On the New Year

It may seem odd to write something on the New Year when the year is shedding one of its twelve legs. I understand that this perspective applies to the English new year, as there are many other new years which are yet to come – the Chinese celebrate it on 5th of February, the Hindus some time in March, etc. In that sense all these celebrations, if I may say, fall into a cycle – the cycle of new years or what I call the cycle of life. 

When I am talking about life, my mind goes to the saying of one of India’s celebrated philosopher, social servant and freedom fighter – Gopabandhu Dash. Dash (1877-1928) was fiercely independent in mind and spirit and despite having university degrees in those days and having opportunities to enjoy the life of high class preferred to be a dhoti-clad social reformer going from door to door to serve the poor. When the devastating flood affected the coastal Orissa Dash came out of his house to distribute relief to the victims. At that time his only son was bedridden with serious illness (those days medical facilities were horrible). His wife requested Dash not to leave their sick son on the verge of death, to which he replied (and I paraphrase), ‘thousands of my sons are afflicted by flood – whom should I serve: to this son or those thousands of sons suffering outside home?’ Gopabandhu left for serving the victims, and his son died. 

This is a brief background of Gopabandhu’s life – I have no intention to go into detail of his life, which is available in internet. I want to quote his message, which is quite apt for the New Year. Dash wrote in his poetic style, manav jeevan nuhain kevala barsha masa dina danda, karme jien nara karma eka tara jeevanara manadanda. To translate: the human life (and its worth) can not be measured by years, months or moments (which he lives), but only by the work (used broadly service to society) because human life can only be measured by the work he has done when alive. Dash not only wrote this but also walked his writing. I had already given one example. There are thousand such examples in his life. In the Gandhian language – his life was his message. He lived his philosophy. 

By bringing Gopabandhu to life on the occasion of the New Year I intend to do one thing – to remind myself and to my friends who read this – to think how far can we think and act in his way? How do we live our life worthy of a vision which we cherish – and which our successors will proudly remember and say that this person lived a worthy life – the life of a Gandhi, or Gopabandhu or Mandela or King Jr, or Newton, Einstein, or Wittgenstein – the examples are numerous. We may not want to be one of these worthy offsprings of the world, but we can be creative, productive, and humble in our own way. To argue in a lighter way, I bring here the famous song acted by Raj Kapoor, ek din bik jayega mati ke mol jag mein rah jayenge pyare teri bol, duje ke hontho ko dekar apne geet koi nisani chhod phir duniya se bol…(roughly translated - one day this fragile body will melt away (meaning death), but your actions will stay. Share others’ joy and pain, and in that do something for the world). Another song, acted by Kapoor, kisi ki muskurahaton pe ho nisar kisika dard mil sake to le udhar, kisiki vaste ho tere dil mein pyar jina isika naam hai bears similar message. Come here Swami Vivekananda who mightily pronounces: as you are born a human – leave an indelible mark on earth. 

I am reminded here the English film Death Has Become Her, which I watched few years ago. In that movie one of the protagonists Ernest denounces a magic potion, a drink of which makes human being immortal. There is a famous dialogue – Ernest to the prodding to drink the potion says I do not want to live artificially; rather I would live my life and die. These are not the exact words but something like which he said to his opponents. This is like Socratic way of saying (when the Greek philosopher Socrates was administered hemlock to die without his fault) – by dying I will remain alive and this jury will die while alive. There are many hilarious moments in the movie. (If I remember correctly) one of the women who had drunk potion met an accident and her body became scattered, she then collected her body into one. A movie full of comedies but with messages.

This is in brief my New Year reflections. I do not recommend that everybody must follow the example of Gopabandhu ditto – that is not the message. It is also not possible. The idea is to follow the spirit that guided Gopabandhu or Gandhi or Newton. If we can follow their examples in our own way and remain active, vigilant with seriousness to our work and surrounding and with compassion towards all, we can reasonably say that we can effect something positive in our life as well as for the world. I strongly reject the spirit of fatalism or a lazy attitude to life and in believing that a superior power will do everything for us – that is something I call negativism. Also, God does not help them who do not know how to help them. 

When I look at India, the place of my birth, I find (using the language of biology) malnutrition of these great spirits and surfeit of evil spirits – in terms of corruption and corrupt leaders, crime, religious orthodoxy, class and caste antagonisms. Field a few of Gandhis, Gopabandhus and Vivekanandas – all these problems and problem makers will vanish. There are attempts in this direction in recent months. We need more vigorous attempts. I am optimistic and positive about India’s future. Did not the great philosopher Sri Aurobindo proclaim during his message on the eve of India’s Independence that India is destined to be the Guru (leader) of the world? That leadership is the spiritual leadership, not a leadership backed by gun.

When I write these things on the New Year I may appear to lecture or give sermons – I actually look at things in a different way. These are messages to me as well. Human beings need guides like Gandhi but Gandhi can not lead human beings unless the human being wills to be led or to be changed. What I mean is: social transformation or change in the world is a collective effort, in which all, including I, have acts to perform.

Mahatma Gandhi's Death Anniversary: Reflections

On 30 January 65 years ago Mahatma Gandhi was shot while attending a prayer in New Delhi. Everyday he used to attend prayers, which served two purposes: to pray God for well being of mankind, and to meet visitors and interact with them. Before closing his eyes eternally he uttered thrice Ram, the Hindu God, considered an ideal to be emulated in practical life. 

