The Gandhi MessageVolume XXXXVIII - Winter Issue - 2014

The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Foundation

The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Foundation, Incorporated, was founded in the United States of America in 1959 by Swami Premananda of India.

The purpose of the Foundation is to disseminate the philosophy, ideal, life, service and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. The Foundation is a legally

independent, nonprofit cultural and educational organization.

Gandhi Memorial Center Dedicated to the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, the Gandhi Memorial Center seeks to offer a broad representation of authors from many cultures and times, as well as displays, recordings, lectures and demonstrations of cultural and educational value. The Library of the Gandhi Memorial Center is

open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 4pm (except during July and August).

Our AppealFor the expansion of its ideals and activities the Foundation will gratefully receive donations of funds and contributions of books, publications and memorabilia per-taining to Mahatma Gandhi and his associates. Please make checks payable to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Foundation, Inc. or contribute online at our website:

www.gandhimemorialcenter.org/contribute

The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Foundation is a 501c(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization. The staff of the Foundation and Gandhi Center are dedicated workers who serve without any remuneration throughout the year. Your contri-bution is an offering towards the services and activities of the Gandhi Center.

Your contribution is tax deductible.

© 2014 Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Foundation, Incorporated.Printed in the United States of America

Gandhi Memorial Center 4748 Western AvenueBethesda, MD 20816

301-320-6871Email: info@gandhimemorialcenter.org Web: www.gandhimemorialcenter.org

Facebook.com/GandhiMemorialCenterUSA

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Table of Content

Photo of Gandhiji spinning....................................................front cover

Gandhi Jayanti 2013.........................................................................2-9

Noble Thoughts..............................................................................10-11

Fellowship of Peace Award...........................................................12-13

Student Visits.................................................................................14-15

Indigo Textile Exhibition.................................................................16-17

Photo of Indigo Narratives: Gandhi’s Imprint by Shelly Jyoti from INDIGO Textile Exhibition.....................back cover

I am not at all concerned with appearing to be con-sistent. In my pursuit after Truth, I have discarded many ideas and learned many new things. Old as I am in age, I have no feeling that I have ceased to grow inwardly or that my growth will stop with the dissolution of the flesh. What I am concerned with is my readiness to obey the call of Truth, my God, from moment to moment.

- Mahatma Gandhi

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Gandhi Jayanti 2013

Her Excellency Nirupama Rao, Ambassador of India, lights the ceremonial lamp with His Excellency, Subhash Mungra, Ambassador of Suriname; Srimati Kamala, President of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Foundation; and Carrie Trybulec, Director of the Gandhi Memorial Center.

Photo to left: Pratap Das playing tabla.

Photo to right: Isha Dube and Geeta Kansal on harmonium.

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Remarks by Ambassador Nirupama Rao

October 2, 2013

Gandhi Jayanti is a special occasion for each and every one of us because Mahatma Gandhi is truly a personality who inspires us in our daily lives. He is in many ways of the 21st century. We at the embassy went to the statue of

Gandhiji in front of our embassy, and we offered floral tributes to Gandhiji. And really what set the occasion apart was not only the fact that we were observing his 144th birth anniversary, but passersby, people who were walking past us on Massachusetts Ave, were joining us in that celebration. To me it was a very special occasion because it signified so powerfully that Gandiji’s message, is a powerful message for the whole world. So Gandhiji is really not only for India, but he is a personality of global rele-vance. We often wonder why we should continue to see so much violence in the world, so much brother against brother, religion against religion, ethnic group against ethnic group, nation against nation… somehow there is a need, I believe, and this is a critical need that we not only rededicate our selves to the relevance of Gandhiji but also live what he had to tell us in our daily lives. And even if we are a minority of one, as Gandhi said, the Truth is the Truth and we should never be afraid to uphold it. Today, I also started my day with the observance of Gandhi Jayanti on social media. I am on Twitter and today back in New Delhi they decided to have a global conference on Twitter about Gandhiji. And it lasted for one hour. And at the end that hour we had 7000 people from 94 countries take part in that interaction. I was also invited to participate. And when you are trying to express your thoughts in 140 characters it is not that easy. I began by saying that is so important to carry the message of Gandhiji in our lives, he is our friend, philosopher and guide, a truly modern man. And then somebody asked me, “Can you visualize Gandhiji on Twitter?” I said, yes, I can visualize Gandhi on Twitter because he believed in the democ-ratization of information. He believed in open government. He believed in transparency. And we all know how he took to the medium of the radio and how he used technology because he realized that it is a tool of empow-erment. So I have no doubt in my mind that he would have taken to so-cial media. As a media of communication he would have appreciated the reach and the power of the medium. And somebody asked me what the genius of Gandhiji was. And I said the genius of Gandhiji was his ability to

