A Man is Known by his Words: Paramita Mukherjee Mullick

Paramita Mukherjee Mullick

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a great personality who was named Mahatma by another great mortal Tagore. His political exploits and what he has done for our country is known to all. I am fascinated about his quotes. Each one of his quotes show the clarity of his thought and purpose. Each one, a life lesson.

Every quote is a treasure chest of motivation and inspiration. Bapu, as we lovingly call him has expressed his motto in life in these quotations.  In the phrase, “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind” he expresses why non-violence is a priority, not an alternative.  If we go on fighting, there is no end to fighting, the world will be destroyed one day. “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall” …what an ode to truth and love! In simple words Bapu has explained that truth and love will always prevail. He also tells us “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes”. Yes, when we truly work hard, we can make mistakes, to err is human. Not only were his words inspirational during the British ruled India but his words are universally true and can be applied even now for the well being of humans.  We only talk about how society should be changed for human betterment but do we help in that change? NO. So, Gandhiji’s words are so relevant when he says, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. He has again and again talked about communal harmony, about unity among diversity. He shouted out, “God has no religion”. He clasped mankind in love and compassion so to him, we should even be kind to a sinner. He said,” Hate the sin, love the sinner”. He believed in mental strength and dignity of individuals. So he inspired others to go forward with mental strength and dignity by saying, “Nobody can hurt me without my permission”. 

Gandhi by Paramita Mukherjee Mullick

What better a way then to use his inspirational quote to motivate young minds. Mahatma says, “Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habit becomes your values, your values become your destiny”. Again, he repeats, “A man is a product of his thoughts, what he thinks he becomes”. He energizes us with his words saying, “There is no alternative to hard work”. He had total faith on humanity so he reverberated the words,” You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean is dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” He motivated all by saying,” The Future depends on what you do today”. His every saying is like a motivational speech. He says, “Let the first act of every morning be to make the following resolve for the day: I shall not fear anyone on earth, I shall fear only God, I shall not bear ill will towards anyone, I shall not submit to injustice from anyone, I shall conquer untruth by truth. And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering”. He believed in helping others, in serving others. Such noble thoughts are expressed in his noble quotes. “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”.

His quotes are fountains of happiness and hope. He says, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do is in harmony”. His lessons on life and how to not just survive but TO LIVE is, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” All his life he has taught love and forgiveness. So, the Mahatma says, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong".

A very interesting aspect of his thoughts is it is all encompassing.  He not only thought about love and brotherhood but he also advocated conservation of flora, fauna and resources of the Earth. So, his quotes, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” and “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed”.

Let us follow the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and   build a beautiful world of hope and happiness where we will be reborn every new day. As Bapu says, “Each night when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn”. His philosophy of encompassing all with love will surely make the world a better place to live in. I end with the most beautiful of his quotes, “Where there is love, there is life”. 

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Setu October 2021