Mahatma Gandhi The Symbol of Commitment
Incredible things are done in the world simply out of
commitment. A great example is that of Mahatma Gandhi. If you look at
this man, he was not talented or anything special, please see. As a
child he did not show great potential. He was not extraordinarily
intelligent. He was not an artist, scientist, or even a very good
lawyer. He could not successfully practice as a barrister in India,
which is why he went to South Africa for a better opportunity. Even
there, he was not very successful. But suddenly, the man made a
commitment towards something. He got so committed that he became a
giant.
I remember what he wrote about his first
case at a court in India – he stood up to argue his case and his heart
sank into his boots. Does this sound like Mahatma Gandhi? The man went
on to move millions of people. With just one incident in his life,
suddenly all his identities broke.
He had gone to South Africa to make a
living and he was doing okay as a lawyer. One day he bought a first
class ticket in a train, got in, and traveled some distance. At the next
station, a white South African got in. This man did not like a
brown-skinned person sitting in first class, so he called the ticket
collector. The ticket collector said, “Get Out!” Mahatma Gandhi said, “I
have a first class ticket.”
“It doesn’t matter, just get out.”
“No, I have a first class ticket. Why should I get out?”
They threw Gandhi out of the train along
with his luggage and he fell on to the platform. He just sat there for
hours. “Why did this happen to me? I bought a first class ticket. Why
was I thrown out of the train?” he thought. It was then that he
identified himself with the larger predicament of the people. Till then
his survival, law, and making money were important to him. But now, he
identified with a much larger problem that existed. He just broke that
little identification and moved into a much larger identity.
Gandhi moved millions of people just like
that. Not only in India, anywhere in the world you take the name of the
Mahatma and there is a sense of respect. All this happened at a time
when there were so many leaders who were true giants in India. They were
more talented, better orators and better educated. Yet, this man stood
above them all, simply because of his commitment.
Whatever happens, life or death,
commitment must not change. Truly committed, you express yourself
totally, in every possible way. When commitment is lacking, somewhere
you lose your purpose. When the purpose of why we are here is lost,
there is no question of fulfilling our goals, isn’t it?
So being committed is just something we
have to decide within ourselves. If we are truly committed to whatever
we have taken up in our life, the results are plenty, you know? If
results don’t come, for a committed person there is no such thing as
failure. If I fall down 100 times a day, what to do? Stand up and walk
again, that’s all.
Commitment does not mean aggressiveness;
this must be understood. This is where Mahatma Gandhi’s example is so
apt. He was committed to India’s freedom struggle, but at the same time
he was not against the British people. That was the best part, wasn’t
it? This shows the maturity of the man.
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