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tap the ancient pulse of India. To my mind the concepts that appear before us are the three that came straight from our Upanishads. These are the concepts of datta, which is generosity, damyata, which is self-control, and dayadhvam, which is compassion. And I think he believed and he lived ac-cording to these ideals. And I spoke of his attachment to education. Edu-cation that Gandhiji sought was not the conventional way that we thought of education. He said that education makes our elites very hard hearted. If we reflect on what he had to say we would realize that there is a lot of truth in that, because the spontaneity and the attachment to ahimsa particularly comes so naturally to people who are common people, who are not of the elites, but it is so natural to them. I think they express the spirit of India much more truly perhaps than many of us who have had the benefits and the advantages of education and access to the best of knowledge. Gandhiji’s concept of nai talim, as you know, was really to understand the culture, the spirit and the soul of India that resides in our village that is in-tricately and inextricably linked to the soul of our soil. I think the strength of Gandhiji was his ability to inspire. And I think when you define leadership, you have to inculcate in yourself the notion that leadership has be to in-spired. It has to awake the imagination and inspire and instill in the people you lead, a sense of commitment and dedication, and he was able to do that. And I think of communication because communication is so important in a democracy. And Gandhiji was the communicator personified. And why was he so? Because he was not reactive. He was able to anticipate the message that needed to be conveyed.

Charu Narasimhan performing a Bharatnatayam Dance homage.

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THE HEART OF THE MAHATMARemarks by Srimati Kamala at Gandhi Jayanti 2013

It has been quite a few years since I have offered remarks at Gandhi Jayanti. It is no less a privilege to me than it was 40 years ago when some of us gathered here even before the Gandhi Center was built. We had no building then, but we had the devotion to honor MAHATMA GAN-DHI. This evening I speak to you, with only the greatest affection, purpose and thankfulness TO YOU as my fellow ashramites, not as families and friends and guests but as “ashramites.” “Ashram” denotes a shared abode of consciousness, not geographically defined, but as fellows who care to live an ideal and whose fellowship means sharing and serving that ideal as a way of life. That is how I know you, how I think of you, how we have known one another here over the past 40 years. Since I speak with you as my fellow ashramites I do not feel I am delivering an address, but that I am sharing something from MY heart also - well, as I begin, getting two experiences off my chest. You will understand why. The first: Earlier this year I attended a presentation by an eminent Indian journalist – certainly a gifted speaker – renowned author and social critic. The audience was cap-tivated by his anecdotal observations, so urbane and witty. (Also, he spoke so rapidly that we all had to pay close attention to follow his thought.) He pointed out, rightly, that diversity of religious thought and religious toler-ance existed at the core of the culture and the history of India and that Gandhiji’s own insistence on and respect for religious diversity was the only just and responsible means to earn and to uphold freedom. He as-

