieved a stature that could not be given to other countries like China and some African nation.
One can’t measure his impact on history just by taking into account his mission in India and South Africa. Other who fought for freedom such as Sardar Patel, Gaffar Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru, will be just remembered only for what they did in and fro India. This is where Gandhi scored over others, he dealt essentially with ideas and theories relevant to mankind. Like Buddhism, Gandhism has lost ground in the land where it evolved, but embraced by people living in distant corners of the world.
The Ottomans, Mughals, British and Spanish strode the earth as if they owned it. Out of these forces, only British and Spanish survive that to as second class entities confined to Europe. The first king to be called “Great”, Alexander died at an incredible age of 33; nothing of his greatness remains today even in his native, Greece.
Gandhi as a teacher…
Gandhi was a great teacher. He dealt with a set of student from a diverse background and different age group in Tolstoy farm. He was a ideal teacher who taught students by creating curiosity about the topic amongst students rather than spoon-feeding them with notes. He once resorted to corporal punishment and felt remorse for that action of his. He introduced the concept of vocational training, long before this concept had any real significance. He was ahead of times by centuries.
Misleading Gandhism…
What made Gandhi great was also the high level of courage to stand by his conviction, especially at times of adversity. Probably, Gandhi never propagated the ideology of peace as he is perceived to be. People who could not practice the real Gandhism seem to have built the brand “Gandhi” to sound synonymous to peace. But he really stood for having high level conviction and standing by that at times of adversity and peace was just something he believe in and practiced.
This man was devastatingly realistic when it suited him. He would not forgive Subhas Chandra Bose (best of his disciple) for getting elected as congress president, in spite of his defiance. He didn’t hesitate to use emotional blackmail to force Bose to resign. He considered Sardar Patel, C.Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) and Jawarharlal Nehru as his “eye, ear & tougue” and regarded them as soul mates who shared his every sentiment. He discarded Rajaji and Sardar patel in favour of Jawarharlal Nehru when he saw that Nehru had a glamorous appeal the others two lacked. He justified selecting the worst of the three, by saying that “when I am gone, he will speak my language”. Nehru did nothing of that kind, in spite being at the helm of affairs for 16 years (1948-1964), enjoying ultimate control of a young nation.
A harsh husband, cruel father, antediluvian, an annihilator of critics when necessary, a calculating politician who would put glamour above ideological affinity. But what made people perceive him to be a “Mahatma” and made people to suffix “Ji” after his name???
The whole point is that he carried out his mission without trying to hide his human frailties. The positive aspect of his personality reduced the negative aspect to insignificance. Historian have forecasted with confidence that Gandhi’s effect on human history would be more than that of Stalin or Hitler.
Gandhi’s views were not just relevant to India but to the entire world. No doubt India extracted unequalled benefit from his leadership. By attaching his ideas into the Indian freedom struggle, the struggle achieved a stature that could not be given to other countries like China and some African nation.
One can’t measure his impact on history just by taking into account his mission in India and South Africa. Other who fought for freedom such as Sardar Patel, Gaffar Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru, will be just remembered only for what they did in and fro India. This is where Gandhi scored over others, he dealt essentially with ideas and theories relevant to mankind. Like Buddhism, Gandhism has lost ground in the land where it evolved, but embraced by people living in distant corners of the world.
The Ottomans, Mughals, British and Spanish strode the earth as if they owned it. Out of these forces, only British and Spanish survive that to as second class entities confined to Europe. The first king to be called “Great”, Alexander died at an incredible age of 33; nothing of his greatness remains today even in his native, Greece.
Gandhi as a teacher…
Gandhi was a great teacher. He dealt with a set of student from a diverse background and different age group in Tolstoy farm. He was a ideal teacher who taught students by creating curiosity about the topic amongst students rather than spoon-feeding them with notes. He once resorted to corporal punishment and felt remorse for that action of his. He introduced the concept of vocational training, long before this concept had any real significance. He was ahead of times by centuries.
Misleading Gandhism…
What made Gandhi great was also the high level of courage to stand by his conviction, especially at times of adversity. Probably, Gandhi never propagated the ideology of peace as he is perceived to be. People who could not practice the real Gandhism seem to have built the brand “Gandhi” to sound synonymous to peace. But he really stood for having high level conviction and standing by that at times of adversity and peace was just something he believe in and practiced.
1 comments:
you seemed to have killed the halo around Mahatma before, you wrote about him... some thing people rarely do...
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