This year, when we celebrate Gandhi Jayanti, let us be mindful on how we can contribute to cherish the teachings of our Bapu Ji. Whilst his life itself is a message for all of us to follow, his inspirational quotes based on his ideologies serve as rich sources of great knowledge that will provide us with remarkable guidance. So, let us use this Gandhi Jayanti to understand the messages embedded in his important quotes and adopt them in our lives. From the several renowned quotes from him, my favorite four quotes are the following:

1)“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

The message emphasizes the need for individual actions to contribute to a collective change. If we want to see a positive change in the world, the first step is to make that change in ourselves individually so that others follow it and make it a collective action. In short, we should be the beginning if we want to change the world. For example, we all want our surroundings to be clean. If we expect it to be clean by itself or through intervention of others, it is not going to work well. Rather, as a responsible person, we should take initiative in keeping our surroundings clean and be an example to others. No doubt, others will follow it, ultimately leading to a collective positive change.

Gandhiji not just introduced his ideologies in the society but he led a life strictly following them and was the ‘change’ himself that he wanted to see in the world. Millions, inspired by his life, ardently followed him resulting in a collective change. When we see any negative things in our surroundings, such as unclean roads, rash driving, unpunctual behaviors from others, etc., rather than complaining about the same why not we be an example by not littering on the roads, by driving safely and tolerantly on the road, by being punctual to our commitments and thereby initiate a ‘change’ from our individual sides to see the change we want to see collectively in the world. No doubt, we can do miracles by following this great ideology.

2)“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

The above quote passes the rich message regarding the need for ‘honesty and dedication’ in our services to others. When committed to provide a service, let us do it not for materialistic achievements such as fame, money, recognition, etc. Rather, provide services to others sincerely and enthusiastically, completely keeping away the materialistic aims. By doing so, we will be able to create an unshakable identity about us, filled with love and respect, in the heart of others.

Let us take the message in this noble quote and keep the ‘wants’ of others before our own ‘wants’ and soon we will discover that the satisfaction such a sacrifice provides is immensely great making the life meaningful in all aspects.

3)“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”

The importance of non-violence and peace is splendidly embedded within the above great quote. The world will have conflicts which is natural. However, if everyone starts avenging for every conflicts, it leads to utter chaos turning the whole world into a place of hate. Non-violence and peaceful methods can bring orderly changes in the world upholding the peace. The ideology Bapu Ji followed to resist the British rule is the best example in front of us. The freedom that we enjoy today is the fruit of non-violent methods he followed.

A specific case in point - the Non-Cooperation Movement launched by Bapu Ji in 1920 was a strong weapon against the British rule in India. The movement was gaining pace and gradually bringing good results to our struggle for freedom. However, when Chauri Chaura event happened on the 4th February 1922 when the members of the movement at Chauri Chaura, a place in the Gorakhpur district of the current Uttar Pradesh, conflicted causing death of several police men, Bapu Ji had to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement. The call off was a bold measure Bapu ji took in order to uphold peace and tolerance through which he passed the solid message that ‘eye for an eye’, in other words retaliation whatever be the reason, is not a permanent solution to any problem.

In our daily life, we can avoid many conflicts by adopting this golden rule that Mahatma Gandhi had taught us. This rule holds particular importance in our country which is rich in cultural diversity. One of the best ways to uphold peace in our country is by following this rule.

4)“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

Only a person with strong and matured mind can forgive the fault of others and move forward in life. Forgiveness is an attitude that comes from higher level of thinking and understanding. It comes from the thought of ‘oneness’. Majority of the conflicts in life can be resolved by this simple but wonderful approach.

Anger, hate and violence will not take us anywhere. Now a days, we see lot of road rages that lead to accidents and loss of life. The cause of such rage may be a small conflict on the road that could have been ignored or forgiven to avoid bigger issues. From another perspective, if we strongly hold on to a bitter incident, we are allowing that incident to emotionally attack us back and thus lose our focus on other critical areas of life. On the other hand if we are strong enough to ‘let it go’ forgive and move forward, our motivation will be maintained for moving towards the bigger goals in our lives.

The best and ideal way for all of us to pay homage to our much-loved Bapu Ji, is by ardently following the valuable messages he had passed to us. Let this Gandhi Jayanti be a new dawn for us to stand firmly for peace and non-violence.

This Article titled GANDHI JAYANTI – ‘A DAY FOR A GOOD START’ is solely written by me and has not taken from any other source. If taken, I have given due credit to the original author in my Article. I have not used any images or text without the original owner’s permission. I take sole responsibility if any dispute arise in terms of copyright regarding this Article.