Remarks by Carrie Trybulec at Gandhi Jayanti- October 2, 2009

We often view Mahatma Gandhi as having had a particular relevance during a particular time in history. But Gandhi had a much longer-lasting and deeper significance. His impact and effort have a universal and eternal appeal. His timelessness is rooted in his faith in Truth and the Higher Self. His enduring inspiration originates in his idealism and optimism.

Gandhi turned inward to realize and know the Self through study, prayer and meditation. And he was motivated to act outwardly the expression of this awareness through self-less service.

To understand and to learn from the lives of idealists, we must first learn to recognize that their perspective of human life transcends and yet encompasses current issues. We must learn to step into their larger world and thereby inhabit our own with wisdom.

The concept of Satyagraha – (Satya, meaning Truth, and Graha, meaning to hold firm) to hold firm to Truth, was Gandhi’s clarion call. He called on all to be Satyagrahi’s. Gandhi asked that we seek to know the Truth of our existence, the Truth of our very being, and then live our lives accordingly.

Gandhi viewed this Truth of existence as pointing to the idea of the oneness of life. That you and I are one, that we are one with the stars and the planets. That if I harm you or another, I harm myself. Christ said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Gandhi said that “To slight a human being is to slight those divine powers and thus to harm not only that being but with him the whole world.”

He said he believed “in the oneness of God and therefore, of humanity. What though we have many bodies, we have but one soul. The rays of the sun are many through refraction. But they have the same source. I cannot, therefore, detach myself from the wickedest soul nor may I be denied the identity with the most virtuous.”

Mahatma Gandhi was influenced by the great thinkers of all times. He drew from the most sacred elements of not only Hinduism, but Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism. He shaped his ashram communities around ideals, not just of his own fashion. He drew upon the likes of Leo Tolstoy of Russia, of John Ruskin of England, and Henry David Thoreau of America. The importance he placed on simplicity, selflessness, service, and respect shaped his life and those close to him. Failure sometimes loomed over his heart but he didn’t let it keep him down. He often admitted to having made “Himalayan blunders”. He knew that the ideals he shared with the world were not new lessons to be taught but wisdom “as old as the hills.”

Certainly his love for the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita – also played an important role in his life, forming one of the strongest foundations for his commitment to ahimsa – nonviolence or love. He felt that, “Renunciation of the fruits of action is the central tenet of the Gita.” He believed that the means must justify the ends and not that the ends could ever justify the means. This belief that one must not seek the fruits of his actions, revealed to Gandhi, that only peaceful, just and harmonious methods and means could ever truly achieve the peace, justice and harmony which he sought.

Gandhi gives his interpretation to the Gita’s description of the perfect devotee, the perfect renunciate:

“He is a devotee who is jealous of none, who is a fount of mercy, who is without egotism, who is selfless, who treats alike cold and heat, happiness and misery, who is ever forgiving, who is always contented, whose resolutions are firm, who has dedicated mind and soul to God, who causes no dread, who is not afraid of others, who is free from exultation, sorrow and fear, who is pure, who is versed in action and yet remains unaffected by it, who renounces all fruit, good or bad, who treats friend and foe alike, who is untouched by respect or disrespect, who is not puffed up by praise, who does not go under when people speak ill of him, who loves silence and solitude, who has a disciplined reason. Such devotion is inconsistent with the existence of strong attachments.”

Gandhi’s idealism is certainly a reaching and striving for the highest and best in human capacity to learn and grow, to share and understand. Gandhi said that “Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth. Life is an aspiration. Its mission is to strive after perfection which is self-realization. The ideal must not be lowered because of our weaknesses or imperfection.”