Mahatma Gandhi`s Self-Sufficiency Concept
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ways of solving solution, giving solution to conflict. Conflict resolution
through non-violence: that is love force. Love is something like water. Water
is so soft, so tender. It can even wash a tender organ like an eye. We can
wash our eyes so tender. But water can also cause Tsunami. It can also
cause great storms. It so strong and it so soft at the same time and that is
love. Love which gives. You know there are two types of love. That, one
talks about often, I was in love with her, but she did not respond. That is
the complaint of the young man or woman. There, love means possession
and when we think about possession, love means negative. It complains
against other. Love means giving. Love means dedication. Love means
devotion. If it is giving, if it is dedication, if it is devotion, that supplements
love into spirituality. Spirituality when we consider ourselves one with the
whole humanity, not only with the whole humanity but with life as a whole
nature and life altogether and ultimately one comes to soul force and the
soul force considerably you to be part of one another. Two persons
climbed the Mount Everest, first in the history of the mankind. Hilary and
Tenzing. When they went, they made one very wise decision. Before
reaching there, they decided when we reach the top, we shall not disclose
who put the first foot on the top. Both of us will say we climb it together,
they shared it. But then according to their nature, Hilary put the flag first, he
conquered the Everest and then Tenzing put some earth from the top of
the Himalaya and put on his head. He paid salute to the Himalayas. These
are two approaches, two natures. You either the conquer nature, or you be
part of nature and serve the nature. That was Gandhi’s approach to nature.
These three things together make Gandhi’s self-sufficiency, not a narrow
concept, it is the concept of uniting yourself first of all and then with fellow
human beings and then with nature. That is the idea of Gandhi which drew
from the past wise persons of the world and it developed for the future
problem of the world. Thank you so much.