JOIN USOnce, on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, Sathya Sai Baba gave a discourse on the leader’s character and urged students to follow in the Mahatma’s footsteps and become ideal members of society.
He said, “In his childhood, Gandhi used to be full of fear. There was a maid in his home called Rambha. Gandhi disclosed to her how he was always afraid. Rambha told him, ‘Child, always recite the name of Rama. By chanting Rama’s name, your fear will go away.’ From that time Gandhi was always chanting the name of Rama.”
Life presents us many occasions to be afraid. We, too, can chant the name of the God of our understanding. By doing so, the mind becomes quiet and the fear leaves.
Sathya Sai said, “The habit of reciting Rama’s name, which began in his boyhood, continued right up to the moment of his passing.
By adhering to the chanting of Rama’s name, Gandhi was able to achieve his aim of winning the country’s freedom by non-violent means. For such a life of purity and virtue, his parents were primarily responsible.”
It was typical of Sathya Sai to teach devotees the importance of loving and respecting our parents.
According to our him, “Gandhi earned the appellation of Mahatma because of the sacred ‘Kokila Vratha’ observed by his mother every day. As soon as she completed the ritual, she would wait for the call of the kokila (the Indian cuckoo) before her breakfast.
However, on one day, she waited for a long time, without taking food, for the call of the cuckoo. Noticing this, the young Gandhi went out of the house, imitating the cooing of the cuckoo and then told his mother, “Now that the cuckoo has made its call, please, Mother, take your food.”
But Gandhi’s mother knew the truth. Sathya Sai explained, “Unable to contain her grief, the mother slapped Gandhi on his cheeks and wailed: What sin have I committed that such a liar should be born to me! What a great sinner I am to have begotten such a wicked liar as a son, Oh Lord!”
Then Sathya Sai, explained, “Gandhi was teaching the aspect of non-violence to people in many ways. The meaning of Ahimsa is that neither in thought, word or deed, should you cause harm to anybody. Gandhi took a vow that till the end of his life, he will follow this. But on one occasion, when he saw a cow suffering from pain, he could not
bear it and he advised the doctor to give an injection and end the life of the cow. Thus, in order to help the suffering individual, we may sometimes have to harm him. The only way in which one can take the path of Ahimsa is to recognise the oneness of the Atma
that is present in all living beings and regard them all
as equal.”