Al Dostour (daily newspaper), P.15 (9-5-2007)

Bhagavad-Gita… a poem inspired Gandhi with all his ideas and principles

By: Sameh Qasem

What do you know about Gandhi and what is the meaning of Mahatma?

Gandhi is the founder of peaceful resistance or what is known as "Satyagraha", the philosophy of non-violence.

The concept of Satyagraha is related to the religious, political and economic conditions, which influenced the life and personality of Gandhi. The essence of this philosophy can be summarized in three words: courage, truth and non-violence. He adopted the nonviolent approach to resist and conquer
the occupation.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, a small town in the Indian state of Gujarat. He was born in a conservative family of a solid political background. Gandhi's grandfather had risen to be Prime Minister of Porbandar and he was succeeded by his son Karamchand, Gandhi's father. Also, the family had major commercial ventures.

Gandhi was inspired by the Bhagavad-Gita, a Hindu religious poem written in 3 BC, which became his "spiritual dictionary."  Also, Gandhi was inspired by other books, which played a key role in shaping his philosophy and political stances. 

Gandhi was always against the British laws. However, he sometimes showed some tactic flexibility in some situations to the extent that some of his opponents accused him of treason to question the credibility of his struggle. When India was about to get its independence in 1945, many calls were raised for the partition of India into two countries, one for Hindus and another for Muslims. At this critical moment, Gandhi tried to convince Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the key supporter of this idea, to give up his plan but in vain.

Immediately after the partition of the Indian subcontinent on August 15, 1947, a state of chaos and religious clashes overwhelmed India, during which more than 5000 people were killed in Calcutta only. Gandhi considered that development as a national disaster. He called on Hindu majority to respect the rights of Muslim minority. Some Hindu fanatic sections considered Gandhi's call as a high treason. So, they decided to kill him. On January 30, 1948, a Hindu fanatic fired three bullets at Mahatma Gandhi, 79, and killed him on the spot.  

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