On his second trip to India from South Africa in 1901, Gandhi attended the Congress session in Calcutta. The sanitary condition of the Congress camp was horrible. Some delegates used the verandah as latrines, and others did not object to it. Gandhi reacted immediately. When he spoke to the volunteers, they said, "This is not our job. This is a sweeper's job. Gandhi then asked for a broom and started cleaning the filth himself. The volunteers were astonished, but none came forward to assist him Years later, when Gandhi became the guiding star of the Indian National Congress; volunteers formed a bhangi (sweeper) squad in the Congress camps where, once, even the Brahmins worked as bhangis. This is one of the many examples where Gandhi took the lead in doing what he asked others to do. He always believed in transforming himself first before asking others to change themselves. It is not thus surprising that Mahatma Gandhi is one of the world's most outstanding leaders and given the honour of the Father of the Nation by Indians. People of India trusted him since they knew that he was true to his words. American writer John C. Maxwell says, "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." We all want to change the world since no society is perfect. We all have many ideas on how we can create a good society only if people change. We all are good at advising others but rarely implement the change in ourselves. Indian poet and the writer of 'Ramcharitmanas' Tulsidas said very wisely, 'Par Updesh Kushal Bahutere' (Most people are experts in advising others). People want others to change but do not change themselves when it does not benefit them. We have many problems in our society, and we want it to change for the better. But we as individuals need to change first. (No. of words 318)
- Sunil Bhutani 'Rudraksha'
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