The other night I watched the movie “Gandhi” for the third time in my life. If you haven’t seen the movie, I highly recommend it. Once it was over, I went online to review more of this man’s legacy.
One thing that stood out loudly for me was his conscious effort to communicate truthfully from his philosophical platform regardless of how others might respond. He was impeccable with his word and realized others would respond from their experience and affiliations. That however didn’t stop him to “make nice”.
In fact, he was jailed many times for standing firmly upon his philosophy of non-violence. He was physically beaten on several occasions but he never allowed fear of that to stop his pursuit of truth or actions stemming from his truth. He even stated he was willing to die for his philosophy and from an assassin did give his life while doing his best to unite Buddhists and Muslims in India.
The second aspect of deep respect for this simple man was his spiritual power. He didn’t put on airs but lived a simple life in a self-sustainable community. He wove his own “homespun” cloth for his Indian garb. He never flaunted money or female conquests or his law degree. But when he opened his mouth to speak or chose to fast until all rioting in India stopped, the world listened and all of India was humbled from the greatest to the least.
I was struck by one comment he made in the movie—“when one stands in the light of justice, all manner of support appears.” He also added that while doing that, one may be ridiculed, beaten and even killed. Yet he looked fear in the face and realized the essence of human dignity will always prevail.
In these chaotic and troubled times that the global community is dealing with, let us not forget “what we do to the least of our brethren, we do also unto ourselves.” I challenge you to find the Gandhi in you and with love, accountability and compassion—speak your truth……not to control but to liberate……
