The Voice of the Mahatma: A Tribute to Bapu

We all know this man. Bespectacled, short and lanky, clothed in a loin cloth, donning a white hat and walking with a stick; he was dedicated to the service of his nation. He loved fighting for the right but his means and ways were different. His armor consisted of weapons like non violence, truth and swadesi in the battlefield of freedom. Preaching was never his cup of tea; instead, he believed in the practice of practicing. We all know that. Just like we all know him. And that's exactly where the essential magic of Bapu, of Mahatma Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi lay.

In his life.

2nd October, 2013, Gandhi Jayanti, Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948):

A tribute -- a little piece in the remembrance of the "Father of the Nation", so that the true significance of a date is never lost in the fog of time:

The life and its myriad philosophies,

through the voice of the Mahatma,

"Mahatma Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi"

"He who always treads on the path of truth, never stumbles."

"To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act

is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer."

"It was only in South Africa that I got over this shyness,

though I never completely overcame it.

It was impossible for me to speak impromptu.

I hesitated whenever I had to face strange audiences

and avoided making a speech whenever I could.

Even today I do not think I could or would even be inclined

to keep a meeting of friends engaged in idle talk."

"What barrier is there that love cannot break?"

"When every hope is gone, 'when helpers fail and comforts flee,'

I find that help arrives somehow, from I know not where.

Supplication, worship, prayer are no superstition;

they are acts more real than the acts of eating, drinking, sitting or walking.

It is no exaggeration to say that they alone are real, all else is unreal."

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."

"My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents and I lay them both at his feet."

 

|| Jai Hind ||

Note: All images are captured in Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad (also known as Gandhi Ashram - It was from here that Gandhiji led the Dandi march or the Salt Satyagraha in 1930), and all quotes are sayings by Mahatma Gandhi himself.

Related Post:

In Honour of Bapu, The Father of The Nation - Mahatma Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi