Mahatma Gandhi
The experimenter The religious innovator The humanitarian The revolutionary The social reformer The secularist The visionary An institute of non-violence Mahatma Gandhi – a man with varied facets
“I claim to be an average man of less than average ability. I have not the shadow of a doubt that anyone can achieve what I have, if they would make the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Few men in their lifetime aroused stronger emotions or touched deeper chords of humanity than Gandhi did. Mahatma Gandhi schooled himself in self-discipline, embedded in his life a continual process of growth and tenaciously adhered to ethics and principles that are rarely followed by people in practice. He revered truthfulness and gave the world a new thought on non-violence and sustainable living. His teachings and experiments are more valid today than ever especially when we are trying to find solutions to worldwide violence and runaway consumptive life style which is going to put a very heavy burden on the world’s resources.
“The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within.”
Non-violence for Mahatma Gandhi was the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. He believed it to be mightier than the mightiest weapon. In his words, “Non-violence is the law of our species as violence is the law of the brute.” Non-violence or ahimsa to him did not merely mean peacefulness or the absence of overt violence but denoted active love – the pole opposite of violence in its immaculate sense.
A man of earth, he sought to make this earth joyous and peaceful and assured that his action and thought were always in consonance with each other. He understood truth as the truthfulness in word and deed. He said, “To find Truth completely is to realise oneself and one’s destiny, i.e., to become perfect. I am painfully conscious of my imperfections, and therein lies all the strength I possess, because it is a rare thing for a man to know his own limitations.” His philosophy of Satyagraha was both a personal and a social struggle to realise this very Truth, which he identified as God, the Absolute Morality. He sought this Truth, not self-centredly in isolation, but with the people. He said, “I want to find God, and because I want to find God, I have to find God along with other people. I don’t believe I can find God alone. If I did, I would be running to the Himalayas to find God in some cave there. But since I believe that nobody can find God alone, I have to work with people. I have to take them with me. Alone I can’t come to Him.”
“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”
“In spite of despair staring me in the face on the political horizon, I have never lost my peace. I have found people who envy my peace. That peace, I tell you, comes from prayer. I am not a man of learning, but I humbly claim to be a man of prayer.”
Prayer meetings formed an essential and a significant part of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba’s life. All religions and faiths were given equal importance in the daily recitation of prayers in these meetings. The prayers always culminated by proclaiming “Although we call you by different names, you are One, Give us the wisdom to understand this, O Lord”.
Mahatma Gandhi believed that Peace Comes from Prayer. He believed that prayer brought orderliness and peace in our daily acts. He compared prayer to a kind of Spiritual Discipline that formed the very core of man’s life. According to him, a real prayer is an absolute shield and protection against the horde of evils that the world is plagued with. He gave praying immense credit for enabling him in maintaining inner peace.
“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one’s weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
The Mahatma considered praying as an impossible act without a living faith in the presence of God within. He insisted that it was only after the acceptance of the existence of God that the necessity for prayer became inescapable. He preached that a heartfelt prayer is not a recitation with the lips. It is a yearning from within which expresses itself in every word, every act and every thought of man and that is why he insisted that prayer should be said in one’s mother tongue. Only then can it affect the soul best. He considered a sincere prayer for one minute as enough and sufficient to promise God not to sin. He says, “God, of course, never insists on the oath, but we must renew our pledge every day, and I assure you we shall then be free from every imaginable misery in life.”
Begin therefore, your day with prayer, and make it so soulful that it may remain with you throughout. Whatever be the form, let not your spirit wander while the words of prayer run out of your mouth..
“Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening.”
Pillar of the Cloud
Lead Kindly Light,
Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on! The night is dark and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on! Keep Thou my feet, I do not ask to see The distant scene; one step is enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor prayed the Thou Shouldst lead me on I loved to choose and see my path; but now Lead Thou me on! I loved the garish day, and spite of fears, pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!
So long Thy power hath blessed me, sure it will, will lead me on. O’er moor and fen o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone, and with the morn those angel faces smile, which I have loved long since and lost awhile!
Meantime, along the narrow rugged path, thyself hast trod, lead, Savior, lead me home in child-like faith, home to my God, to rest forever after earthly strife in the calm of everlasting life. - Cardinal John Henry Newman
The Mahatma on Religion “The essence of all religions is one. Only their approaches are different.”
“God sometimes does try to the uttermost those whom he wishes to bless.”
“Gentleness, self-sacrifice and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion.”
“Religions are different roads converging upon the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads so long as we reach the same goal?”
“My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God. Non-violence is the means of realising Him.”
“Gandhi was inevitable. If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. He lived, thought and acted, inspired by a vision of humanity evolving toward a world of peace and harmony. We may ignore Gandhi at our own risk.” – Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
“Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.” – Albert Einstein
“If my faith burns bright, as I hope it will even if I stand alone, I shall be alive in the grave, and what is more, speaking from it.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Prayer Meetings were an important part of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba’s life. All religions and faiths were given equal importance in the daily recitation of prayers. The prayers always culminated by proclaiming “Although we call you by different names, you are One, Give us the wisdom to understand this, O Lord.”
Ishwar Allah Tere Naam is an audio recreation of Ba and Bapuji’s Prayer Meetings. The voice extracts of Mahatma Gandhi are from a collection of recording of his speeches delivered at prayer meetings and recorded by All India Radio.
Commune with the divine through these favourite bhajans and excerpts of prayer speeches of Mahatma Gandhi as compiled in an album, Ishwar Allah Tere Naam.
The collection of Bhajans are from among those sung at the Mahatma’s Ashram Prayers. Composed, Arranged and Conducted by Ashit Desai and rendered by Jagjit Singh, Pt. Ajoy Chakravarty, Suresh Wadkar, Kavita Krishnamurti, Shankar Mahadevan, Shubha Mudgal, Karsan Sagathia, Ashit Desai, Hema Desai, Alap Desai, volunteer singers from the Arvada Centre Chorale & Colorado Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Denver, USA and others. The album is dedicated to Bapuji’s philosophy of “Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava”. Respect for all Religions
Sarva dharma sama bhava is often translated as "All religions are the same" or "All path's lead to the same destination [In a religious sense]", although its literal meaning is closer to "All dharma/faiths are possible"
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