September 30, 2007

BYBS - Lives of great men

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October 2nd is a national holiday in India. The day marks the birthday of Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma meaning Great soul, or Baapu meaning Father.

Before I continue, I will like to offer this as a disclaimer : I do not know a lot about Gandhi ji, nor have I done a lot of research on his life or his methods. What I write here is based on what I have come to understand about the man from what ever little I have read about him.

One thing that strikes me as remarkable about Gandhi ji is that there was nothing remarkable about him. And yet he was able to rouse the spirit of a nation into fighting for freedom using peaceful methods like civil disobedience and Satyagraha . Though, honestly, I have never been able to comprehend the point of non-violence against a force that would stop at nothing to put down a revolution, but that is matter for another post.

Gandhi ji had an immense influence in Indian politics for a little more than two decades, before India actually gained Independence from foreign rule. He was popular among all classes of society, and his popularity earned him the title of "Father of the nation".

And that brings us to the point of this post. Inside each one of us resides the good, the bad and the ugly. That is to say we have the potential in us to do great good, or great evil and the choice lies with us. What great men like Gandhi ji did was make the right choice. And their lives are an example for us to do the same.

We often get overwhelmed when we think about such great men and tell ourselves not everyone can be like them. But, here I would like everyone to stop and ask themselves : why not? And would it really hurt to try?

And if we still don't feel brave enough to do the right thing, then we should look into the lives of great men, and get our inspiration to do right from there.

The great men of this world are a true blessing to us humans. Their lives show us that each one of us has all the traits that are required to be great. We just have to use them when called upon to do so.

Have a great week ahead!

4 comments:

SandyCarlson said...

This line: "One thing that strikes me as remarkable about Gandhi ji is that there was nothing remarkable about him." reminds me of how difficult it is sometimes to identify blessings. The ordinary is so powerful!

Happy BYB Sunday.

Susan Demeter said...

Excellent write up! Thank you .. :) I have my BYB Sunday entry online now too. Have a wonderful day, and week ahead! :)

kuanyin333 said...

Excellent post! Gandhi was indeed a terrific role model, and he made such a difference! Happy BYB Sunday!

Anonymous said...

A great role model for us all .

A belated happy BYB Sunday and hope you have a good week.

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