On 21st June 1961 a voice manifested in the seance room of British medium Leslie Flint, claiming to be that of the late Mahatma Gandhi.
Mahatma Gandhi
The voice said:"Death is something which in your world is taboo! People are afraid to mention the word. They do not like to think about it. They run away from it. It is something they are afraid of because they know deep down in their hearts that it is a reality they must face eventually, and they are afraid of it because they are knowing deep down in themselves they are not fully prepared for it. They know so little about it and they are afraid to find out. Fear dominates the hearts and minds of man. And we know that, unless something is done about this before it is too late, the disastrous consequences are so tremendous that one hardly dares to think about it.
Today your world stands on the bridge as it were of destruction. Anytime that bridge, which is in itself so unreliable that it is doubtful if it will sustain the weight that is placed upon it, because man himself, unconsciously, and in some ways consciously, has brought into being such a condition of confusion, such a condition of hatred and intolerance.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Special Publication From the pages of The Hindu
This is a compilation of articles published in The Hindu during 1997 & 1998.
This book in 530 pages of the last 200 days of Gandhiji's extraordinary life from 15th July 1947 to 30th January 1948 may rekindle interest in his teachings and set off further enquiry, research, and new writing relevant not only to the times that we live in now, but for all time.
To buy online
Copies can be had on payment of USD 14(FOURTEEN only - To all foreign countries - including Airmail Regd. book post charges) orINR 225/- (Indian Rupees Two Hundred and Twenty Five Only - Within India by Regd. book post) by demand draft payable at Chennai, India favouring KASTURI & SONS LTD.
(No seamail mode entertained for any countries. We do not have arrangements to send copies by V.P.P)
Address for communication:
Customer Relations Division
Circulation ManagerCirculation DepartmentThe Hindu859 & 860 Anna SalaiChennai - 600002Tamil NaduIndia
This book in 530 pages of the last 200 days of Gandhiji's extraordinary life from 15th July 1947 to 30th January 1948 may rekindle interest in his teachings and set off further enquiry, research, and new writing relevant not only to the times that we live in now, but for all time.
To buy online
Copies can be had on payment of USD 14(FOURTEEN only - To all foreign countries - including Airmail Regd. book post charges) orINR 225/- (Indian Rupees Two Hundred and Twenty Five Only - Within India by Regd. book post) by demand draft payable at Chennai, India favouring KASTURI & SONS LTD.
(No seamail mode entertained for any countries. We do not have arrangements to send copies by V.P.P)
Address for communication:
Customer Relations Division
Circulation ManagerCirculation DepartmentThe Hindu859 & 860 Anna SalaiChennai - 600002Tamil NaduIndia
Mahatma Gandhi Residential High School (MGRS)
Project DescriptionIn 1991, the Mahatma Gandhi Residential High School was started to cater to those boys who were at the risk of discontinuing school after their 7th class to go and work in hotels. MGRS is a residential school for students from class 8 to class 10. There are a maximum of 30 students in each class.Project proposal asked about supporting 1/3rd cost of running the school. After discussions, current plan is to support batch of students from class 8th to 10th, so that there is continuous interaction with same group and 1/3rd cost is also covered.After supporting the 8th Standard students for one year, Asha Colorado gained enough confidence on this project to start a 'Support a Child' program for these kids. Donors were encouraged to sponsor the expenses of a kid in the 9th standard for the 2005-06 academic year. This program was a resounding success and we were able to raise about $5000, from 20 unique donors.
Purpose / GoalsThe goal of this project is to make sure that kids who drop out or are at risk of dropping out of high school for financial reasons are brought back into the education system and given the same educational opportunities as kids from more better off families.
Organization DescriptionThe Kisan Sabha, as the name suggests, was started with the motive to empower land tenants through awareness about their rights. This was against the background of an ineffective Land Reforms Act. From organising kisan sabhas at the taluk and district levels, the group took up literacy campaigns as it realised that literacy was the prime reason for the farmers being victimised.
