Now that I have removed myself considerably from things happening out there and immersed myself in daily riaz and reading a little everyday I have been reading Bertrand Russell and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in the morning. Essentially, I am reading them to learn the English language well and to learn from the clarity of thoughts of these two great men and from the way they used this language to express their thoughts. This morning I am reading M K Gandhis letters. In a letter to Shankarlal on Ideas about Satyagraha the Mahatma writes: Imam Hassan and Hussain were merely two boys. They felt that an injustice had been done to them. When called upon to surrender, they refused. They knew at the time that this would mean death for them. If, however, they were to submit to injustice, they would disgrace their manhood and betray their religion. In these circumstances, they yielded to the embrace of death. The heads of these fine young men rolled on the battlefield. In my view, Islam did not attain its greatness by the power of the sword but entirely through the self-immolation of its fakirs. It is soldier- like to allow oneself to be cut down by a sword, not to use the sword on another. I felt an urge to share it with all my friends, comrades and my enemies. What a soul that Man had and what clear and simple English he wrote. At past 65, I have become a student of M K Gandhi, the Mahatma. Soon I will go back to my riaz. Peace to all.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 04:02:36 +0000
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