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On this day, January 30, 1983, I was eleven years old--small in stature but swelling with song, standing among a sea of voices at Birla House. The air still carried the weight of his final breath, his sacrifice, his truth. We sang his beloved bhajans, words woven with devotion, melodies steeped in the soil of struggle. Among them, Jodi Tor Dak Shune Keu Na Ase Tobe Ekla Cholo Re. If no one comes when you call, walk alone.
That evening, the voices of young and old alike rose to the winter sky of Delhi, carrying his spirit, his conviction, his faith. But as our song faded, another voice seemed to hum through the stillness--the voice of the Mahatma himself. A voice that reminded us to rise above fear and division, to walk the path of truth and love, even when the road is lonely. "Tum Ram kaho, voh Rahim kahe; dono ki garaz Allah se hai." Call him Ram, call him Rahim; both find their solace in the same God. Gandhiji walked alone before the world followed. He walked not just for independence, but for the soul of humanity. He walked to remind us that the divisions we create--between religions, castes, and nations--are nothing but illusions. "Kyon ladta hai, murakh bande, yeh teri khamkhyali hai. Hai ped ki jad toh ek vahi, har mazhab ek-ek daali hai." Why do you fight, foolish man? It is your misunderstanding. The tree has but one root, yet its branches bear different religions. This is the essence of his message, the truth he carried in his frail body: that humanity is one, that our diversity is but a reflection of the infinite ways to seek the same light. He believed that "Though we may know Him by a thousand names, He is one and the same to us all." In a world fractured by hate, Gandhi saw unity. In a world poisoned by prejudice, he saw love. He lived by the conviction that "You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty." He was not a saint, not a statue carved in stone, but a man--fallible, questioning, evolving. A man who struggled against himself as much as he struggled against the forces of injustice. "It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err." This was his humility, his humanity. He taught us that greatness is not the absence of imperfection but the courage to rise above it. "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." He spun his own thread, not because he had to, but because he knew that dignity begins with self-reliance. He walked barefoot on blistering streets, not because he sought martyrdom, but because he had seen the cracked soles of the impoverished. He fasted, not because he glorified suffering, but because he understood hunger as the reality of millions. "Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory." And yet, he was no stranger to resistance. He understood that the pursuit of truth often meant walking alone, facing ridicule, even violence. "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." He knew that "Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good." Gandhi did not wield weapons, yet he shook the foundations of an empire. He did not preach hatred, yet he inspired revolutions. His strength lay not in force but in the indomitable will to love, to forgive, to resist injustice without becoming unjust. "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." His vision extended far beyond the freedom of a nation. He dreamt of a world where no child went to bed hungry, where no woman walked in fear, where no human was reduced to a label of caste, color, or creed. He believed in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam--the world is one family. And he lived that truth every day, declaring, "Gentleness, self-sacrifice, and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion." He saw religion not as a source of division but as a wellspring of compassion. "Religion is more than life. Remember that one's own religion is the truest to every man even if it stands low in the scales of philosophical comparison." For Gandhi, the heart of religion lay in its capacity to serve, to uplift, to unite. "Service rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy." And for this vision, he gave his life. On this day, seventy-seven years ago, Nathuram Godse raised a gun and pulled the trigger, believing he could silence an idea. But truth does not die with a man. "Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained." Today, as the world teeters on the edge of division, as nations turn inward and fear becomes the currency of politics, we must ask ourselves--have we honored his legacy, or have we betrayed it? "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind." Gandhi's words echo through time, reminding us that justice cannot be born from vengeance, nor peace from violence. "There is a higher court than courts of justice, and that is the court of conscience. It supersedes all other courts." As I stood in Birla House that evening, surrounded by the voices of a thousand others, I felt his presence--not as a distant icon of the past, but as a living guide. He belonged not to one nation or era, but to all who dare to dream of a better world. It is why, during India's G20 leadership, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam resonated so deeply. Gandhi's vision of unity, of one world, one future, is not a relic--it is our only hope. He reminds us that "The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems." And as the planet groans under the weight of exploitation, as forests burn and oceans rise, his voice rises again: "The earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed." The tree of life, with its single root and countless branches, still stands, though we threaten to tear at its limbs. Gandhi urges us to remember: "Man's nature is not essentially evil. Brute nature has been known to yield to the influence of love. You must never despair of human nature." He belonged to India, but he also belonged to the world. He belonged to the past, but he also belongs to the future. He belonged to history, but he also belongs to today. And he belongs to anyone who believes that "In a gentle way, you can shake the world." (ANI/ Suvir Saran) Disclaimer: Suvir Saran is a Masterchef, Author, Hospitality Consultant And Educator. The views expressed in this article are his own.
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