Project Type: Support a Child (description)
Primary Focus: children who are working (description)
Secondary Focus: dropouts
Area: Rural
Number of Children: 84
Student/Teacher Ratio: 17 : 1
Purpose / GoalsThe goal of this project is to make sure that kids who drop out or are at risk of dropping out of high school for financial reasons are brought back into the education system and given the same educational opportunities as kids from more better off families.
Organization DescriptionThe Kisan Sabha, as the name suggests, was started with the motive to empower land tenants through awareness about their rights. This was against the background of an ineffective Land Reforms Act. From organising kisan sabhas at the taluk and district levels, the group took up literacy campaigns as it realised that literacy was the prime reason for the farmers being victimised.
Project Type: Support a Child (description)
Primary Focus: children who are working (description)
Secondary Focus: dropouts
Area: Rural
Number of Children: 84
Student/Teacher Ratio: 17 : 1
Mahatma Gandhi
Date of Death:
30 January 1948
Nationality:
Indian
Quote count:
274
Times favorited:
1286
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , also known as Mahatma Gandhi, was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of Satyagraha—a philosophy that is largely concerned with truth and 'resistance to evil through active, non-violent resistance'—which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is commonly known in India and across the world as the Mahatma and as Bapu . In India, he is officially accorded the honour of Father of the Nation. 2 October, his birthday, is commemorated each year as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday. On 15 June
30 January 1948
Nationality:
Indian
Quote count:
274
Times favorited:
1286
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , also known as Mahatma Gandhi, was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of Satyagraha—a philosophy that is largely concerned with truth and 'resistance to evil through active, non-violent resistance'—which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is commonly known in India and across the world as the Mahatma and as Bapu . In India, he is officially accorded the honour of Father of the Nation. 2 October, his birthday, is commemorated each year as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday. On 15 June
M A H A T M A G A N D H I ~ A Great Soul
WELCOME to theMahatma Gandhi Memorial Statue Web Site. To honor the life and achievements of Mahatma Gandhi, members of the Gandhi Trust and elected officials, community leaders, and citizens of Skokie and the surrounding areas, unveiled a 12ft statue at Heritage Park on the Birthday anniversary ofMahatma Gandhi on October 2, 2004. This site provides information about the memorial as well as the life of Mahatma Gandhi.
About
Biography
Memorial
Gallery
Visit Us
Contact Us
Donations
LEARN ABOUT GANDHI'S GRANDSON'S 2006 VISIT, AN EXHIBIT, LECTURES, AND A DISCUSSION REGARDING MAHATMA GANDHI'S LIFE AND NONVIOLENT CHANGE.
About
Biography
Memorial
Gallery
Visit Us
Contact Us
Donations
LEARN ABOUT GANDHI'S GRANDSON'S 2006 VISIT, AN EXHIBIT, LECTURES, AND A DISCUSSION REGARDING MAHATMA GANDHI'S LIFE AND NONVIOLENT CHANGE.
Indian Freedom Struggle (1857-1947)
End of the East India Company
Consequent to the failure of the Revolt of 1857 rebellion, one also saw the end of the East India Company's rule in India and many important changes took place in the British Government's policy towards India which sought to strengthen the British rule through winning over the Indian princes, the chiefs and the landlords. Queen Victoria's Proclamation of November 1, 1858 declared that thereafter India would be governed by and in the name of the British Monarch through a Secretary of State.
The Governor General was given title of Viceroy, which meant the representative of the Monarch. Queen Victoria assumed the title of the Empress of India and thus gave the British Government unlimited powers to intervene in the internal affair of the Indian states. In brief, the British paramountcy over India, including the Indian States, was firmly established. The British gave their support to the loyal princes, zamindar and local chiefs but neglected the educated people and the common masses. They also promoted the other interests like those of the British merchants, industrialists, planters and civil servants. The people of India, as such, did not have any say in running the government or formulation of its policies. Consequently, people's disgust with the British rule kept mounting, which gave rise to the birth of Indian National Movement.
