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Shrimad Rajchandra & Mahatma Gandhi
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centered on the “self”, and the purpose is selfish, then it proves fatal and ends in violence. If, to achieve my goals, I injure others, through speech and deeds, then it is utterly selfish. However, when this love is practised without centering it on the self, will embrace the universe. Gandhiji developed and practised this universal love, and behind that love one can feel Shrimad's influence.
Gandhiji noted, “This person (Rajchandra) has won over my heart in matters of religion... Ahimsa was central to his very existence. His concept of Ahimsa encompassed all living things from tiniest micro-organisms to the entire human race.”
Gandhi observed fearlessness in Shrimad and imbibed that quality from him. In a memorial lecture in Mandvi, Kutch, twenty-five years after Shrimad's death, Gandhi said, “Let us today gain strength from his memory to learn to be able to assert truth fearlessly. Be mindful of your conscience at all times and treat it as your watchdog, taking care that no action of ours will hurt it.”.
Casting a glance over Gandhi's life, it is clear that he feared nothing but God during his life. He said, “In modern times, despite being human, we are no better than the quadrupeds. The strong suppress the weak, and rich the poor.”
In modern times, Bertrand Russell, the great thinker said, “Ban the bomb.” However, it raises a very significant question: “How do you ban the bomb?” The answer is not simple as tying a bell around a cat's neck, it is more akin to tying, but as difficult as trying to tie a bell around the neck of a tiger. The true answer is ‘Ahimsa’. This is not merely a thought put into words, but this has been implemented in action in the midst of dangerous circumstances. In the midst of the fire of violence, he displayed calmness and unparalleled fearlessness.
The second virtue that Gandhiji acquired from Shrimad
