Gandhian Perspective and Present Lifestyle

Gandhi was the leader of the past times, transcended successfully to the present and marched towards the future by way of lighting a lamp of hope. Gandhi and his philosophies are always more than we even know. Truth, a basic element of Gandhi’s philosophy, has been given a special importance by Gandhi as he himself has tried to remain truthful throughout his life. Another important component of Gandhi’s teaching is Non-violence, which was the strongest weapon used by him for getting the independence of India. His idea of Self-rule or Swaraj enables a practical solution to achieve sustainable development that can be implemented without compromising the quality of life. His seven-fold action programme carries immense value for the humanity. He strongly advocated that villages should become selfsufficient in the matter of their basic requirements. Gandhi would remind us of the humanness and stability of local production, local consumption and local community of relationships. He called it Gram-Swaraj. The ability to discriminate between need and greed, the ability to provide for everybody’s need and the self-control as well as the socio-economic design to minimize the greed is relevant - this is what Gandhi has directed us. Gandhi has given a new vision to harmonize nature with the reeds of the people. Gandhi realized that education should not only increase knowledge but also develop culture in heart and hand. He focused on the overall development of an individual through recreation as well as education. Gandhi, being a spiritual person expressed the opinion that religion can become a basis for friendship among all mankind. He strongly believed that religion does not teach mutual enmity. He opined that sanitation and cleanliness are among the humblest of civic virtues. Gandhi came up with the principle of trusteeship and said that the wealth we earn is not only of ours; rather it belongs to the people. We must take only that much, what we need and the remainder can be used for the benefit of the society.