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serted that the social means employed by Gandhiji form the characteristic and great strength that India offers today to the world. Very important, positive and good. However, when someone from the audience asked him from WHERE Gandhi got his philosophy of nonviolence, he did not answer with other than social references / precedents. Something very significant is missing here, I thought. The second experience I bring to you: A phenomenally dynamic speak-er at the Harvard Model U.N. Meeting for 2013 (some 7,000 attendees) opened his motivational message on Mahatma Gandhi with this question raised to the several hundred students: “How many of you are angry?!” When not too many hands raised in response he then asked, “How many of you have been angry in the past WEEK?” Most of the hands were raised then. He announced, “It’s good to be angry, because when you’re angry you’re alive! What you do with your anger is what is important.” (Note he did not ask the students to examine where anger comes from.) “You can be a Gandhi and change the world, or you can pick up a gun,” he said, implying erroneously that it was anger that motivated Gandhi to act. The curtain dramatically opened to show a flashy attention-getter: A huge black Harley Davidson motorcycle, shining with lots of chrome. “Each of you come forward!” He then invited each student to sign his/her name on the glistening motorcycle with shiny white paint. (Would you suppose the mes-sage here was “moving forward” …. with Gandhiji?) “I want to announce to the world,” he continued, “that Gandhi IS alive in this generation.” “Look to your left and to your right. The next Gandhi could be sitting next to you!” As the concluding group activity each student was given a 4 x 4 foot sheet of poster paper on which he was encouraged to print a “Gandhian” value he would like to send to the U.N., presumably to adorn its corridors. The college students dutifully filled the posters with symbols of peace, slo-gans of togetherness, mutually supportive testimonies to their awakened group energy: CONSCIENCE!, INTEGRITY!, NONVIOLENCE!, RISE UP! TRUTH! CHANGE! Where in these two episodes is the enduring importance of knowing GANDHI, of knowing the heart of a “great soul’s” life message? If we re-fuse to think about that , then how would we even recognize that so-called “next Gandhi” were he to be among us? Are we so unmindful of that spirit or just unwilling to talk about it to our young people? Do our children know that the Mahatma’s very name articulated the purely subjective purpose which drove him fervently to the greatness we honor today: Mohandas: “Lover of God.” Karamchand: “Servant of the Good?” Is the need of the hour to recognize the next Gandhi if he sits beside us or to find that the truth that moved the heart of Gandhi is alive within ourselves? When we reflect on how this man lived, by what powerful and principled precepts,

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we feel a kinship with the HEART of this great Soul. Such should be our inspiration this evening. Clearly, his was NOT merely a social philosophy but an evolving spiritual initiative that came from identification of the soul of man as one with the God of the universe. His genius, his “mahatma-ship,” lay in his ability to ignite the spark of that Reality in others’ hearts until their hearts kindled with the same life-love-light of Truth AS THEIR VERY OWN, and they desired to share the purpose and the joy of working and living by that essential common divinity, taking the praise or derision of others with equanimity, walking alone if none should respond to their call. His confessed prayer was not really to change the world nor to “be the change” but only to REALIZE THE CHANGELESS and that purity should rule and motivate his behavior. Wasn’t it this, the spirit that drew people of all backgrounds, all religions, all nations in fact, to him with trust, for the simple reason that they KNEW his heart? The Swaraj (“self-rule”) he asked all people to work for was not the political freedom from British rule but as he explained true Swaraj, the individual freeing himself from the rule of ignorance, indolence, selfishness, anger. Those were HIS ideals voiced in “VAISHNAVAJANATO” or the “RAM DHUN” or “EKLA CHALŌ RÉ,” and ours too, as inspiring Charu’s dance, as sung by Isha (with Pratapji and Gita) and Sudeshna (with Jeff’s musical arrangement of Tagore’s song) and devotionally offered by Alif and Krishna with soulful sitar and tabla . These ideals SHOULD resonate with the same meaning within us today as they did to the millions who heard them generations ago BECAUSE WE STILL NEED THEM. Just as we need today the same three-fold value of SATYAGRAHA as Gandhi described it: Holding onto Truth by means of

Alif Laila and Krishna Ramdas present “Vaishnavajanato” on sitar and tabla for Gandhi Jayanti.

