SAMVAD &nbsp :: Dialogue of Life

Preface
I am a great admirer of Mahatma Gandhiji, who deserves the title
‘Mahatma’ in every respect. Regardless of criticism by a few against his words and acts, he stands tall amongst the Indians of all time. He was truly a larger than life personality.
After reading his autobiography, it has been my long time ambition to read
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. Seeing as it is one hundred volumes, I postponed my ambitious project for a long time. In 2011, thanks to my mother whose presence at the ashram (Krupavan Gurukulam) compelled me to not travel or go out much, I began to read it. I never expected that it would be such a rewarding sadhana.
Reading Gandhiji’s writings was not merely a project, a pleasure, or for the purpose of gathering information about him, but rather to learn from this MAHATMA, as part of my sadhana. I feel very proud to have been born in India for various reasons; now the top among them is that I was born in the land that also bore MAHATMA. I find comfort that somehow I too was his contemporary, as his passing was only a few years before my birth. This is important for me, because as Gandhiji’s influence among the Indians is slowly fading away—thanks to the politicians in general and the Congress party in particular—future generations may not read and learn from the writings of Gandhiji. The sad fact is that the majority of educated Indians have never even read An Autobiography by Gandhiji. This being true, there is little chance of the present generation, and future generations, reading the 100 volumes of his collected works. Of course there are some exceptions to this (I have heard that Sri Arun Shouri has read all the 100 volumes.). However, as I am reading The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi [CWG], I am impressed not only by his writings and thoughts, but by his life and ideals, which he followed with deep conviction. Of course, as a human being, he slowly emerged from a human to Mahatma. Rarely can such a consistency be seen between a person’s life and their ideals as we find in the life of Mahatma Gandhiji.
I do not want to keep it a personal sadhana, but want to share this experience with others. There is not much for me to comment on or write beyond what one can infer from the writings and life of Mahatmaji; only occasionally will I share the inspiration I have drawn from his writings and his life. I first thought of completing all of the 100 volumes and then arranging the notes from each volume under various topics. However, as I advanced from volume one to five and six, I realized that it would not be an easy task. Therefore, I have decided to share my notes from these collected works of Gandhiji volume by volume. Once I complete all of the volumes, if God allows me to live that long, then I can re-organize all of the materials in a different way.
This blog is the best place to share, as it will be there for anyone to read and also easy for me to refer to. Though I would like someone to edit my English, considering the time constraint, it will be too much for anyone to help me. Not minding the limitation of my English, I have decided to post them, as the reader has to focus only on what Mahatma wrote and not on my rare comments.
I feel blessed not only to read, but also to have the opportunity to take notes and share them with others. In my life as an unmarried person, I have received different kinds of blessings that are not common to all; I can say with much satisfaction that this is the best among them—not only the time but also the interest to read Mahatmaji’s writings. My hope and prayer is that Indians who cannot read the entire CWG will not miss the opportunity to read some of the SELECTED NOTES FROM THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHIJI.
I read the first four volumes of CWG from printed books [Publications Division Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Govt. of India. (1958), Third ed. Reprint. 1994.]. However, typing notes consumed too much time. I searched on the Internet and found many sites with the complete 100 volumes of CWG, which I am able to download. I am downloading from www.gandhiserve.org/cwmgn site and all the page numbers are as the volumes are listed on the website. If any of my notes are incomplete or not inclusive of the whole text or context, one can go to the website and read the entire text. I took notes as per my interest; therefore my selection of notes may not convey the complete ideals and mind of Mahatmaji. As the entire volume is available on the website, those who want to know further can research there.
I FEEL BLESSED TO BE BORN AN INDIAN. I FEEL DOUBLY BLESSED TO BE BORN THE INDIAN SON OF MAHATMA GANDHIJI, AS HE IS RIGHTLY CALLED THE “FATHER OF OUR NATION.” IF WORLD HISTORY IS DIVIDED BEFORE AND AFTER BY THE BIRTH OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THEN INDIAN HISTORY SHOULD BE DIVIDED BEFORE AND AFTER THE BIRTH OF MPreface
I am a great admirer of Mahatma Gandhiji, who deserves the title
‘Mahatma’ in every respect. Regardless of criticism by a few against his words and acts, he stands tall amongst the Indians of all time. He was truly a larger than life personality.
