I was just thinking about the unfinished conversation I had in a dinner party. My conversation companion quipped what an a*****le Steve Jobs is for having let down his first girlfriend and denied fathering her child. I remembered a similar argument I had with one of my friends about Gandhi who was his idol. I never and still dont think highly about Gandhi for a couple of reasons. I never considered his mission noble.. he was slighted and so he took to battle against britishers as a revenge, this has got nothing to do with helping India (his mother nation .. blah blah blah). The freedom fighters needed a leadership icon to mobilize the Indian masses against the rulers. My gut feeling is that he was just a master politician and the dark side of his life was buried to promote his noble image by politicians/freedom fighters keeping in mind the greater need to free and keep the country united. My standing now is that I dont look upto Gandhi as a person. He was not a good father and a good husband. For me that meant a lot. He's not a noble man as the world would want to perceive. BUT .. I do applaud the conjured image "Gandhi" .. definitely hats off to the smartness of the Indian politicians of that period.
Coming back to the conversation I had in the dinner party, this is my stand. Dont examine the personal life or aspects of life great men or role models are not famous for. Look upto Steve Jobs for what he did to Apple. Look upto him for what he inspires in people. Its not worth discounting his greatness by magnifying his "mistakes" when we have so much good to gain from admiring his greatness. Probably, thats what the Indian politicians did when it came to Gandhi. They gained out of his ability to gather the masses that they belittled his weird behavior.
Excellence is a rare commodity. If somebody excels, enjoy appreciating it :). Hmm.. this is the last time I will talk about Gandhi in this light :).
2 comments:
i will not try to convince you to accept Gandhi as your role model or to make you gain respect for him. All i am going to say is, not being a good husband or a good father was not his fault.I would say it was a sacrifice he consiously made for a greater deed. I am sure his offspring and spouse would not have had any regrets for being neglected.
I havent seen a success without sacrifice.How big/How small doesnt matter.
Sriks .. You've summarized nicely that success doesnt come without sacrifice. I wouldn't agree on the fact that it was "not" his fault not being a good father or good husband. Charity begins at home. Are you sure his family doesnt have regrets??. Anyways, my blog was about my decision to appreciate one's excellence in what he/she is famous for :) and refrain from evaluating him/her on aspects he/she is not known for :).
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