The Spiritual side of Gandhi

Until recently, I viewed Mahatma Gandhi primarily as someone who led the struggle for India's independence. Then a couple of years ago I listened to Keshavan Nair's interview on NPR. He is the author of A Higher Standard of Leadership: Lessons from the Life of Gandhi . I purchased the book and have since read it cover to cover at least thrice. Mr. Nair has done an excellent job of applying Gandhi's principles to corporate life. Some believe there is no place for such values in the cut-throat, competetive environment where everyone is trying to get ahead of others. But Mr. Nair argues that not only do unwavering core values and principles apply to the corporate world, they are indeed necessary for long term success and viability. I found the book very inspiring and read it frequently to get "re-charged".

This book motivated me to learn more about Gandhi and I ended up buying Gandhi, The Man by Eknath Eswaran. This is a fascinating book which focuses on the personal side of Gandhi and also has several quotes and excerpts from Gandhi's writings. It is after reading this book that I came to realize that Gandhi was truly a spiritual leader. His courage and strength came from his spiritual foundation. Evertything he did was based on his spiritual beliefs.

Gandhi believed in universal love and selfless service. He challenged himself and others around him to practice these high values. He believed that it is not sufficient to love those who love you and are nice to you. He said that true love must be unconditional and universal and must be showered even on those who may hate you. Gandhi was very much a man of action. By putting into practice what he believed, Gandhi was able to earn the respect of not only the 400 million ordinary Indians but even his political opponents and the British officials. He opposed any oppression and this is primarily what led Gandhi to srtive for India's freedom. Under the Brtitish millions of Indians lived in poverty with limited rights while the British rulers filled their coffers. But even as Gandhi opposed British rule, he treated the British with respect and dignity and was treated likewise by them. Gandhi also chastized Indian's who exploited the poor and perpetuated caste based discrimination. His opposition to people was never based on race, skin color or nationality but rather on their actions and behaviour.

Another insight I got from the book was that in his early years Gandhi was quite an ordinary person. He was an average student and not very successful as a lawyer either until he went to South Africa. He had many weaknesses like most of us do, but also an indomitable will and strong faith that enabled him to gradually overcome his weaknesses. This is very inspiring because it means that even ordinary people such as myself can aspire to lead a noble and meaningful life if we have even a fraction of the will and faith that Gandhi had.

I was deeply moved by how Gandhi put others before himself. How he attended to people ill with the Plague in South Africa with no fear for his own well being. How he gave up pretty much all his belongings and comforts so he could experience the life of the poor he hoped to help and speak for. It is because of his genuine love that Gandhi had such influence on the masses. This influence did not come from any office or position he held, for he held none, nor did it come from power or wealth. The strength of his influence came from the pure love he had for humanity. Such was its strength that even the British government feared Gandhi and was often afraid of the consequences of arresting him.

Mr. Eswaran's book has several anecdotes from Gandhi's life which are sure to inspire and motivate the reader. It is no wonder that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was lovingly called Bapu [which means Father] or Mahatma[which means Great Soul] by the people of India.

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