G – GANDHI: The Life of a Mahatma #ATOZCHALLENGE
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” ~M.K.Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – the world knows him as a one-man army that drove the British out of our country. I first learnt about him in our Class 3 History textbooks while studying India’s Independence heroes. Then came his epic movie ‘Gandhi’ that was a must-watch for us school children (we had a special outing for the movie). And a couple of years later, ‘The Story of My Experiments with Truth’ was the first autobiography I ever read. Gandhiji had made a huge impact on my small mind.
Yes, I have admired his power of unflinching conviction. I respect his strong pursuit of truth. And I have been in awe of his morals of simplicity (saadgi), non-violence (ahimsa) and religion (dharma). As a child perhaps these qualities didn’t seem as significant as they do now. Only difference being that I am able to reason the logic and question our conditioning.
An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind
For everything that we had imbibed as ‘sanskaras‘ (values) was suddenly defied during my challenging times. How do we exercise non-violence of speech and thought when we are subject to injustice? How do we not retaliate against people who have wronged us? How can we not hurt them when we have been brutally injured? Forgiving seemed a herculean task then in the moment. Making a choice one way or another was a dilemma of principles.
It took me a long process of inner healing to realise that forgiving is indeed a virtue of the strong. To forgive wholeheartedly is to be more courageous than punishing. Non-violence in face of agony is a weapon of the mighty. With due respect and admiration of his teachings, I had chosen to practice these morals in my difficult moments.
The outcome of that choice – I have emerged mentally stronger than ever before. Righteousness sustains!
Key Highlights:
“Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”
“The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.”
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
This post is part of the #AtoZChallenge 2017 Blogging from A to Z: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/
Read my previous posts in chronology:
A: A New Earth
B/w image courtesy: http://www.teachwithmovies.org/guides/gandhi.html