As a little child, I was aware of this enthusiastic, great soul, who genuinely loved the people of India, had passed on the road with his staff--Even the goats were enthusiastic and happy to walk beside him. I grew up knowing him in every cell in my heart feeling I had seen him with my own eyes because his presence pervaded our home, our community, our consciousness, our country but more than that our hearts. He had carved a place in our hearts, because of his simple experiments and brilliant comprehension of what was real and worth giving ones life for. And at the same time, being aware of what is so important to the soul and ensuring never to go against that sacred space to kill another. Honoring life and sacredness of life, wherever he went, having inspired Martin Luther King, and many more to follow, having been nominated for Nobel Prize five times, but his moral victory in the eyes of God was and within his own conscience was his ultimate nobel peace prize having stirred the conscience of the many who believed in victory of might against right, could not conceive of honoring a great soul in a timely fashion. All the other who followed him received the prizes but it is his name that is uttered every time peace is closeby. He put simple truths in action and showed the whole world that it could be done. This is a hero I truly admire. Based on simple basic principles that we are all children of God, with a fist full of salt instead of a bomb, with his intelligence--his arm extended in friendship to even liberate his enemy from their own imprisonment to their own greed of power, domination and wealth, while seeking his own liberation, through the Truth within all true religions, fasting and silence, non-violence. He led India to the point of attaining freedom while using his Charkha to weave the most beautiful tapestry of inspiration through the example of his very life. As Einstein pointed out accurately, that it would be hard to fathom that such a man ever walked on the face of the earth. Yes, he really did, because he changed my life. And I am grateful.
Shashi Kiran Madan
336-403-8302
Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27103
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