ESSENCE OF GANDHIJI’S LIFE AND WORK

• HIS POWER He had the magic power to evoke the massive endeavour of the men and women from all classes and walks of life irrespective of their age and educational and cultural background!  

• HIS EQUANIMITY He had an imperturbable equanimity which was a source of strength to his followers.  

• SOUL OF THE LAND He embodied in himself the soul of INDIA.  

• HIS APPROACH TO HUMAN LIFE He never approached human life in fragments or segments.  

• HIS LONELINESS As a doughty champion of TRUTH, often h e stood alone, dauntless and fearless, to defy the whole world.  

• HIS GREATEST ASSET He possessed common sense in a UN common degree.  

• HIS IMMENSE CAPACITY He had an immense capacity to train followers to shed FEAR AND HATRED and instilled among the people a spirit of equality and brotherhood.  

• A GREAT LOVER he was a great lover of mankind. He was intensely human, essentially a lover of mankind and not of mere ideas.  

• A MESSIAH No messiah in recorded history, save him, commanded such spontaneous and willing allegiance of millions and millions of people in his own lifetime.  

• HIS INSISTENCE        He insisted on the DOCTRINE OF THE DIGNITY of to the Indian society not just preaches on moral or spiritual grounds.  

• STRESS ON QUALITY OF LIFE He moved men to noble deeds so as to improve their quality of life not just to guide them on their path of salvation.  

• THE GOAL OF PEACE He brought humanity nearer to the goal of peace and universal brotherhood.  

• HIS MEMORABLE SERVICES TO THE INDIANS He lifted Indians from the dust and made men out of it.  

• HIS WORK WITH INDIANS He rekindled the Indian souls, enlightened there hearts, and gave them moral courage.  

• HIS APPROACH He neither endorsed the utilitarian doctrine of “ The greatest happiness of the greatest   Number”, nor the modern view of “AN AFFLUENT SOCIETY.”  

• HIS GREAT TEACHING His great teaching to humanity is “ The beauty of truth and the sublimity of human spirit”  

• THE SECRET OF HIS LIFE The secret of his life was in his great capacity to lift himself above all bitterness and hatred.  

• HIS CONCEPT OF LOVE His concept of love was not a mere sentimental sympathy but active compassion.  

• HIS AUTHORITY His authority was based entirely on moral grounds.  

• NEVER VACILLATED He never fumbled or equivocated.  He was always quick, clear and precise in his decisions and he never vacillated.  

• THE ESSENCE OF HIS LIFE AND WORK The essence of his life and work reminds the THE FUNDAMENTALS OF ETHICS namely that…     

A)   Love is better than hate.

B)   Peace is better than war.

C)   Co-operation is better than conflict.

D)   Persuasion is better than force.    

• HIS PREACHINGS He preached only that which he practised.  

• HIS LIFE N His entire life consisted a series of experiments with “Truth.”  

• THE QUINTESSENCE OF GANDHIJI’S MISSION the quintessence of Gandhi’s mission in life consisted in HUMANITY’S    Social and Economic emancipation,   It’s Moral growth,   It’s Spiritual regeneration.  

GANDHIAN ETHICS

INTRODUCTION

• G was a pragmatic realist.

• G was described- a PHILOSOPHICAL ANARCHIST.

• G has been portrayed as “ As a Saint among politicians and a Politician among Saints."

• Churchill ridiculed G as “The naked fakir,”

• Lord Wellington accused G as a "cunning hypocrite."

• Many influences on G moulding his CHARACTER and CONDUCT. (EXPLAIN.)  

SOME EXAMPLES to throw light on his personal ETHICS

• The beggar at Benares –the alms.

• The APCC treasurer SUBBA RAO- who demanded a clean chit for his innocence.

• A young MARRIED WOMAN who felt guilty and sought permission for divorce.

• Benares Monkeys and peasants grievance –solution in killing monkeys.

• Ahmedabad dogs and solution in the whole sale massacre of them all.

• The suffering Ashram calf and the euthanasia performed.

• ASHRAM rule prescribing Sarira prishrama. (Food for work.)

•  Accept no free meals without return service…Dinner at J.R.D. TATA’S Home.

• Buckingham palace dinner during the RTC conference.

• Young Sanyasi who wished to stay permanently and render public service along with Ashramites- his request rejected.

• G was not a blind adherent and never claimed consistency. Yet never deviated from CORE VALUES. Never claimed “ORIGINALITY.”  He said, “ Truth and non-violence are as old as Himalayas.”

• When asked for his message on his way from NAOKHALI, he replied “ My life itself is my message.”

•  His greatest contribution to INDIA “ ABHAYA or nirbhaya.” That is “ fearlessness.”

This MANTRA transformed the freedom movement from a purely class movement to a mass movement..