The leadership of the freedom movement passed into the hands of reformists like Raja Rammohan Roy, Bankim Chandra and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. During this time, the binding psychological concept of National Unity was also forged in the fire of the struggle against a common foreign oppressor.
Raja Rammohan Roy (1772-1833) founded the Brahmo Samaj in 1828 which aimed at purging the society of all its evil practices. He worked for eradicating evils like sati, child marriage and purdah system, championed widow marriage and women's education and favoured English system of education in India. It was through his effort that sati was declared a legal offence by the British.
Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) the disciple of Ramakrishna Pramhamsa, established the Ramkrishna Mission at Belur in 1897. He championed the supremacy of Vedantic philosophy. His talk at the Chicago (USA) Conference of World Religions in 1893 made the westerners realize the greatness of Hinduism for the first time.
Formation of Indian National Congress (INC)
The foundations of the Indian National Movement were laid by Suredranath Banerjee with the formation of Indian Association at Calcutta in 1876. The aim of the Association was to represent the views of the educated middle class, inspire the Indian community to take the value of united action. The Indian Association was, in a way, the forerunner of the Indian National Congress, which was founded, with the help of A.O. Hume, a retired British official. The birth of Indian National Congress (INC) in 1885 marked the entry of new educated middle-class into politics and transformed the Indian political horizon. The first session of the Indian National Congress was held in Bombay in December 1885 under the president ship of Womesh Chandra Banerjee and was attended among others by and Badr-uddin-Tyabji.
At the turn of the century, the freedom movement reached out to the common unlettered man through the launching of the "Swadeshi Movement" by leaders such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Aurobindo Ghose. The Congress session at Calcutta in 1906, presided by Dadabhai Naoroji, gave a call for attainment of 'Swaraj' a type of self-government elected by the people within the British Dominion, as it prevailed in Canada and Australia, which were also the parts of the British Empire.
Meanwhile, in 1909, the British Government announced certain reforms in the structure of Government in India which are known as Morley-Minto Reforms. But these reforms came as a disappointment as they did not mark any advance towards the establishment of a representative Government. The provision of special representation of the Muslim was seen as a threat to the Hindu-Muslim unity on which the strength of the National Movement rested. So, these reforms were vehemently opposed by all the leaders, including the Muslim leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Subsequently, King George V made two announcements in Delhi: firstly, the partition of Bengal, which had been effected in 1905, was annulled and, secondly, it was announced that the capital of India was to be shifted from Calcutta to Delhi.
The disgust with the reforms announced in 1909 led to the intensification of the struggle for Swaraj. While, on one side, the extremist led by the great leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal waged a virtual war against the British, on the other side, the revolutionaries stepped up their violent activities There was a widespread unrest in the country. To add to the already growing discontent among the people, Rowlatt Act was passed in 1919, which empowered the Government to put people in jail without trial. This caused widespread indignation, led to massive demonstration and hartals, which the Government repressed with brutal measures like the Jaliawalla Bagh massacre, where thousand of unarmed peaceful people were gunned down on the order of General Dyer.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
Jalianwala Bagh massacre of April 13, 1919 was one of the most inhuman acts of the British rulers in India. The people of Punjab gathered on the auspicious day of Baisakhi at Jalianwala Bagh, adjacent to Golden Temple (Amritsar), to lodge their protest peacefully against persecution by the British Indian Government. General Dyer appeared suddenly with his armed police force and fired indiscriminately at innocent empty handed people leaving hundreds of people dead, including women and children.
After the First World War (1914-1918), Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi became the undisputed leader of the Congress. During this struggle, Mahatma Gandhi had developed the novel technique of non-violent agitation, which he called 'Satyagraha', loosely translated as 'moral domination'. Gandhi, himself a devout Hindu, also espoused a total moral philosophy of tolerance, brotherhood of all religions, non-violence (ahimsa) and of simple living. With this, new leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose also emerged on the scene and advocated the adoption of complete independence as the goal of the National Movement.
