Gandhi: great man

How many of you are victims of the creatures called “guest”? Someone, who you don’t know or may be never wished to know suddenly pops up at your door and you, out of courtesy, and in order to show that you are “social”, have to welcome him. Have somebody ever given a thought that who is important: you or your guest? Many of you will say that of course guests are important. I agree. Now, if he has to stay with you for sometime, say, a night, what will you serve him for dinner. Of course, if he is special and have come to your home for the first time or visits your home rarely, you will serve him what he likes. Now consider this. If the person visits your house frequently, what do you do? Now he no more remains special and you serve whatever has been cooked.

You people might be wondering why this stupid fellow has given such a long preface. Actually today I want to say something about a great personality, Gandhi. His greatness was such that even if his grand-daughter had to come to spend her holidays with him, her parents had to pay the Ashram for her food. This man did not allow cigarettes and non-vegetarian food to the Ashramites. But if a meat-eating guest came to Ashram, special non-veg food would be cooked for him. None of the Ashramites were allowed to smoke, but Maulana who was a regular guest of Ashram, never talked to Gandhi without a cigarette in his hand. Wasn’t it his greatness to allow such things in the Ashram premises when people living there were deprived of such things? It was not that those people were not human, only thing was they had self control and they didn’t have courage to ask Gandhi about those things.

As far as I remember, in a movie called “The Legend of Bhagat Singh”, when Nehru supports the assembly bomb blast incident, Gandhi asked him, “Jawaharlal, how can you speak in favor of someone who does not follow my ideas.” Now I would like to question that great man that what right had he to say that Bhagat Singh was not his follower but Jawahar was? Let us consider some of the ideas of Gandhi. First thing was truth and non-violence. Jawahar, though a politician, could be assumed to follow these two principles. Other principle: khadi. I don’t know if Jawahar’s sherwani was made up of khadi or not. Then comes non-possession. One should possess only that much what he needs. Need in the sense that if one can do without something, he should not possess that thing. Oh boy, that holds good for Jawahar. He could never have done without things he possessed, let it be car or suits or branded cigarettes.

As far as man labor was concerned, it was the most important teaching of Geeta for Gandhi. And of course Jawahar follows that too. He used to drive his car himself. (I don’t know if he did, but I guess so.) And what to say more. The gifts Gandhi received always used to contain foreign brand cigarettes. He, being a non-smoker, and a non-supporter of cigarettes, used to keep them for Jawahar. Such a selfless character he was.

Were Gandhi’s only ideas were truth and non-violence? Could a follower of truth and non-violence be called a follower of Gandhi? These are some of the questions which any scholar of the subject “Gandhi” should think about and answer to India, who have placed this poor man in her currency.

(Azaad)