Countrywide Gandhi was called Bapu . Yet I
feel that he was more a ‘mother’ than a ‘father’. Whenever he is remembered,
his affection for all comes to the fore, rather than his other virtues. We
witness an affectionate motherly nobleman within Bapu, which is the outcome
of age-old traditions and the seedling of new ones. I have observed Bapu
practicing ‘Karmayoga’ from Gita. So indifferent a human being, can rarely
be found. But I have seen the embodiment of such saintly virtues in this
great man. I had the privilege of staying with him. Every person who could
live in his company has experienced that his vices have vanished; the
pettiness has been replaced by open-heartedness. He helped a lot of people
gain self- importance.
People dislike some of Gandhi’s thoughts. Some
of them would say, “You would better go to the Himalaya.” Smiling, Bapu
would reply, “If you would go to Himalaya I would definitely follow you. But
if you stay here, then this humble man would stay here to serve you. The
servant follows the master!” Continuing he would say, “Whenever poverty and
exploitation are to be eliminated and help to be offered, there exists my
Himalaya.”
Presently, there seems to be no institution or
a person who can morally command the countrymen to follow him. Leaders from
different parties disgrace each other. This does not generate creativity
among public. A kind of passivity, emptiness and disorientation has
encompassed the country. The people are confused and unable to find a way
out.