Consequent to the failure of the Revolt of 1857 rebellion, one also saw the end of the East India Company's rule in India and many important changes took place in the British Government's policy towards India which sought to strengthen the British rule through winning over the Indian princes, the chiefs and the landlords. Queen Victoria's Proclamation of November 1, 1858 declared that thereafter India would be governed by and in the name of the British Monarch through a Secretary of State.
The Governor General was given title of Viceroy, which meant the representative of the Monarch. Queen Victoria assumed the title of the Empress of India and thus gave the British Government unlimited powers to intervene in the internal affair of the Indian states. In brief, the British paramountcy over India, including the Indian States, was firmly established. The British gave their support to the loyal princes, zamindar and local chiefs but neglected the educated people and the common masses. They also promoted the other interests like those of the British merchants, industrialists, planters and civil servants. The people of India, as such, did not have any say in running the government or formulation of its policies. Consequently, people's disgust with the British rule kept mounting, which gave rise to the birth of Indian National Movement.
The leadership of the freedom movement passed into the hands of reformists like Raja Rammohan Roy, Bankim Chandra and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. During this time, the binding psychological concept of National Unity was also forged in the fire of the struggle against a common foreign oppressor.
Raja Rammohan Roy (1772-1833) founded the Brahmo Samaj in 1828 which aimed at purging the society of all its evil practices. He worked for eradicating evils like sati, child marriage and purdah system, championed widow marriage and women's education and favoured English system of education in India. It was through his effort that sati was declared a legal offence by the British.
Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) the disciple of Ramakrishna Pramhamsa, established the Ramkrishna Mission at Belur in 1897. He championed the supremacy of Vedantic philosophy. His talk at the Chicago (USA) Conference of World Religions in 1893 made the westerners realize the greatness of Hinduism for the first time.
Formation of Indian National Congress (INC)
The foundations of the Indian National Movement were laid by Suredranath Banerjee with the formation of Indian Association at Calcutta in 1876. The aim of the Association was to represent the views of the educated middle class, inspire the Indian community to take the value of united action. The Indian Association was, in a way, the forerunner of the Indian National Congress, which was founded, with the help of A.O. Hume, a retired British official. The birth of Indian National Congress (INC) in 1885 marked the entry of new educated middle-class into politics and transformed the Indian political horizon. The first session of the Indian National Congress was held in Bombay in December 1885 under the president ship of Womesh Chandra Banerjee and was attended among others by and Badr-uddin-Tyabji.
At the turn of the century, the freedom movement reached out to the common unlettered man through the launching of the "Swadeshi Movement" by leaders such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Aurobindo Ghose. The Congress session at Calcutta in 1906, presided by Dadabhai Naoroji, gave a call for attainment of 'Swaraj' a type of self-government elected by the people within the British Dominion, as it prevailed in Canada and Australia, which were also the parts of the British Empire.
Meanwhile, in 1909, the British Government announced certain reforms in the structure of Government in India which are known as Morley-Minto Reforms. But these reforms came as a disappointment as they did not mark any advance towards the establishment of a representative Government. The provision of special representation of the Muslim was seen as a threat to the Hindu-Muslim unity on which the strength of the National Movement rested. So, these reforms were vehemently opposed by all the leaders, including the Muslim leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Subsequently, King George V made two announcements in Delhi: firstly, the partition of Bengal, which had been effected in 1905, was annulled and, secondly, it was announced that the capital of India was to be shifted from Calcutta to Delhi.
The disgust with the reforms announced in 1909 led to the intensification of the struggle for Swaraj. While, on one side, the extremist led by the great leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal waged a virtual war against the British, on the other side, the revolutionaries stepped up their violent activities There was a widespread unrest in the country. To add to the already growing discontent among the people, Rowlatt Act was passed in 1919, which empowered the Government to put people in jail without trial. This caused widespread indignation, led to massive demonstration and hartals, which the Government repressed with brutal measures like the Jaliawalla Bagh massacre, where thousand of unarmed peaceful people were gunned down on the order of General Dyer.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
Jalianwala Bagh massacre of April 13, 1919 was one of the most inhuman acts of the British rulers in India. The people of Punjab gathered on the auspicious day of Baisakhi at Jalianwala Bagh, adjacent to Golden Temple (Amritsar), to lodge their protest peacefully against persecution by the British Indian Government. General Dyer appeared suddenly with his armed police force and fired indiscriminately at innocent empty handed people leaving hundreds of people dead, including women and children.
