Why Did Gandhi Die?
The lark flew up in the morning bright,
And sang and balanced on sunny wings,
And this was its song: “I see the light,
I look on the world of beautiful things,
But flying and singing everywhere
In vain I have sought to find the air!”
W.Q.J
These are the words that most felicitously describe the provenance of one of the most altruistic yet enigmatic journeys in the quest of truth and exalted manhood, a quest to search God; A journey that started of as Gandhi and ended of as Mahatma. A frail old man all of five and a half feet, wearing a hand oven dhoti and an infectious smile is almost a misappropriation to being “the man of the century”( probably so he finished a close second.) But this gladiator of peace armed with immaculate weapons of truth, ahimsa and love and the diplomacy of a smile invaded the most obdurate enemies and unfurled the flag of his humane preaching in their hearts. Yet there are his detractors who catechize his principles and beliefs and most of all his methods. Thus, to celebrate Gandhi is inevitable, to criticize him is natural but to understand him is complex and relentless.
So what was Gandhi all about? Was he the messiah of peace, a personification of pure goodness and truth or was he merely a shrewd politician who manipulated the lowbrow masses to wheel his acclaim to unprecedented proportions? And are such questions relevant in today’s moribund modern civilization? Well I personally believe that unriddling this mystery is paramount o the harmony of human existence at least in our country. It is so because the Gandhian philosophy is so deeply buried in our social foliage that it has been completely forgotten and almost believed to be obviated from modern living. The very notion of ahimsa and satyagraha are considered vaguely ludicrous and utterly pusillanimous in this neo-nuclear planet. A deeper cognition of the Gandhism will elicit a confession that his weapons of war are the most effective and utterly difficult to master. It takes a lot of courage and strength that is not physical in nature but made of steely conviction, undoubting self-belief and magnanimity of huge proportions to even test-fire the Gandhian arms of peace.
Gandhi was a practical idealist. He did not create any systematic philosophy like a plato or a Socrates but was a serene picture of moral clarity and metaphysical simplicity. He was the perfect fulcrum on which conviction, intellect, intuition and experience balanced. He used his own life as a crucible to test his percepts and principles and discovered the potent partnership of faith and experience, rationale and everyday application and felt the sublime elevation of inner strength. His sense of humor was the perfect makeup to facelift his grave and deep beliefs which easily reached the untutored masses.
Thus the question arises. Why was Gandhi killed? Why was a man of cherubic demeanor killed like a petty politician? And here it is not only about Gandhi the man, it is also about Gandhi the thought and the religion. Gandhi was killed on a January morning by Nathuram Godse, a staunch Hindu and a true patriot. In fact Godse followed one of Gandhi’s main postulates, ‘to believe in something and not to live it is dishonest’ and did what he deeply believed in. Godse killed him because of conflicting principles and definitions of secularity and non-violence.
But what is tragic is not the demise of the great soul but the assassination of Gandhism- the most cold-blooded murder in the history of civilization. And this case is still be investigated after almost six decades of its occurrence. It is so because here the judiciary is our dead and decayed conscience, not unwilling but unable to act. How else can one explain the hanging of Godse, who killed the man who breathed forgiveness in all and every way? The Gandhi in us is not dead because it was never born. The world today is ruled by narcissism, jingoism and institutionalized violence, and Gandhian ideals seem distinctly surreal. The western world’s dogma of ‘winning being the only thing’ have strangled the space love, peace and forgiveness. We today thrive on winning against others as opposed to winning others.
The paradox with the gandhian thought is its idealistic view of the modern world, too perfect for mere mortals, where only a mahatma can live. Gandhi knew he was asking for too much, hence he once remarked:
Euclid had defined a straight line as having no breadth, but no one has succeeded in drawing such a line and no one ever will. Still we can progress in Geometry only by postulating such a line. This is true of every ideal….. The only way for those to believe in it is to set the example.
Thus to acknowledge the relevance of a Gandhi is to incite a surge for inner growth and social rejuvenation. As Albert Einstein once famously quoted, “Future generations will scarce believe that such a one as this, in flesh and blood, walked upon this earth.” But I wonder how did hewalk the earth in the first place.
And sang and balanced on sunny wings,
And this was its song: “I see the light,
I look on the world of beautiful things,
But flying and singing everywhere
In vain I have sought to find the air!”
W.Q.J
These are the words that most felicitously describe the provenance of one of the most altruistic yet enigmatic journeys in the quest of truth and exalted manhood, a quest to search God; A journey that started of as Gandhi and ended of as Mahatma. A frail old man all of five and a half feet, wearing a hand oven dhoti and an infectious smile is almost a misappropriation to being “the man of the century”( probably so he finished a close second.) But this gladiator of peace armed with immaculate weapons of truth, ahimsa and love and the diplomacy of a smile invaded the most obdurate enemies and unfurled the flag of his humane preaching in their hearts. Yet there are his detractors who catechize his principles and beliefs and most of all his methods. Thus, to celebrate Gandhi is inevitable, to criticize him is natural but to understand him is complex and relentless.
