Swachid K. Rangan
As Time rolls by, Gandhi’s global stature is
growing. Gandhism is taking roots all over the world and will eventually
sprout into a Universal Religion based on Gandhian Spiritualism. Then
Gandhi’s place will be among the prophets of the world, after Moses, Buddha,
Jesus Christ and Mohammed. The Prophets had laid down Commandments, edicts
and sacred duties to be performed for individuals. So has Gandhiji without
giving them directly.
“My life is my message,” he has said when
asked for one. Anyone can derive these dictums from his own life, so vividly
recorded in his autobiography, “The Story of My Experiments with Truth.”
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Be truthful. Truth begets trust. Trust
begets respect, recognition and rewards. You may not always follow
truth, but if you find truth stand by it. And make it your business to
find Truth. Don’t do anything in secret that you cannot divulge in
public.
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Be fearless. Face threat and danger
stoically.
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Bear no grudge. Non-violence in thought,
word and deed will transform your relationship with others for the
better. Malice toward none is the right attitude.
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Free yourself from
enslaving habits.
Illness is caused by wrong food or pollution. Don’t suppress the
symptoms by medication. Find the cause and avoid it. In most cases
Nature cure is the best remedy. Smoking is a slow killer. Not only you
get polluted and sick you expose your family and others to danger making
them passive smokers. Alcohol and drugs are poisons.
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Be emotional. Show it in love not in
hatred or anger. Keep the ego under leash. Ego is the seat of emotions
and let it not get the better of you.
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Create wealth for the society. If you have
surplus funds invest them in productive ventures. Don’t hoard or make
dead investments.
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Share your burden and profits. If you have
inherited wealth or running business consider yourself as a trustee and
put it in productive uses. Share business profits generously among the
workers. Identify truthful, trustworthy persons and reward them with
responsibility and money. Do not shoulder all the responsibilities by
yourself.
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Go public. Take interest in public
affairs. Set aside at least three hours of your time in a week and one
per cent of your personal expenditure to support a public cause.
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Be with God. Sit in Meditation for at
least 30 minutes. Relate with your inner Self, God within.
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Be a Satyagrahi. Remain committed to truth
and nonviolence under all circumstances. Fight injustice and oppression.
Be ready to sacrifice your life and wealth for the sake of your country
and the people. Service to the poor and the distressed is service to
God.
Gandhian dictums should find a place in school
textbooks. The moral fibre in every individual would then be fortified. When
these individuals grow up and take over national leadership a new world
order of peace and prosperity would set in.
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