After the First World War (1914-1918), Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi became the undisputed leader of the Congress. During this struggle, Mahatma Gandhi had developed the novel technique of non-violent agitation, which he called 'Satyagraha', loosely translated as 'moral domination'. Gandhi, himself a devout Hindu, also espoused a total moral philosophy of tolerance, brotherhood of all religions, non-violence (ahimsa) and of simple living. With this, new leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose also emerged on the scene and advocated the adoption of complete independence as the goal of the National Movement.
Mahatma Gandhi A Votary for Sustainable Living
Mahatma Gandhi not only gave us freedom but he also gave the world and us a new thought on nonviolence and sustainable living. His teachings and experiments are more valid today then ever especially when we are trying to find solutions to worldwide violence and runaway consumptive life style which is going to put a very heavy burden on the world's resources.Through ages India has occasionally given to the world a new thought. Thus Buddhism, Jainism, Yogic system, Sikhism are part of great spiritual thought given by India from time to time. Gandhiji's message of nonviolence and sustainable living is a continuation of that long tradition. Gandhiji was energy conservator par excellence. He lived in his ashrams without electricity or any modern amenities. His insistence on use of self-human labor for majority of needs was legendary and was usually frowned upon by his closest colleagues who thought it was anti progress and pushing back India to stone ages. Nevertheless his own life was a shining example of how with frugal living and with minimum energy needs he was capable of producing the highest quality of thought. Very few of us can live his exemplary life but Gandhiji showed that mental happiness and simple living could form the basis of sustainability. He believed that with simple living the resources of the planet earth can sustain us comfortably and his famous saying that earth provides us enough for our needs but not for our greed is extremely apt today.Gandhiji was a highly evolved and spiritual human being. Politics came as a byproduct of spirituality and he considered it as his duty to help his countrymen and fellow beings. The spirit of Bhagwadgita's Karma Yoga guided him in this endeavor. There are many instances of people who saw his glowing skin, aura, and felt the presence of his personality whenever they met him. That is only possible for a Yogi of very high order.My father who was involved in the freedom struggle and went to jail with Gandhiji told of a remarkable instance. In early 1940's just before the quit India movement, a mammoth public meeting took place in Allahabad. About 5-10 lakh people were present. Gandhiji was late for the meeting. All the great leaders of independence movement were giving their speeches and trying to calm the crowd, which was quite restless. Then suddenly Gandhiji came, climbed on the dias and put a finger on his lips. A wave of silence swept the grounds starting from dias. My father termed it as a remarkable experience of the power of a small frail man over the masses.Sometimes Gandhiji carried his energy conservation experiments too far. His experiments on conserving his sexual energy proved quite controversial. He was obviously following the age-old tradition of abstinence that yogis practice. Thus when at the age of 70 he had a wet dream he felt that his world had collapsed. He wrote about it and said that he felt ashamed of himself. Recent scientific evidence however has shown that our brains are full of sexual chemicals, which help in memory improvement and general well being. It is therefore possible that the practice of abstinence was done intuitively by yogis to conserve these chemicals to enhance their brain quality, which would help them in practice of yoga. More than the loss of chemicals, Gandhiji felt a lack of Sanyam and a loss of control over his purity of thought and hence his anguish. As a spiritual being and visionary Gandhiji was far ahead of his times. I am sure if he were alive today he would have felt that his dream village (about which he talked often) could have taken shape with the availability of internet connectivity, desktop manufacturing and small renewable energy power packs. His dream of giving employment and decent life to rural population may become possible with the availability of these energy efficient and high tech systems. Hence if we follow his maxim of simple living and high thinking then it is possible to have a decentralized high tech rural society and India can again show the world a new path in sustainable living.
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