So what was Gandhi all about? Was he the messiah of peace, a personification of pure goodness and truth or was he merely a shrewd politician who manipulated the lowbrow masses to wheel his acclaim to unprecedented proportions? And are such questions relevant in today’s moribund modern civilization? Well I personally believe that unriddling this mystery is paramount o the harmony of human existence at least in our country. It is so because the Gandhian philosophy is so deeply buried in our social foliage that it has been completely forgotten and almost believed to be obviated from modern living. The very notion of ahimsa and satyagraha are considered vaguely ludicrous and utterly pusillanimous in this neo-nuclear planet. A deeper cognition of the Gandhism will elicit a confession that his weapons of war are the most effective and utterly difficult to master. It takes a lot of courage and strength that is not physical in nature but made of steely conviction, undoubting self-belief and magnanimity of huge proportions to even test-fire the Gandhian arms of peace.
Gandhi was a practical idealist. He did not create any systematic philosophy like a plato or a Socrates but was a serene picture of moral clarity and metaphysical simplicity. He was the perfect fulcrum on which conviction, intellect, intuition and experience balanced. He used his own life as a crucible to test his percepts and principles and discovered the potent partnership of faith and experience, rationale and everyday application and felt the sublime elevation of inner strength. His sense of humor was the perfect makeup to facelift his grave and deep beliefs which easily reached the untutored masses.
Thus the question arises. Why was Gandhi killed? Why was a man of cherubic demeanor killed like a petty politician? And here it is not only about Gandhi the man, it is also about Gandhi the thought and the religion. Gandhi was killed on a January morning by Nathuram Godse, a staunch Hindu and a true patriot. In fact Godse followed one of Gandhi’s main postulates, ‘to believe in something and not to live it is dishonest’ and did what he deeply believed in. Godse killed him because of conflicting principles and definitions of secularity and non-violence.
But what is tragic is not the demise of the great soul but the assassination of Gandhism- the most cold-blooded murder in the history of civilization. And this case is still be investigated after almost six decades of its occurrence. It is so because here the judiciary is our dead and decayed conscience, not unwilling but unable to act. How else can one explain the hanging of Godse, who killed the man who breathed forgiveness in all and every way? The Gandhi in us is not dead because it was never born. The world today is ruled by narcissism, jingoism and institutionalized violence, and Gandhian ideals seem distinctly surreal. The western world’s dogma of ‘winning being the only thing’ have strangled the space love, peace and forgiveness. We today thrive on winning against others as opposed to winning others.
The paradox with the gandhian thought is its idealistic view of the modern world, too perfect for mere mortals, where only a mahatma can live. Gandhi knew he was asking for too much, hence he once remarked:
Euclid had defined a straight line as having no breadth, but no one has succeeded in drawing such a line and no one ever will. Still we can progress in Geometry only by postulating such a line. This is true of every ideal….. The only way for those to believe in it is to set the example.
Thus to acknowledge the relevance of a Gandhi is to incite a surge for inner growth and social rejuvenation. As Albert Einstein once famously quoted, “Future generations will scarce believe that such a one as this, in flesh and blood, walked upon this earth.” But I wonder how did hewalk the earth in the first place.
posted by Badri at 4:36 AM
7 Comments:
In today's world where people dont acknowledge their fellow citizens, its amazing how someone can write about some long forgotten hero!!
Ppl fight for their rights, reservations and wat not... but no one ever thought if it was not for some ppl like Mahatma Gandhi they would not have any rights at all in the first place.
I must say... a beautiful piece of write up .. :)
It was just the other day I was discussing Gandhism with my father.
It is so true that people in our country today have truly forgotten Gandhi and he is left only in our modern indian history text books. Students are taught about him just enough to enable them clear their exams. Nobody today cares to spend even a minute of their time to even remember the mahatma, leave alone giving a single thought to try and apply his basic principles in their day to day lives.
It really amazes me how someone can think so deeply about Gandhi and the Gandhism that's long been buried.
It truly could be expected only of you Badri....excellently written and very well thought out.
That was brilliant!! Gave me quite a few goosebumps!!
Let me first congratulate you for such thought-provoking writing!
As regards this post, Gandhi must get credit where it's due. He chose a path for himself to take, and did. Practiced what he preached, led by example, lived a remarkable life.
However, to revere him as an outstanding human being is one thing, but to put a dozen philosophies into a list and call it Gandhian and then take the present, or any generation to task for not honouring it is, I think, being a little narrow in one's view. What is Gandhism, really?
Great post but lets slow down a bit and take a more practical outlook towards the relevance of Gandhism in today's world. Is it really true that Ahimsa is the panacea for all issues? It might be, in a utopian world and should by all means be goal sought by one and all, but definitely cannot be the means. In the world as it is today, you got to play a much more intelligent game than Ahimsa. I totally admire and revere this great soul called Mahatma who was able to touch the hearts of millions in the most peronal way but do you really think all this would have worked, had Gandhiji been the leader of the Jews under Nazis in Germany? Civil Disobedience and Non Coperation movement against Hitler !! Terms like Satyagraha and Ahimsa wouldnt have reached the ears of the guy next to you, before a bullet would have made a third eye on your forehead. With all due respect to Gandhiji, we must acknowledge that we were colonized by the British and not the Nazis. While one incident like the Jalianwala Bagh created shock waves in Britain for its brutality, in the Nazi Germany, similar incidents were the order of the day.
I truly believe that Ahimsa and Satyagraha though wonderful concepts can only be the goal of human perseverence towards a peaceful and serene society and cannot be the means. In todays world, to achive these goals, I believe, an Oscar Schindler stands a much higher chance of succeding than the great Mahatma himself.
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