I'm not going to go down the usual route of enumerating what this Great Soul (Mahatma) did for our Country. Those are commonly known & easily obtainable facts. He isn't called The Father of the Nation for nothing.
Instead, I am going to focus on the impact that Mahatma Gandhi has had on the World at large.
The commonly known facts are of course that Rosa Parks to Martin Luther King Jr., to South African pro-equality giant Nelson Mandela, to current US Prez Obama, to Albert Einstien (& so many others that a whole post can be dedicated to his famous fans) were all impressed by this great man & his thoughts.
And it's not just the famous & the old that celebrate his life & what he stood for. It's the young, today's youth, youth across the World that celebrates this man & tries to live by what he taught.
Take a look at the 2 links here:
1. A Hundred Years of Non Violent Resistance
2. The Poster
And it's not just individuals, but also some of the World's supreme organizations who acknowledge his Contribution in Eminently Befitting ways. You can also go through a short list of other International tributes here.
And until the Nobel Committee makes up it's mind, we should just celebrate the recognitions above & the ones below:
The Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize
The Gandhi Peace Award
I have a hunch...
In India good men, saints, kings etc., with the passage of enough time, tend to be designated as avtaars or revered as great saints. Gandhiji is almost already among the latter category. With his frequent readings of & understanding of the Bhagwad Gita, and his Vaishnava Jana, he may in a few centuries be worshipped as yet another avtaar of Vishnu.
I do not subscribe to this kind of a tribute as it goes against the Truth that Gandhiji stood for, but from most Indians who do subscribe to these theories, a more fitting tribute cannot be imagined.
Friday, January 30, 2009
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My mother told us when we were young that 'avataars' are just people who are loved a lot and made an impact ... and one day Gandhi might also be worshiped like God or Avataar. I hope that does not happen. He should not be seen as perfection - but looked upon as the best human role model we have for present times.
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther King Jr admired him.
Obama admires him too, and I have been watching him make strong but correct statements.
Neither need be perfect, they are just great. I wish we'd let them be great humans.
Hoping is fine IHM, but you must remember that Sri Ram went from being Maryada Purshottam Ram to being Bhagwan Ram, from one text to the other.
ReplyDeleteFunnily the former, original text is not referred to at all. It's the latter one that seemingly overshadows it....
We are vichitr praanis...
"he may in a few centuries be worshipped as yet another avtaar of Vishnu."
ReplyDeletea. Vishnu's avatars are taken -- unless he wants to be Kalki, but since the world did not end, that ain't gonna happen.
b. Even "godliness" is possible only if the gandhians are the ones who write the history-books in many years' time.
/IMO
a. I'm positive that Vishnu's avtaars increased to accomodate more great men as the centuries progressed.
ReplyDeleteb. Depends... Were Valmiki or Tulsi Ram-ians?
PS: Some theories put down Valmiki too as an avtaar of Vishnu.
Gandhiji was a multifaceted personality for sure.
ReplyDeleteHe was a philosopher, writer and statesman all in one. Post Independence india has struggled in vain to find even a single "Gandhian" leader who could fit into this great man's mantle.
Milind,
ReplyDeleteWelcome!
Did you pick up your award yet?
there is no way to peace, peace is the way - mohandas karamchand gandhi.
ReplyDeleteThanks astralwicks.
ReplyDeleteAnd people are satisfied with glorifying leaders less than him, or worse his exact opposites!
But there are always you & me! :-)