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“self-discipline, self-purification and selflessness.” Today’s vogue of meet-ing in “Interfaith Dialogue” was not Gandhi’s means toward establishing brotherhood: His way to bring about communal harmony was simply LIV-ING IT. “I am a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim and a Jew,” he said with deep commitment. I am going to conclude with one final episode for us to consider, this one from the Mahatma’s own life. Louis Fischer tells us in his famous book, The Life of Mahatma Gandhi, that at about 10 a.m. on October 6, 1924, to break a 21 day fast, Gandhiji called for C.F. Andrews, the Christian mis-sionary who served him as his nurse, and said, “Can you remember the words of my favourite Christian hymn?” C.F. Andrews replied: “Yes, shall I sing it to you now?” “Not now,” answered the Mahatma, “but I have in mind that when I break my fast, we might have a little ceremony expressing religious unity. I should like the Imam Sahib to recite the opening verses of Koran. Then I would like you to sing the Christian hymn, you know the one I mean; it begins, ‘When I survey the wondrous cross’ and ends with the words, ‘Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.’ “Then, last of all, I should like Vinoba to recite from the Upanishads and Balakrishna to sing the Vaishnav hymn.” Before the actual breaking of the fast at the mid-day hour, Gandhiji spoke to those who were present - the Ali brothers, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Motilal Nehru, and C.R. Das among others. He was so weak that his voice could hardly be heard. He asked them to lay down their lives, if need be, for the cause of brother-hood. The hymns were sung and the Mahatma broke his fast with some orange juice brought by Dr. Ansari. How important it was that this very episode was recounted by you (Jeff Bauer) the leader of this wonderful bell choir before giving the ringers the music that we will hear from you this evening. We will be listening with our hearts. Ringers, singers, danc-ers, musicians and all of you present have brought your heart’s devotion here this evening with many, MANY truly beautiful expressions: Only God blesses all. Thank you.

Charu Narasimhan, Sudeshna Basu, Srimati Kamala, Ambassador Nirupama Rao, Smita Siddhanti, and Shanthi Chandra-Sekar.

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Golden Lotus Temple Bell Choir directed by Jeffrey Bauer, with Susan Hayden, Katy Henkelman Bauer, Karen Shanor, Steve Bauer, Ashley Law, Fritz Kramer, Jacki Rockwell, Linda Peterson, Shirley Bauer, Kathy Keenan, Fred Dixon, Chris Thompson, and Russ Bauer perform “The Wondrous Cross” a hymn requested by Gandhiji to be sung at ceremony ending his fast. The music was offered at Gandhi Jayanti, October 2, 2013 at the Gandhi Memorial Center.

Jeffrey Hallam Bauer and Sudeshna Basu present “Amader Khepiye Berai”. This song by Rabindranath Tagore was presented with piano arrangement and vocal music for Gandhi Jayanti.

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Man is the soul, he is spirit. In truth and reality, through all his efforts and achievements, man is incessantly endeavoring to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of his spiritual self. Man is not a corporeal being, he is a spiritual individual. Spirituality is our fundamental nature, therefore

our spiritual ideal is the impelling force of our life.

Swami Premananda

The highest endeavor of the mind, and its highest virtue, is to under-stand things by the third kind of knowledge

[intuition: the kind of knowledge that “proceeds from an adequate idea of the absolute essence of certain attributes of God to the

adequate knowledge of the essence of things”].

Spinoza

Confucius instructed: First, set your HeartMind on the One. Then listen, not with your ear, nor even with your HeartMind.

Listen with your Qi, the very essence of your ultimate self.

Zhuang Zi

The greatest thing our soul can do in this world is to see its ideal and follow it. Life involves both passions and poise; fears and courage; suf-

fering and exaltation; doubts and assurances. Unless one finds a spiritual philosophy

which he can serve with devotion and loyalty he cannot realize his soul’s yearning, its quest for unity and peace.

Swami Kamalananda

To study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly, to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word to let the spiritual,

unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.

William Henry Channing

Let Noble Thoughts come to us from every side...

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It is in dependence upon sentient beings that one first generates this altruistic aspiration

to highest enlightenment, and it is in relation to sentient beings

that one practices the deeds of the path in order to achieve enlightenment,

and it is for the sake of sentient beings that one achieves Buddhahood.

The Dalai Lama

To return to the truth of the Divine now clouded over by ignorance is the soul’s aim in life.

There is only one aim to be followed, the increase of Peace, Light, Power

and the growth of a new consciousness in the being. With that new consciousness the true knowledge,

understanding, strength, feeling will come.

Sri Aurobindo

The mark of true [spiritual] endeavor is joy in exerting oneself, an absence of obstacles, proficiency in scriptures,

the desire to know, and homage to the knowledgeable ones.

Haribhadra Suri, “Yoga-Drishti-Samuccaya”, a Jain text

Every divine gift increases our receptivity and longing to receive what is higher and greater.

For this reason many masters of the spiritual life say that in this the soul is equal in birth to God.

For to the extent that God is boundless is his giving, the soul is equally boundless in taking and receiving.

