October 2, celebrated every year nation wide as Gandhi Jayanti, to mark the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. Not only that, UN, on 15th june 2007, declared this day as the International day of non-violence, to mark the supremacy of Gandhiji's ideals and adherence to his belief in peace and non-violence...
Gandhiji played a pivotal role in tha making of India and many a great leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama are believed to emulate his ideas and ideals, great thinkers like Rabindranath Tagore and Albert Einstein salutes this great man and his works...
For me, in my childhood...or even a few years ago, for that matter, 2nd October signfied a national holiday and not much beyond that...although I knew the importance of Mahatma Gandhi...I was not aware of his impact, I must say. But few months back, I read 'The essential Gandhi'....an anthology of his works and thoughts...in his own words. I was truly moved by reading the book and hence wondering that this day is not only about celebrating as a holiday...I am asking myself how much are we actually imbibed through his ideals, his passions and his enthusiasm?
This one day of observing the ideals of non-violence is not really enough to understand or honour the man who lived his entire life preaching the tenets of peace. Neither can we really salute his works by celebrating a holiday and spending the day in leisure and comfort...We need to realise Gandhi in our everyday lives..A world in which violence is exponentially increasing and almost everyday we hear incidents which propagate signs that are against humanity, we really should assimilate his beliefs into our own spheres..as much as we can...to contribute towards a better, sustainable world....It's high time we give an ear to what Martin Luther King Jr. said : "We ignore Mahatma Gandhi at our own risk".
