The Life of Gandhi

It was in 1915, that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, returned to India, from South Africa, to join the independence movement. 

This week, besides the Republic Day of India, it is also the week of 30th January, a black letter day when he was assassinated on the way to a prayer meeting. Nehru declared the solemn news, starting with, the light has gone from our lives. 

When you google Happiness, 344 million results are thrown up. Freedom gives 620 million results. I googled Mahatma Gandhi, and got 27 Million results. Obviously there are many people searching and providing solutions for happiness and freedom. After writing about Positivity for the last seven weeks, I thought it is also a good time to pause and ask people, about which aspects of Gandhi is memorable for them. Which aspects or phrases inspires them in general. 

This is a humble attempt to assimilate all the positivity related emotions and traits in one human being. Hope you like it. 

I wanted to see if Gandhi, was still relevant in the age of Motu Patlu, Bieber and twerking. A very interesting response came from, Hunar who is in Class 12. She resonates with "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others" because from his words it can be understood that he truly practised what he preached. What appeals to young Hunar is that he led the people as one of their own, clad in a dhoti rather than a western formal suit or even the Indian bandgala, he spoke to the common folk in a language they understood with kindness and compassion.

His words appeal to me and if I had to pick one I would choose 

“A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes.” Provided by Saideep Jadhav, a stock broker. 

First: Inspiration

Meet Mohan Wadia, a Parsi, born in 2007, in Australia. Kush Wadia, his father, named him Mohan after Mohandas Gandhi. If a human can inspire a parent to name their first born after themselves, it is a rather poignant honor to the legacy of a great soul, or Mahatma. 

Barbara Fredrickson, says inspiration takes place when you come across true human excellence. When you see acts of inspiration, you yourself are transformed to think beyond the ordinary. It makes you want to achieve something truly beyond your own capability. Right from his studies as a barrister in London, to South Africa, to the struggle for independence which would go on to span many decades and even see two World Wars being waged. 

You can see how Gandhi inspired Mohan and Kush to name him after his son. 

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever” and “To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest”

Second: Growth Mindset and Authenticity 

I got a fascinating and unexpected response from Beatriz Guerrero, who lives in Spain. She says, “Regardless of speculations regarding Gandhi’s life, I find wisdom, solace, and inspiration in what we know about his life and legacy”. 

Carol Dweck, the renowned learning psychologist, says, that learning and a growth mindset is about a belief that your basic qualities are things that you can cultivate with your efforts. She says, that people may differ in their initial talents, aptitudes, interests and temperaments – everyone can change through application and experience. Her emphasis is on the word, everyone. 

Interestingly, this is exactly what Hunar said, “Although some deemed him to be a higher power with god given gifts, I believe that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an extraordinary individual, and his success was a product of his own hard work and considerate persona”. 

Bea (as she is known) runs an amazing business called, The Bea Factor. She says that it was these very thoughts are the foundation of her project, a space where you can be, what you would love to be, an authentic and unique person. 

She finds these phrases as universal and everlasting. So does Sanjay Tambe, a QuaIity professional, says “honesty and ethics I practice in my life which may be due to influence of Gandhi which I read in my school days”. 

Be the change you want to see in the world - Provided by Urmi, a researcher and Priya a health professional.  

Third: Gratitude

Robert Emmons, the renowned scholar of Positive Psychology, says, that gratitude is about acknowledgement of goodness in ones life, and more importantly, recognising that perhaps part of that goodness was contribute by someone else. 

Paul D’souza, an IT professional who lives in Dubai, says “He had a profound impact on me and my fellow Indians, because of him we have an INDIAN passport, period...(sic)” His gratitude is to the actions of a man’s untiring effort. 

You may never know what results come out of your action but if you do nothing there will be no result – Gandhi Provided by Sandeep Rao (Bangalore). 

Fourth: GRIT and Resilience

Manasije Mishra, a CEO,   his favorite quote is, “Don't let what you cannot do stop you from doing what you can!”. Dolly Anadkat, a coach living in the US, quotes The Alchemist, “If I am following my personal legend, whole universe will conspire to help me”. Young Nikki Chawla, who is appearing in her Board exams, reminds me, that what made the struggle special was that, it was about the values and principles, of satyagraha (struggle for truth) was based on the principles of non-violence. A principle, which, decades later, would become a bedrock of many civil liberty and freedom movements across many countries. 

Ray Baumeister, a Social Psychologist, defines Grit and Resilience as a trait, which enables all your other strengths. It is an ability to persist on a task that you want to accomplish. Life will always continue to present obstacles in your path. Your ability to negotiate them, find creative solutions and stick to the path, ultimately determines your success. 

