subtracting 41 years from Mahatma Gandhi's age

[Guest guest]

Mr. Bernard Shaw has congratulated Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of the

latter's 76th birthday in the following words:—"I can only wish this were

Mr. Gandhi's 35th birthday instead of his 76th." We heartily join with Mr.

Shaw in his attempt to subtract 41 years from the present age of Mahatma

Gandhi. Everyone tries to subtract at least some years from his calculated

age and this attempt of increasing duration of life within the mind is quite

natural for an ordinary cult of man. The psychology of such artificial way

of increasing life's duration is that everyone of us does not wish to die.

But death is so cruel that it does not respect our wishful desire. It comes

when it must and any amount of our worldly acquisition cannot protect us

from the cruel hands of death. Mr. Shaw or Mahatma Gandhi both are

distinguished thinkers and lead the world in respect of many things. There

are other great men and scientists who are equally respected leaders of

thought in the world but none of them has ever tried to solve the question

of death which none of us, beginning from Mr. Shaw to the man in the street,

desires. The leaders of nations have however opened many factories for

manufacturing weapons for the art of killing but none has opened a factory

to manufacture weapons for protecting man from the cruel hands of death,

although our wishful desire is always for not to die.

 

(From BTG, Oct 1944)