Category Famous Personalities

Why Gandhi was considered a student of average merit, but of high moral values?

 

 

 

Gandhiji’s life as a student began at Rajkot where he studied the basics of arithmetic, history, geography and the Gujarati language. As a student, he did not show exceptional merit. He did not excel in the play-ground either. He was a boy who adored long walks rather than playing games. He matriculated from the Bombay University in 1887.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gandhiji’s honesty finds mention in the pages of history. Once, during his school days, an inspector visited his school. The children were dictated five English words. His teacher encouraged young Mohandas to copy from his fellow student a word he had miss pelt. He refused to do this, despite inviting the displeasure of his own teacher. Thus, though he was an ordinary student he had strongly embraced high values.

 

What was Gandhi’s childhood like?

 

 

       

 

   

 

   Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, Gujarat, on 2nd October, 1869. His parents were Karamchand Gandhi and Putlibai. His father worked as a prime minister in Porbandar and in Rajkot.

               Putlibai was a deeply religious woman. She was also a vegetarian as per tradition and used to fast to cleanse herself of the craving for food. Neither fancy clothes nor jewellery attracted her. At the same time, she was a woman of great common sense and was well informed about all matters of state. She left a strong impression on young Mohandas and he had great admiration for his mother. She treated all living creatures equally and respected them all. Putlibai valued the opinions of others. Now, it is clear that she laid the foundation for the values Gandhiji upheld. She was a role model for his life and principles.

 

Why is it said that the greatest gift Gandhiji gave us was the idea of non-violence?

          It is the idea of non-violence that made India’s struggle for freedom unique in history. Gandhiji taught us that one is blessed to possess non-violence or ahimsa, in the midst of violence. He objected to violence, because it perpetuates hatred. Yet to him, non-violence was not akin to cowardice. He showed the world that non-violence is not a weapon of the weak; on the other hand, it is a weapon that can be tried to express a higher form of courage.

          Gandhiji was the first leader in history to use the idea of non-violence to fight such a mighty power. It’s no wonder that Gandhiji’s methods inspired many leaders like Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela.

Why Gandhiji is considered a Mahatma- the great soul?

          The life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a unique journey along the path of greatness. He courageously proclaimed that his life was his message. A simple man clad in a handwoven dhoti, he believed that the greatest weapon is one’s own character.

          Gandhiji lived in troubled times, when India’s social and political existence was crushed by the mighty British Empire. His clarity of vision and his mission ignited the minds of thousands of people.

 

          Under his leadership, the freedom struggle of India, for the first time, became a truly mass movement. He had no armies to command, yet the mightiest empire of the times was no match for his determined leadership, clear vision, and strength of character.

          True, Gandhiji was the greatest leader of modern India. Yet, to millions of people across the world, he was much more than that. To them, he was a saint whose values will have everlasting relevance. It’s no wonder that the whole world came to worship him as a great soul – a Mahatma.

          It was Rabindranath Tagore, the great poet, who first addressed him as ‘Mahatma’ and soon the whole world started using this name with great respect and affection. A truly befitting name for the father of our nation, who represents all that, is noble about our great heritage. 

 

Who was Gautama Buddha?

          The word Buddha literally means ‘The Enlightened One’. This was the title given to Siddhartha Gautama. He became the founder of the religion called Buddhism.

          Buddha was born as a prince in the 6th century B.C. in a warrior community of Nepal called ‘Sakyas’. Although brought up in great luxury, he did not show any attachment to the material delights. Even when young, he had a sensitive and philosophical temperament. Though he had everything necessary for worldly pleasures, he was somehow dissatisfied.

          One day Siddhartha went out of his palace grounds on his chariot to get a glimpse of the town. On his way he saw three, sights which he had never seen before: a sick man, an old man and a dead man. These had a deep impact on his mind and made him sad and thoughtful. He could sense the eternal truths of life and realized that life was full of sorrows and suffering. He wondered if sickness, old age and death ultimately grab everyone’s life then what was the goal of life and how men could best use the comparatively short lives they had on this earth. These questions kept on hunting his mind.

          One night Siddhartha left his palace in the pursuit of his goal. He was then 29 years old, married and father to a son. He left behind his wife and infant son in the palace. He spent several years studying under various teachers, but none could impart him the wisdom he was searching for. Finally, travelling from one place to another he reached a place in North India, now called Bodh Gaya. There he sat for many days under a tree in deep meditation, until suddenly one morning he had a wonderful experience of a starting vision of what he had been seeking. The light that shone in him was the enlightenment he was searching for. Buddha delivered his first sermon at Benares on the banks of river Ganges.

          Gautama Buddha died at the age of 80 at Kushinagar, near Benares. After him, his followers were divided into two sects: Mahayana and Hinayana. Buddhism is now followed in Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan.

 

Who was Kalidasa?

          Kalidasa was a famous Indian poet and dramatist. He was a master of Sanskrit language and perhaps the greatest writer of any Indian epoch. He is usually compared with Shakespeare, the great English dramatist.

          Kalidasa was known to be a Brahmin who was orphaned in childhood and brought up by a cowherd. He did not receive any formal education for eighteen years. Then, as luck would have it, he came to marry a princess — the marriage being brought about by a minister of the princess’s father, with a view to teach her a lesson! The boy was introduced as a learned Pandit. When the princess came to know of the truth, she was highly distressed. She insisted on Kalidasa acquiring higher education by pleasing goddess Kali. The goddess took pity on him and blessed him. Soon Kalidasa became a very learned man and a great poet. He called his wife as his ‘guru’.

          As legend goes, Kalidasa was one of the nine distinguished courtiers of King Vikramaditya of Ujjain. He lived sometime between 170 B.C. when the Sunga King Agnimitra ruled and 634 A.D. to which Aihole inscription dates. Many scholars opine that Kalidasa was present during the reign of Chandragupta II (380 A.D. – 415 A.D.). According to a Sinhalese account, he died in Ceylon during the reign of Kumaradasa in the 6th century A.D.

          Kalidasa was probably a very cultured man, full of humour and buoyancy. He had high esteem for women.

          There are seven famous works of Kalidasa — three plays and four long poems. All of them are in Sanskrit. 

          Abhijnana Shakuntalam (“Shakuntala recognized”) is regarded as his greatest play, and usually judged as the best Indian literary effort of any period. Taken from an Indian legend, it tells of the love between the nymph Shakuntala and King Dushyanta, his rejection of the girl and his child and their subsequent reunion in heaven. The work is important because of the child, Bharata, after whom Bharatvarsha came to be named.

          The second play Vikramorvasi (‘Urvasi won by valour’) tells of a legend as old as the Vedas. Its theme is the love of mortal for a divine damsel.

          The third play is Malvikagnimitra. Three famous long poems of Kalidasa are Raghuvansa (Dynasty of Raghu), Kumar-Sambhava (Birth of the War God) and Meghaduta (Cloud Messenger). The first recounts the legends of Rama’s forebears and descendants. The second tells the story of Siva and Parvati. The third deals with the message of a lover for his absent beloved. The fourth one is the Ritusamhara (The Garland of the Seasons) — perhaps an early work.

          Kalidasa’s works reflect on the aristocratic society, sure of its dignity and power. To him goes the credit of exploiting Sanskrit to the full. Till today he is regarded as unrivalled by any other Indian writer.