Gandhian philosophy is not only relevant to political, moral
and religious, it is also traditional and modern.
Gandhiji developed his ideologies from various inspirational
sources such as the Bhagvad Geeta, Jainism, Buddhism, Bible, Gopal Krishna
Gokhale, Tolstoy, John Ruskin, Martin Luther among others.
Gandhian philosophy is a double-edged weapon. Its objective
is to transform the individual and society simultaneously, in accordance with
the principles of truth and non-violence.
Brief About Father of Nation (India) :
Name : Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Born : 2nd October, 1869
PoB : Porbandar, Kathiawar (Gujarat)
Died : 30 January 1948
Occupation : Lawyer, Politician, Activist, Writer
His Book : The Story of My Experiment with Truth
The International Day of Non-Violence is observed on 2nd
October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.Gandhi Peace Prize is given for social, economic and
political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian methods.Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated on 9th January
every year to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India. He returned to India from South Africa on 9th January
1915.
Famous Gandhiji Ideology/Philosophy:
Truth & Nonviolence (Satya & Ahimsa):
The Twin Central Principles of Gandhian thoughts.
Non-violence, in its active sense, includes truth and
fearlessness. Except God, men should not fear anyone else. If men obey God,
they need not worry about any human agency. E.g. Doctrine of Satyagraha.
Satyagraha:
Gandhi ji called his overall method of truth & nonviolent
action Satyagraha. It means the exercise of the purest soul-force against all
injustice, oppression and exploitation.
It is a method of securing rights by personal suffering and
not inflicting injury on others.
Swachhata (Cleanliness):
The Swachh Bharat Diwas, 2020 was celebrated on the occasion
of Gandhi Jayanti.
Gandhi-ji had once said, ‘Sanitation is more important than
independence.’
The ideology of Mahatma Gandhi, the Bapu of the Nation, are
becoming more relevant all over the world. People are seeking solutions to
their problems in Gandhiji’s ideas.
The Jan Andolan on Behavioural Change launched by the Prime
Minister of India Mr. Modi has been inspired by the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi on
cleanliness and the behavioural change campaign will prove to be the most
potent weapon to fight present (Covid-19) and future pandemics.
The importance of three elements of campaign- hand hygiene,
social distancing and wearing of masks – were also reiterated at the webinar on
“Relevance of Mahatma’s teachings on cleanliness in times of global
pandemic”.
In his article, “Swasthya ki Kunji”, he said that three natural resources are
needed — air, water and food — but clean air is most important of them.
Swaraj Gram (Self-reliant Village):
‘The independence of
India should mean the independence of the whole of India [. . .] Independence
must begin at the bottom. Thus, every village will be a republic [. . .] It
follows therefore that every village has to be self-sustained and capable of
managing its affairs. In this structure composed of innumerable villages, there
will be ever-widening, ever-ascending circles. Life will be a pyramid with the
apex sustained by the bottom.’
development of such art and workmanship in the countryside, that their products
are valued outside of villages too.”
Swadeshi (Self-reliant):
Gandhiji inspired Indians to spin yarn with charkha and wear
hand-woven clothes.
Today, there is an increasing move towards Swadeshi. This
gives an opportunity for small industries to flourish. Rural people from
far-flung areas get a chance to become financially self-reliant through such
endeavours.
Gandhiji wanted the country to become self-sufficient
through Swadeshi. We have moved in that direction after a long time. This has
started yielding positive results.
e.g. Khadi India, Mission Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar
exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),
the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana….
Suraaj (Good Governance):
Gandhi-ji had dreamt of Ram Rajya, where there would be
absolute good governance and transparency.
He wrote in Young India (19 September 1929), ‘By Ram Rajya I
do not mean Hindu Raj. I mean Ram Raj, the kingdom of God. For me, Ram and
Rahim are one and the same; I acknowledge no other God than the one God of
truth and righteousness. Whether the Ram of my imagination ever lived on this
earth, the ancient ideal of the Ramayana is undoubtedly one of true democracy
in which the meanest citizen could be sure of swift justice without an
elaborate and costly procedure.’
In Amrit Bazar Patrika, on 2 August 1934, he said, ‘Ramayana
of my dreams ensures equal rights to both prince and pauper.’ Again, in Harijan
of 2 January 1937, he wrote, ‘I have described Ram Rajya, that is, sovereignty
of the people based on moral authority.
Education:
On May 8, 1937, he wrote in Harijan that “Man is neither
entirely intellect, nor a gross body, neither only a heart or a soul. A proper and
consistent combination of all these is needed to create a complete human being.
This is the true purpose of education.”
Mahatma Gandhi’s role and influence in shaping New India is
indisputable. In my opinion, he is still as relevant a person and a philosopher
in the twenty-first century as he was in the previous one. For instance, in
this globalized, tech-savvy world, the concepts of ‘sarva dharma sama bhaav’,
or all religions are the same, and ‘sarva dharma sada bhaav’, or goodwill
towards all religions, professed by Gandhi-ji, are essential to maintain an
atmosphere of harmony and compassion and to realize his idea of ‘vasudhaiva
kutumbakam’ (the world is one family).