Just as God is omnipotent in his deeds, the soul is just as profound in its capacity to receive. For this reason it is transformed - with and in God.

Meister Eckhart

Let Noble Thoughts come to us from every side...

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Fellowship of Peace Award

Fellowship of Peace Award Ceremony Honoring Dr. Natwar Gandhi

for Exemplary Gandhian Service October 27, 2013

Remarks by Srimati Kamala

Our esteemed friendship with Dr. Natwar Gandhi began well before his extraordinary public work as CFO. I’m not very good at remembering dates, but I can tell you that our association began when his children were the ages of his grandchildren today. I have always known him as dedicated to his work, to his family and to his community and to his two countries with astute, even dynamic powers of kindness, goodwill and clear, productive thinking. He has found time to give to the activities of our Center and be supportive in his friendship despite immense commitments to his job. The remarkable story of this immigrant arriving in the U.S. as a student with only the requisite $7 in his pocket; having to work several jobs at once to support his parents and his young wife back in India, later to bring his wife to join him; his steady ascendency through every position as college teacher, accountant, GAO officer, DC CFO; it moves me deeply. I am convinced of the power of a very well formed ideal which must have been impressed on your heart very early in life. I am sure you recall that story from the Ramayana, where Hanuman is given a necklace of pearls by Rama in thanks for his loyal service, saving Sita and heroically reunit-ing Rama and Sita? Hanuman refused the glamorous gift baring his chest and proclaiming that the blessed offering of Rama and Sita’s trust was

Srimati Kamala, Perry William Carsley (sculptor), Dr. Natwar Gandhi (Fellowship of Peace Award Recipient), and Carrie Trybulec

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Srimati Kamala, Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, Dr. Smita Siddhanti, Dr. Abdul Aziz Said, Mrs. Manjula Kumar and Mayor Vincent Gray (Mayor of District of Columbia)

already emblazoned on his heart; he carried it within, a treasure of incom-parable value which beads could not supplant. I recognize that one who has fulfilled such responsibilities as you -- by your very nature -- that our offering will seem superfluous. I think the “highest and the noblest and the best” of India, certainly in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi’s noble character, have been in your heart for decades, making it not surprising to see why you are receiving this recognition for Exemplary Service of Gandhian Values. Above all, as one of our respected Fellows will you continue to hold the ideal of satyagraha before us, as one who adheres to Truth by the prac-tices and virtues of “self-purification, self-help, self-sacrifice and faith in God” and continue to serve “what YOUTH craves for,” understanding and heeding our own moral urge.

The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Foundation established the Fellowship of Peace Award to recognize the contribution and dedication of individuals toward the fellowship of peace in a variety of professions, vocations and service. Just as Mahatma Gandhi had many vocations in life and entered into many fields, his greatest work was to devote his efforts toward the cultivation of inner peace and share it with the world around him. Each recipient receives a relief plaque of Mahatma Gandhi sculpted by Mr. Perry William Carsley. Mr. Carsley has produced many portraits in sculpture and painting as well as monumental art work including the Na-tional World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. Past Fellowship of Peace award recipients include: Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, Dr. Vibha Gupta, Mr. Rajan Devadas, Dr. Abdul Aziz Said, and Mrs. Manjula Kumar.

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Students visit the Gandhi Center

Students from Miner Elementary School in Washington, DC visited the Gan-dhi Memorial Center on October 25, 2013 as part of the DC Arts and Humani-ties Education Collaborative “Arts for Every Student” program. The children enjoyed stories and tales from India and learned about Mahatma Gandhi.

American University students visit the Gandhi Memorial Center from Profes-sor Eleftherios Michael’s “Cross-Cultural Communications” class on Friday, September 20, 2013.

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Young visitors from Friendship Public Charter Schoo in DC came to the Gan-dhi Memorial Center on December 6, 2013. Their visit was part of the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative “Arts for Every Student” program.

Students from Randle Highlands Elementary School visite the Gandhi Me-morial Center on November 8, 2013 as part of the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative “Arts for Every Student” program.

Through “Arts for Every Student,” the DC Arts and Humanities Educa-tion Collaborative offers opportunities for all DC public and charter public school students to take full advantage of the vast arts and cultural re-sources available throughout the DC Metropolitan area. Students and their chaperones attend high-quality arts and cultural events as an integral part of their education. The Gandhi Memorial Center continues to offer pro-grams for DC school students in cooperation with the DC Collaborative.

