THE RELEVANCE OF GANDHI’S
PHILOSOPHY IN CONTEMPORARY TIMES
The educational institutions of today have been engulfed by an atmosphere of
politics Last year there was an enormous leakage of question papers in Mumbai through various political influences. And the consequences- loss of money, loss of time and above all, loss of the valuable efforts of the diligent ones. I could experience the feeling of those students since a cousin of mine was among them. So, can
truth survive in such an atmosphere .Besides, the other name of contemporary politics is ‘
violence’. A few months ago a student jumped to his death due to some political conflict. Gandhiji said,” Students cannot afford to have party politics. They may hear all parties, as they read all sort of books, but their business is to assimilate the truth of all and reject the balance”. Politics and education were certainly not walking hand in hand. I was very much relieved when student politics was banned in the state. Perhaps had I come a step closer to Gandhiji’s world?
Non-violence was one philosophy that Gandhiji had preached throughout his life and he had proved his strength to the world. I had assumed that violence had to do with guns, nuclear bombs etc. in this age of science. But I perceived from him that a
person can be violent by hurting a person emotionally. I recall an incident, where I got into an argument with a friend which resulted in a war of words. We both stopped talking to each other .After a few days; she came and apologized to me. At that time I had the feeling of a winner. But after going through Gandhiji’s words of wisdom, I concluded that she was the real winner and recalled the smile of satisfaction on her face. I have gained from Gandhiji that the best way to win a war is to prevent it.
Coming a step closer to Gandhiji’s philosophy I realized that that to remain in this world, we have to either remain in solitude or make the whole world our friend. Me, an extrovert had opted for the latter It slided my mind on to communal harmony. Gandhiji’s Tolstoy farm was an example of the same. In a country with diverse religions, until and unless there is harmony between the various religious groups, no progress can be made by the nation. Gandhiji respected all the religions, al the same he was a firm believer in his. Nevertheless, he was not a blind orthodox and made reforms wherever necessary. He therefore detested the practice of untouchability and castism.
Therefore, I have deduced from him that loving God’s creations is loving Himself and now I can say with love from the core of my heart in the pledge: ”All Indian ARE my brothers and sisters.
But God’s creations involve not only human
beings but also animals. Initially, when I had stumbled onto Gandhiji’s view on vegetarianism I had plainly contradicted it. I was of the opinion that how could human beings and animals take the same stand. Afterall human beings have got the power to think, reason. Later, I found the lines in his book voicing me” And is this how you use your intelligence by killing an innocent animal?
Modern science has proved that vegetarianism is highly beneficial for health. However, I was always against smoking and alcoholism. Such addictives tend to make us creatures of circumstances. An addicted person may even resort to crime to quench his thirst. A distant uncle of mine died recently due to the malfunctioning of the liver owing to excessive intake of alcohol. He left behind a large family, which was unable to support itself. The funeral was heart-rending .Gandhiji regarded smoking as barbarious and harmful, not to speak of alcoholism.
Many are of the opinion that Gandhiji’s Swadeshi’ will not put India on the globe But will poverty and employment do so? I believe that Gandhiji’s system of ‘Charka and Khadi’ will help to eradicate poverty on a large scale. Thhe panchayati raj has thus been introduced because the
service begins at the village level.’Swadeshi’ recognizes the scientific limitation of human capability for service. It is guided by the ‘spirit’ of service to humanity. Gandhiji believed in the truth implicitly that a man could serve his neighbour and yet serve the whole of humanity."If the service is in no way selfish or exclusive, the neighbours will then understand the spirit in which the service is given; they will also know that they will be expected to give services to their neighbours. Thus considered, it would spread like a proverbial snowball gathering strength in geometrical progression encircling the earth.”
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