“A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”
Today marks the 151st birth anniversary of one of India’s greatest Independence activists, and in fact, the world’s most popular peaceful political activist – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, or as we know him, Mahatma Gandhi. Remembered fondly as the ‘father of nation’, Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated on October 2nd to commemorate his birth anniversary. ‘Mahatma’, the title meaning ‘great soul’ in Sanskrit is conferred to Gandhi ji by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, stands true for the peace protagonist.
On this occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, we commemorate him by keeping close to our heart some of Gandhi’s great words – “A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”
Despite this being the 21st century, Gandhi and his teachings are still relevant till this day, and will continue to do so. Gandhi underlines the importance of one’s thoughts in nurturing one’s personality, and in fact, molding everything around him. Through his immense struggle, and sacrifice in fighting for the Independence of our great nation, Gandhi proved to us all that the true dynamic power is within us, and all we need is to focus on positive thinking and have the willpower in order to achieve anything in this universe. The thoughts we get are off all kinds, be it positive or negative, happy or sad, pure or junk. On an average, we get about 12,000 – 60,000 thoughts in a day, of which almost 80% are the negative kind. However, what matters is which ones we choose to focus on, that is what shapes us. And the thoughts are what manifests our personality, our actions, and eventually our destiny.
He has also taught us that ‘togetherness is not temporary.’ This message indeed inspires us during such unprecedented times of pandemic. A peace – however with a difference! Gandhi ji believed: “I am a man of peace. But I do not want peace at any price. I do not want the peace that you find in grave”. Mahatma Gandhi heralded truth. Gandhi’s words need special mention of ‘Truthfulness is more important than peacefulness. Truth alone shall win’. We at Victorious Kidss Educares, the top IB World School in Pune, follow the famous “Satyamev Jayate” of Mandukya Upanishad, written long long ago, in the pillar of India ~ The Ashoka Stambha..
Mahatma Gandhi, the peace and non-violence promoter was himself a victim to violence and hatred leading to his tragic assassination on January 30, 1948. This concludes that the world is still in a plethora of conflicts and hence we see the relevance of Gandhi’s emphasis on universal brotherhood and peaceful co-existence. Gandhiji’s preaching with the most upheld principles of patriotism has always been the means to end various global conflicts.
In today’s world, nothing seems to be permanent. So, let us take the pledge with Gandhian philosophy and walk in his shoes to dedicate ourselves towards the cause of ‘peace’ and mutual tolerance. In these times of suffering, pushing ourselves to become a better person and indulging in the positive thoughts is what is going to help us live in peace and harmony with each other. This is what Gandhi’s philosophy was all about. ‘The Father of the Nation’, Gandhi was a prime example of all that is good, and his life is in fact, shall be a guide to all of us who wish to change things for the better. This Gandhi Jayanti, let us try to follow his path and live life to the greatest.
