"Generations to come, it may well be, will scarce believe that such a man as this one ever in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth.” ― Albert Einstein I am a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda. Hence, I decided to share my ideas and insights on Mahatma Gandhi today. On October 2nd, we celebrate Gandhi Jayanti in India, and the United Nations observes this day as ‘International Day of Non-Violence’ to commemorate his birth anniversary. Today is the day we must reflect to take stock of the situation of what we have achieved and what we must achieve as citizens of this great nation. India has grown as a nation in many spheres and there are still many spheres we are yet to grow. We are great technologically as recently we have sent the low-cost Mangalyaan to Mars successfully. We proved to the world that India is a power to reckon with in science and technology. However, we still reel under poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy and unemployment. Atrocities on women are rising which presents India in a poor light globally. Likewise, we have lots of challenges internally. Mahatma Gandhi – A Voracious Reader: Mahatma Gandhi was a voracious reader and was influenced by several books including Plato's Apology, Henry David Thoreau's On the Duty of Civil Disobedience; and John Ruskin's Unto this Last. Some of his principles and philosophies were influenced by John Ruskin’s book ‘Unto This Last’. Mahatma Gandhi learned many things from his mistakes which he called experiments in his autobiographical book, The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Mahatma Gandhi influenced Indians and inspired the world with his principles of truth and non-violence. There are five Nobel laureates who are the followers of Mahatma Gandhi - Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Barack Obama. Mahatma Gandhi did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize, although he was nominated five times. But his followers received the Nobel Peace Prize. Hence, it is obvious that Mahatma Gandhi is above Nobel Prize. 25 years ago, I read Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth when I was serving in Indian Air Force. I was inspired by his ideas and ideals. I have learnt many things from this great soul such as respecting women, walking the talk, caring for others, emphasizing on right means to achieve ends, and leading a simple life. Here are some lessons to learn from this leadership legend: • Be a visionary. Mahatma Gandhi was a visionary with great clarity as he knew how to win India’s independence. He articulated his vision effectively from time to time to unite all Indians into one platform to fight against British rule. • Walk your talk. He led by example. He practiced what he preached. He built trust in Indians, and was transparent in his ways and means to achieve India’s independence. • Emphasize on ‘means’ to achieve your ‘ends’. He emphasized on the right means to achieve his ends. Although acquiring independence was the end in his mind, he emphasized on means of ‘truth’ and ‘non-violence’ to achieve his ends. He was ethical in his approach and attitude. As a result, he won the confidence of all Indians, and finally achieved India’s freedom. • Care for others. He always cared for others. He was respectful for others, regardless of who they were. Indians must learn lessons from Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership and must strive to achieve success with integrity. We must cultivate the spirit of oneness. We must learn to live with peace and harmony. We must respect all religions, cultures and communities. These are all the lessons we must learn from him, and apply them effectively to build a better society. Mahatma Gandhi’s impact on mankind is eternal. His ideals and ideas are immortal. On this day, every Indian citizen should ask himself what he learned from Gandhi, and must take a pledge to inculcate some of his principles and philosophies to become a better citizen to build a better world. Jai Hind! Vision 2030 URL:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBCO-gWmTRk YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/profmsr7 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.-S.-Rao/e/B00MB63BKM LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/professor-rao/34/11a/b52 Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-MSRao/451516514937414

• published: 02 Oct 2014
• views: 1033