“Generations to come, it may well be, will scarce believe that such a man as this one ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.”
This was the quote said by Albert Einstein about none other than Mahatma Gandhi. And indeed today very few of us know about Gandhi. Why am I writing this column on Gandhi today? One of the reasons is that on Oct. 2, India celebrates the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi; this day is not just celebrated in India but also throughout the world. The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which declared Oct. 2 “International Day of Nonviolence.”
Gandhi preached the philosophy of nonviolence throughout his life. His philosophy is regarded as a way of living. In this world which has seen many conflicts, including the two World Wars, it was very extraordinary for Western world to recognize a simple, kind-hearted man preaching the importance of nonviolence. To the Western world, he was a freedom fighter who was fighting nonviolently against the British to make India independent. For the poor people of India, he was Mahatma, a title given by the people to him which means “the great soul,” but very few people understood Gandhi. His simple way of living in villages, in spite of being born in a very wealthy family and being educated in England, surprised everyone. His insistence of uplifting the downtrodden masses of India by developing local small-scale industry indeed transformed many peoples’ life. Of his many famous quotes, this quote which says that “The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed[CB3] ” truly highlights the very basic problem the world has been facing through centuries. This greed and competition to dominate the world’s resources has been the most important cause for consistent wars and fights.
When he was interviewed by the press during the World War I, Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind[CB4] .” This is such a lucid explanation for the hardships the world is going through. It is indeed sad to say that we haven’t learned anything from Gandhi. Still, after seeing the two World Wars, we are under constant threat of a third World War. According to Gandhi, violence is a sin. Every religion teaches us the same thing and our history tells us that some of the bloodiest wars have been fought for religion or supported by religious men, be it the crusades or the present brutal killings by the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, yet Gandhi was deeply religious. He considered himself a Hindu, a Muslim and a Christian. According to him, every religion preaches the same ideas which unify into a single principle: serving humanity. He believed we all are equal before God and humanity is our only religion. He strongly emphasized the principles of truth (Satyagraha), nonviolence and loving everyone in spite of the differences among us. His teachings are so genuine that no one has ever shaped the lives of people as Gandhi has. His teachings continue to inspire people, including many famous men such as Nelson Mandela, who was inspired by Gandhi to lead a nonviolent resistance movement in South Africa against apartheid, Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama, who is so motivated by Gandhi that his portrait hung in Obama’s Senate office. One of the most iconic people inspired by Gandhian philosophy was Steve Jobs. When he went to India in early ‘70s, he read a lot about Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy and spirituality transformed Jobs’ life to “Think different.” Indeed, Gandhi’s quote “Be the change you wish to see in the world” truly reflects the core principle in Steve Jobs’ life and in the vision of Apple.
There is indeed a lot to say about Gandhi. In the past six decades, several books and biographies have been written on Gandhi. Everyone knows about the Oscar-winning movie “Gandhi” directed by Richard Attenborough. What is important is that we should read and learn to practice the principles of nonviolence and truth in our lives. Especially in today’s world, when we see a lot of violence on streets, mass shootings in schools and religious places, and rapes and sexual assaults on women and children, it is very important that our today’s youth follow the Gandhian philosophy. Famous men such as Jobs were inspired by Gandhian philosophy. We NC State students can make a new change in our lives by understanding Gandhi, which will solve a lot of our problems we face today. I urge all of you to at least read once the biography of Mahatma Gandhi and experience the change.
As rightly said by Gandhi, “My life is my message.”