Two famous songs Gandhi used to listen during these prayer sessions included: Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je pid parai jane re (the person is divine, who feels other’s pain); and Raghupati Raghav Rajaram (a prayer to Ram). The first song was written by the 15^th century Gujarati saint-poet Narsinh Mehta, a prayer full of devotion and love, imploring individual not to immerse in self-aggrandizement, but to care for others. The spirit behind the song is: service to mankind is service to God. The second one is a prayer seeking divine grace for the well being of mankind. This song is still popular in India, and sung on many occasions. Gandhi was not only listening to the prayers but also following them in practice. Hypocrisy was foreign to him. A noble thing learnt is meant for practice. For him, there was no separation between thought and practice. A British educated, renowned lawyer in South Africa, Gandhi left the riches except a loin cloth to ‘experiment with truth’ in India.

Religion had impacted Gandhi’s politics. He was influenced by his mother, a pious lady, and listened from her stories of Hindu scriptures. But his religion was not a religion of exclusion. The opposite was true. For him, all religions are paths to God-realization. Religion does not mean ritualism or dogmatism. Gandhi would argue if ritualism or dogmatism is an obstacle against God-realization, better they be shun. They are utilitarian so far they help seeker to move closer to God. He wrote that all religions are like different flowers which make the garden beautiful. While India was burning in communal fire with Hindus and Muslims killing each other after the partition of the subcontinent, Gandhi instead of attending the independence celebrations in Delhi marched to far flung areas to douse the fire. He insisted that new-born Pakistan must have its due share in resources of undivided India. He was killed by a fanatic Hindu, who saw in activities of Gandhi strains of anti-Hinduism.

Gandhi’s religious views influenced his action. When an inmate of his Ashram cut a small branch of a tree in a careless action, Gandhi’s anger was without limit. He saw life in everything, both animate and inanimate things. For him, in an animal or a tree dwells God, as in a human being.  Gandhi’s politics is spiritualized politics. The prayers, readings from scriptures deeply influenced his thought and action. He was called a politician among saints and saint among politicians. His vision of an ideal state is what he termed Ram Rajya (Kingdom of Ram or God), a place in which Truth reigns supreme. Ram, the Hindu God, is considered an ideal king who followed the rules honestly and did not hesitate to be harsh on his family members if the rule demanded. The mythology says, not only human beings, but also animals had the right to seek justice from King Ram.

For Gandhi, the poor must factor first in policy making. He offered an advice to policy makers. In what is famously called Bapu’s talisman, he exhorted policy makers, “Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj (freedom) for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away.” Juxtapose this to Rajiv Gandhi (a former prime minister of India), who confessed: one rupee that federal government releases for poor is reduced to 10 paisa (1 rupee = 100 paisa) at destination. Though Indian currency notes display the image of Gandhi, the massive corruption at higher and lower echelons of administration displays a stark contrast. The irony is clear. Though Gandhi is worshiped as father of the nation in India, the real working of Indian polity has sacrificed him in the altar of corruption, communalism and self-aggrandizement. On the question of self-aggrandizement, Gandhi’s views were very clear. He says, earth has for everybody’s need but not for anybody’s greed. He led by example. He led a frugal life. When King George V inquired  during Gandhi’s visit to Buckingham place in 1931, why the Indian leader had put on scant cloth Gandhi’s reply was: The King had enough on for both of us.

In Gandhi’s life philosophy there is no disparity between the inner and the outer. The person who is honest and truthful in his inner core can not be dishonest and corrupt in his activities. Gandhi articulates well that there is no limit to human greed. Greed not only leads to corruption and demoralizes public and private life but also concentrates wealth in the hands of the few at the cost of the many. He argues a different kind of economic arrangement in society in which the rich will not be the possessor of their wealth, but a trustee of it, not for self-indulgence but for the greater well being of society. The Gandhian dream of an ethical India, in which rich and poor have same life-values, has apparently crumbled if one looks at India today.

Gandhi once commented that if women of the world unite they can kick atom bomb like a foot ball. For him, women and men are equal. Women with their power of compassion can make a better world than their male counterparts. He was almost an icon among women. When he visited London suburbs and working class areas in 1931, women flocked in large numbers to meet him. As displayed by media, the old frail man was surrounded by women during his visit to textile workers in suburbs of London. 

He was concerned at arms race that was picking speed during early days of the cold war. At Asia Relations Conference in New Delhi in 1947, he argued for a non-violent, peaceful world, where nations whether in Asia and Africa, or in other continents, would realize their full potentials in the spirit of harmony and brotherhood. As colonialism was still a raging phenomenon those days, Gandhi in this conference raised the pitch to fight against this menace through non-violence. In his words, “I do not want merely to appeal to your head. I want to capture your heart … In this age of democracy, in this age of awakening of the poorest of the poor, you can redeliver this message with the greatest emphasis. You will complete the conquest of the West, not through vengeance, because you have been exploited, but with real understanding. I am sanguine, if all of you put your hearts together–not merely heads–to understand the secret of the message these wise men of the East have left to us, and us if we really become worthy of that great message, the conquest of the West will be completed. This conquest will be loved by the West itself.”

Gandhi’s ideas related to alcohol, animal-killing and Brahmacharya (celibacy, a crude translation) are almost extinct from public debate. His autobiography is full of accounts how he struggled in his inner life to conquer desire. He conquered desire. He was a noble soul. It is apt to quote Einstein, who pays a fitting tribute to Gandhi, “A leader of his people, unsupported by any outward authority; a politician whose success rests not upon craft or mastery of technical devices, but simply on the convincing power of his personality; a victorious fighter who has always scorned the use of force; a man of wisdom and humility, armed with resolve and inflexible consistency, who has devoted all his strength to the uplifting of his people and the betterment of their lot; a man who has confronted the brutality of Europe with the dignity of the simple human being, and thus at all times risen superior. Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.”