If you have seen the movie, Gandhi, the scene of the Dandi March, where Martin Sheen plays the role of a reporter, who is frantically reporting, live, over a telephone line of the events of the clash between the marchers and the authorities is particularly evocative. It stays with you for a really long time. It is not only example of personal resilience, but the resilience of the hundreds of other marchers. 

For more details on how resilience, click here, 

Whenever you are in doubt or when the self becomes too much with you....Recall the face of the poorest man. - Provided by Munish Batra. 

Fifth: Compassion and empathy

Sharmila, a realty professional, lives in Austin Texas, her family follows the Gandhiism principles of life. She says, that the prayer of the 16th century poet, Narsingh Mehta, called Vaishnav Jana (people who believe in Lord Vishnu) drives her convictions. 

Vaishnav Jana is a prayer that Gandhi used to often recite. Let me reproduce a particular stanza: 

Vaishnava (devotees of Lord Vishnu) people are those who,
Feel the pain of others,
Help those who are in misery,
But never let ego or conceit enter their mind.
Respect the entire world,
Do not censure anyone,
Keep their words, actions and thoughts pure,
The mother of such a soul is blessed.
Vaishnavas see all equally, renounce greed and avarice,
Respect women as they respect their own mother,
Their tongue never utters false words,
Their hands would never touch the wealth of another.

Compassion is when you can go beyond yourself to benefit someone else, at a personal effort and cost. 

The prayer says it all. A hundred years on, though we have come a long way in our awareness levels, but we must continue to strive for gender equality, for controlling rage with compassion towards all. 

In a gentle way, you can shake the world. Provided by Abhijat Shrivastava 

Sixth: Kindness 

Manish Gadhvi, a finance professional recollects an interesting incident. While boarding a moving train one day, one of Gandhi’s shoes slipped off and fell upon the track. Unable to retrieve it, calmly removed his other shoe and threw it down the track to where the first had landed. “The poor man who finds the shoe lying on the track” Gandhi explained, “will now have a pair he can use.”

Find the purpose, means will follow. - Provided by G. Ravindran 

Seventh: Purpose, Pursuit and Positive interpretation.   

Pernille, from Denmark says that the African "If you do not know where to go, look where you came from". Knowing where you "come from" in matters of culture, family, religion and friends. It helps you understand why you act the way do, in happiness and sadness. It can be read in the simple way of finding your way in the African jungle - or simply as finding your way in life, I think. 

Sojna Syubomirsky, says people who do not follow their “own goals” or goals which reflect your deep values, appear stalled. Often we get frustrated and unhappy for small imperfections in our lives. If you understand your purpose, the process of pursuing your goals and meaning in life is what gives you happiness, and not necessarily achieving them. Happiness comes from the learning and fulfilling your potential. 

For more details on what kind of goals work, click here 

Finally: Negative emotions and Positivity. 

Polarising opinions about the life and decisions of Gandhi abound. A lot of people are reminded about fallacies and hold strong opinions about the legacy left behind by the political decisions and circumstances that Gandhi faced. Some question his philosophy and implementation of his philosophy. It was Sarojini Naidu, who quipped to Gandhi, that it was costing the country a lot to keep him in poverty. 

Positive Psychologists Robert Biswas-Diener and Todd Kashdan say that anger is good, when expressed properly. Negative emotions signal a warning that our deep values are being violated. We need to address them and when in disagreement, a conversation over a coffee is always a great starting point. I have always seen it is difficult to hold a grudge with a person when there is a strong aroma of coffee uniting the senses. 

Immense progress takes place when humans meaningfully interact with their environment. The ability to interpret your feelings to move ahead towards a meaningful goal to make a difference in the world around you is what ultimately matters. 

In this column, I have listed, Inspiration, Learning & Authenticity, Gratitude, Grit & Resilience, Compassion, Kindness, Purpose & Meaning, Emotional flexibility to negativity are some of the tools that we can bring to our lives and become an Agent of Prosperity.

A dear friend, Gopa Menon, says “Some of the indiscretions which he was unabashed about admitting, makes Gandhi, more human and more adorable. This Rock Star of peace - along with several others who contributed to the story during those most eventful times. Nobody walks alone”. 

The next decade will be a decade of human well being. The pillars of personal security, work life balance, civic engagement, responsible ecological practices, freedom of expression, access to health and education are already being strengthened across the world. 

To transform this opportunity, we need to operate in a framework of Positivity. Positivity occurs when people walk together, overcome obstacles, lift each other up, and move ahead to accomplish their goals. Positivity is a force multiplier and causes ripples of good. Positivity expands our minds and worlds. 

Enjoy the Republic Day parade, and remember to see the award winning Obama smile.  Smiles matter. 

That is the best positivity boost you need for this week. 

Wish you a Positive Monday and a great week ahead.