Experimenting with Truth

(The speech was delivered on 2^nd October, 2010 on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti in Cultural Hall, Maulana Azad Library, AMU. Other speakers included Emeritus Prof. Irfan Habib, Prof. Afzal from Deptt. Of Urdu, AMU and the function was presided by Vice chancellor, AMU)

Honourable Vice Chancellor, Esteem Dignitaries on the dice, Respected  Elders and my dear brothers and sisters.

I take the opportunity to talk about a man

-         who was awarded “Man of the Year” award in 1930 by Times Magazine

-         was Runner up for “Person of the Century” Award , 1999

-         14^th Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King, Ceaser Chavez,

Nelson Mandela, all claim themselves to be his children

-         on whose name several peace prizes are awarded throughout the world

-         on whose birth anniversary International Day of Non Violence in celebrated.

-         was nominated 5 times for Noble Peace Prize between 1937 - 1948         

-         whose greatest award is the title “Mahatma” awarded to him by masses.

Yes, I am talking about Mahatma Gandhi – The father of Nation. Today on his 141^st birth anniversary we are again meeting to remember his contribution to the world in general and to our country in particular. To throw light on the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Interestingly, the need to throw light on the life and teachings of Mohandas Karamchandra Gandhi makes it crystal clear that we have kept his teachings into the darkness. I mean to say that in theory we all speak in grandiloquence about his teachings but in practice we lack adherence.

Today, I would be utilizing these few minutes in introspecting our position with respect to the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.

The name to the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi is “My Experiments with Truth”; when he was asked why this name – he replied – “I simply want to tell the story of my numerous experiments with truth”. At another instance when he was asked about his aim. He replied – “I want to achieve self-realisation that is salvation”

Brother and Sisters, on the basis of these two statements we can summarise the life of Mahatma Gandhi in one, that is:

          “Mahatma Gandhi, throughout his lifetime was  striving for truth in order to achieve self-realisation that is salvation”.

          To unambiguously state the definition of truth he said and he writes in his autobiography:

          “Truth is the sovereign principle, which includes numerous other principles. This truth is not only truthfulness in words, but truthfulness in thought also, and not only relative truth of our conception, but the absolute truth, the external principle that is God”.

          Brothers and sisters, here is a point to introspect-

Are we striving for truth? Is our aim salvation? Do we pay heed to the absolute truth i.e. God?

          The answer to these questions in general is ‘No’. Today we all have got a new deception to follow, majority of us are following a new philosophy which stands contrary to the philosophy & teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and that is materialism. We have led our material desires to take over spirituality. Gandhiji throughout his lifetime was against materialism. We can talk as much as we can about truth, non-violence, peace, morality, ethics etc. but will see no change and there is no reason to think otherwise until and unless we shed our materialistic approach. The reason being Gandhiji was aware that:

·        A materialist man cannot strive for truth, because falsehood ensures material benefits.

·        A materialist man cannot be ethically conscious because ethical consciousness diminishes material benefits.

·        A materialist man cannot stand for peace, for peace needs sacrifice of material desires.

The reason why we are not able to inculcate the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi is that we have become materialistic in our approach.

Mahatma Gandhi used to fast, wear simple clothes and said- “One should be humbler than dust”. Why? Just to avoid and shed materialism. Today we are taking no such steps to shed materialism apart from few customary practices and that is the reason why we have failed to implement the teachings of the Father of Nation.

Last us understand this by a simple example:

If we want to grow a tree, we need to sow the seed first. To an extent the health of the tree would depend on the health of the seed. But we cannot grow a tree without sowing the seed.

Similarly, if we want to grow a tree of truth, peace, non-violence, a tree which symbolizes the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, we need to sow the seed first; we need to sow the seed of spirituality first. Then and only then the avenues for the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi would open. It is impossible to have a tree of the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi without sowing the seed, that is, spirituality.

Gandhiji thought his lifetime was responsible for carrying on a dispassionate study of religions so as to create an environment of unity and brotherhood among masses. Today, we are not ready to spare time from our materialistic schedules to understand each other’s philosophy, beliefs, practices in order to create an environment of unity and brotherhood. If these all are not are practices then how can we claim ourselves to be the followers of Mahatma Gandhi? Thus, the need of the hour is to sow the seed of spirituality in ourselves and then we would be able to inculcate the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi in practice.

Mahatma Gandhi was, in a greater sense, the leader of the tyrants. He always used to stand by the truth irrespective of the cost. Today we do not stand by truth, we do not stand by the side of tyrants but we stand by our ideology, by our family, by our religion, by our community, by our country. Mahatma Gandhi was not a jingoist but a rational supporter of the greater cause aiming peace through non-violence. The world used to follow us when we were the followers of Mahatma Gandhi. But today we are blindly following the world because of the renunciation of the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, as is clear from our actions because actions speaks louder than words. Thus, from today we should start to support the cause of truth. Then and only then we would be eligible to claim ourselves to be the followers of Mahatma Gandhi and then there lies a possibility of nurturing young leaders like Mahatma Gandhi.

Brothers and sisters, it would be unjustified on my part to leave the podium without discussing the concept of education as envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi-

Mahatma Gandhi said, “An education which does not teach us to discriminate between good and bad is a misnomer”.

Now, we should introspect; if our education does not teach us what is bad and what is good, we need to understand, it is a misnomer. We are running towards that education which can earn us more money, which can help us to attain high status. We have forgotten the concept of good and bad but we still want to be labeled as educated. Thus, we need to inculcate the concept of education as envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi and then only education would prove to be fruitful to the society as a whole.

In the end I would like to conclude, that it’s high time for all of us to release our potential in order to inculcate the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi that I have discussed.