Gandhi — the mad man Mahatma

Well, this is no exciting new release book that I read but definitely one of the most challenging ones that I have read in the recent times. I read the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi ‘My Experiments with Truth’ recently and I admit that it is challenging in two perspectives.

1.It is not a rank page-turner and one needs real patience to complete the book and

2.It definitely challenged many perceptions I had on life and truth.

I am not going to review the book here. I am only going to share my reflections from the reading experience. To top it up, I had a chance to watch Richard Attenborough’s epic movie ‘Gandhi’ today (courtesy: Sony PIX) and it all seems like perfect timing.

Before even starting, let me say that I was not pro-Gandhi or anti-Gandhi. To the kids in my generation, Gandhi is introduced by the history books which present a unanimously positive picture of him. Almost in the case of all kids, this picture gets challenged the first time the kid starts to talk to some uncle who believes Gandhi is a hypocrite. It happened to me too. Gandhi then becomes a subject of debate for the kid and the verdict varies from case to case, depending on the prowess of the uncle and the belief system of the kid.

Some kids wander a little further and seek to make judgements themselves. I am one such kid and I have postponed my judgement on the Mahatma till now where I am no more a kid. In the meantime, I have come across several sound arguments on both sides and I had even read one book earlier where one of Gandhi’s sons accuses the father of the nation of failing as a father of a son on many counts.

With several interesting arguments to consider, I was all the more curious to hear Gandhi’s side of the story from himself. It was not a burning search. It’s time had to come and thus recently I laid my hands on the book which had been on my shelf for many years now. I made one commitment to myself to finish the book no matter how boring or slow it turned out to be. I am glad now I did that.

The initial portions of the book are indeed very slow and the style of writing is nearly a century old now. But as I read on and on, I got used to the style and the speed of the narrative. Perhaps, slow is good in some cases. What stands out to me from the read is his adamant character, that which borders on madness many a times for what he truly believes in. We all know his stubbornness for the cause of Indian independence. But his stubbornness for vegan food and his multiple vows against the appetites of the culinary and sexual kind were new to me. Many a times, I could not help but wonder why this old man had to be this stubborn!

Like any good book, this one too introduced a new world and time to me and stayed very true to its essence in making me experience that life. His penchant for a simple life caught my imagination. His attention to detail and bureaucratic language very much belonged to a lawyer. Sometimes I felt like reading a novel written by an accountant. But quite a few months after I read the book, I now realize that what I considered slow and boring in the book had actually percolated my mind drop by drop and seeped inside very deeply. It was perhaps Gandhi’s technique to deglamourize his lessons and administer them to his disciples in the form of bland home food. They do show themselves when the time comes.

Recently I got an opportunity to be part of a workshop where several social activists united to discuss the implications of the new Rights of People with disabilities Bill. This was the first time where I experienced how a lawyer would approach a law and a social case. A key point discussed in the workshop was to employ a panel of 100 lawyers with a retainer fees for three years. These lawyers can fight on the side of people with disabilities on any case of violation of their rights or discrimination against them on grounds of physical disability. I could immediately relate to the lawyer Gandhi’s numerous legal battles on behalf of the Indian peasants in South Africa. In fact, the book goes into great detail about his life in South Africa. But as I was reading, I was not able to grasp the impact of the role of a lawyer who would champion the cause in a fight for rights. It needed an occasion like this to manifest itself.

It appears to me that a major self-discovery happened to him in his South African days and this has become the template on which he has shaped his life in the future. The man never stopped experimenting with his philosophies and has admitted to his vices and vulnerabilities very frankly in his story. He clearly says the title ‘Mahatma’ has pained him hugely because he knew his vices deep inside and hence could never really accept himself as the Mahatma. But honestly I felt that he had set his benchmarks very very highly. But the quest and commitment to live true to his faith together with his remarkable self-control and stubbornness are definitely a lesson worth taking. And the title is definitely worth his name.

Reading his own struggles with his conscience brought out several deep debates with my conscience too. I know my vices and vulnerabilities more than anybody else and when I take myself on without diplomacy, a lot showed up as answers. In the light of these conversations, I discovered several areas of improvement and I am not sure if I will succeed. But like Gandhi, I can find some peace in trying and I hope to imbibe the spirit of constantly trying without giving up or judging myself.

‘Satyagraha’ as a word has never really caught my attention though I have been hearing it since the primary school social lessons. The way he coined the term ‘Satyagraha’ and the importance he gave in the book to explain its spirit were revelations. This is a weapon that made even the commonest common man the fiercest warrior and showed him a way to fight. This is also one of the most boring weapons history has ever seen in all its wars. But, definitely an effective one!

In a sense, Gandhi epitomized all that is boring to my generation. Ahimsa is boring. Simplicity is boring. Faith is boring. Truth is boring. Soul-search is boring. Morals are boring. His language is definitely boring. He is neither the rock music guy nor the carnatic music guy. Instead, he would prefer silence! Of course, silence is one of the most boring things to my generation. No wonder he is boring. But boring is sometimes good.

Like that of many old men, his story too was boring to start with and appeared irrelevant to today. But once we became friends, I realize how his story has left deep seeds inside me and I am still stumbling upon revealing moments that grow from those seeds in the most unexpected moments.

I admire this mad man Mahatma for his courage to face himself and then the world in standing up for what he believed is right. He inspires me. I believe that this boring book has planted many more vital lessons in me which will reveal themselves when the time is right. Perhaps I should meet the anti-Gandhi uncle now.

-GS