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INDIGO: A TEXTILE EXHIBITION

I am delighted to be present on this special occasion when we inaugu-rate the exhibition “Indigo” at the Gandhi Memorial Center. Since 2009, “Indigo” has been showcased in galleries and cultural centers in Baroda, New Delhi, Mumbai in India and in Seattle, Miami and Chicago in the US. We are happy that this exhibition is now opening in Washington DC with the support of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). As we all know, a society is a fabric made up essentially of narratives. Indigo is not merely a colour. For anyone who is exposed to India’s historic fight and the subsequent success against colonialism, indigo would have deeper meanings. Indigo is relevant in terms of connecting the concerns of ordinary people to the momentum of Indian national movement; linking the economic struggles of the downtrodden to the connections of colonial ex-ploitation; viewing the bigger picture of overall development while focusing on a specific struggle for a particular segment of the exploited population. While the colonial forces exploited a section of farmers who were con-strained to produce natural dye, indigo, as a raw material for the industrial production, Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, launched a non-violent resistance called, Champaran Movement, in 1917. This tool, called Satya-graha, was utilized repeatedly in India’s national freedom struggle with effective results that the whole world witnessed as part of modern history. The relevance of Gandhian thoughts and tools are felt far more in the contemporary world. As Martin Luther King, Jr., who was also inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, said, “The choice is no more between violence and non-violence, but is between non-violence and non-existence.” The theme of Indigo captures all these valuable thoughts and more. I am glad that Shelly Jyoti and Laura Kina have found a common ground in the zone of indigo. It is heartening to note that both Ms. Shelly Jyoti

Remarks by Charges d’Affaires Amb Taranjit Sandhu during the inauguration of “Indigo” – an exhibition of textiles by Laura Kina

and Shelly Jyoti at the Gandhi Memorial Center on Saturday, 16th November 2013

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and Ms. Laura Kina have used contributions of grass-root women’s or-ganizations in India in producing the exhibits. This exhibition shows the confluence of cultures. Apart from the Indian culture, it also reflects and registers other cultures including American, Japanese, Jewish and more, all of which we value immensely. We, at the Indian Embassy, are happy to have secured the sponsorship from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, ICCR, for this exhibition. I take this opportunity to thank Gandhi Memorial Center, Ms. Shelly Jyoti and Ms. Laura Kina and more importantly, the guests who have come to partake in this meaningful and beautiful journey, called “Indigo.”

Laura Kina’s “Devon Avenue Sampler” is a portrait of her South Asian/Jewish Chicago neighborhood, West Roger’s Park, and features a bri-colage of pop street signage rendered in patchwork quilt paintings. The “Sampler” includes works hand embroidered by artisans from Market-Place: Handwork of India, a fair trade women’s organization in Mumbai, India. Laura lives and works in Chicago’s “Little India”, a vibrant multieth-nic immigrant community.

Shelly Jyoti’s “Indigo Narratives” refer to the 19th century history of In-dia’s indigo farmers, their oppression and Mahatma Gandhi’s subsequent non-violent resistance leading to India’s freedom. Shelly lived in Gujarat, India and her “Narratives” use traditional embroidery by rural women in Gujarat with support of Shrujan: Threads of Life and indigo resist dye print-ing on khadi fabric with the 9th generation ajrakh artisans of Gujarat famed for their bold embellished textiles.

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“Travelling along the route, the pilgrim will meet richer experiences from day to day so that he may have a glimpse of the beauty he is destined to see at the top. No one is entitled to infer from this that the path will be a continuous carpet of roses without thorns.”

“Let no one say that he is a follower of Gandhi. It is enough that I should be my own follower. I know what an inadequate follower I am of myself, for I cannot live up to the convictions I stand for. You are no followers but fellow students, fellow pilgrims, fellow seekers, fellow workers.”

“All our activities should be centered in Truth. Truth should be the very breath of our life. When once this stage in the pilgrim’s progress is reached, all other rules of correct living will come without effort, and obedience to them will be instinctive. But without Truth it is impossible to observe any principles or rules in life.”

-Mahatma Gandhi