After reading his autobiography, it has been my long time ambition to read
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. Seeing as it is one hundred volumes, I postponed my ambitious project for a long time. In 2011, thanks to my mother whose presence at the ashram (Krupavan Gurukulam) compelled me to not travel or go out much, I began to read it. I never expected that it would be such a rewarding sadhana.
Reading Gandhiji’s writings was not merely a project, a pleasure, or for the purpose of gathering information about him, but rather to learn from this MAHATMA, as part of my sadhana. I feel very proud to have been born in India for various reasons; now the top among them is that I was born in the land that also bore MAHATMA. I find comfort that somehow I too was his contemporary, as his passing was only a few years before my birth. This is important for me, because as Gandhiji’s influence among the Indians is slowly fading away—thanks to the politicians in general and the Congress party in particular—future generations may not read and learn from the writings of Gandhiji. The sad fact is that the majority of educated Indians have never even read An Autobiography by Gandhiji. This being true, there is little chance of the present generation, and future generations, reading the 100 volumes of his collected works. Of course there are some exceptions to this (I have heard that Sri Arun Shouri has read all the 100 volumes.). However, as I am reading The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi [CWG], I am impressed not only by his writings and thoughts, but by his life and ideals, which he followed with deep conviction. Of course, as a human being, he slowly emerged from a human to Mahatma. Rarely can such a consistency be seen between a person’s life and their ideals as we find in the life of Mahatma Gandhiji.
I do not want to keep it a personal sadhana, but want to share this experience with others. There is not much for me to comment on or write beyond what one can infer from the writings and life of Mahatmaji; only occasionally will I share the inspiration I have drawn from his writings and his life. I first thought of completing all of the 100 volumes and then arranging the notes from each volume under various topics. However, as I advanced from volume one to five and six, I realized that it would not be an easy task. Therefore, I have decided to share my notes from these collected works of Gandhiji volume by volume. Once I complete all of the volumes, if God allows me to live that long, then I can re-organize all of the materials in a different way.
This blog is the best place to share, as it will be there for anyone to read and also easy for me to refer to. Though I would like someone to edit my English, considering the time constraint, it will be too much for anyone to help me. Not minding the limitation of my English, I have decided to post them, as the reader has to focus only on what Mahatma wrote and not on my rare comments.
I feel blessed not only to read, but also to have the opportunity to take notes and share them with others. In my life as an unmarried person, I have received different kinds of blessings that are not common to all; I can say with much satisfaction that this is the best among them—not only the time but also the interest to read Mahatmaji’s writings. My hope and prayer is that Indians who cannot read the entire CWG will not miss the opportunity to read some of the SELECTED NOTES FROM THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHIJI.
I read the first four volumes of CWG from printed books [Publications Division Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Govt. of India. (1958), Third ed. Reprint. 1994.]. However, typing notes consumed too much time. I searched on the Internet and found many sites with the complete 100 volumes of CWG, which I am able to download. I am downloading from www.gandhiserve.org/cwmgn site and all the page numbers are as the volumes are listed on the website. If any of my notes are incomplete or not inclusive of the whole text or context, one can go to the website and read the entire text. I took notes as per my interest; therefore my selection of notes may not convey the complete ideals and mind of Mahatmaji. As the entire volume is available on the website, those who want to know further can research there.
I FEEL BLESSED TO BE BORN AN INDIAN. I FEEL DOUBLY BLESSED TO BE BORN THE INDIAN SON OF MAHATMA GANDHIJI, AS HE IS RIGHTLY CALLED THE “FATHER OF OUR NATION.” IF WORLD HISTORY IS DIVIDED BEFORE AND AFTER BY THE BIRTH OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THEN INDIAN HISTORY SHOULD BE DIVIDED BEFORE AND AFTER THE BIRTH OF MAHATMAJI. I FEEL BLESSED MANIFOLD TO BE BORN IN MAHATMA’S NATION, TO INHERIT SOME OF HIS BLESSINGS THROUGH HIS LIFE AND TEACHING. Dayanand Bharati, Gurukulam, September 20, 2011.AHATMAJI. I FEEL BLESSED MANIFOLD TO BE BORN IN MAHATMA’S NATION, TO INHERIT SOME OF HIS BLESSINGS THROUGH HIS LIFE AND TEACHING. Dayanand Bharati, Gurukulam, September 20, 2011.