October 2, year after year, marks a unifying time for India as patriots come together to celebrate the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation. Whatever Mahatma Gandhi did in his life was aimed at empowering the people of his land to live a life of freedom. However, his message is resonating loud and clear not only in independent India, but across the world. So as the country celebrates Bapu’s 155th birth anniversary, here is a look at some of the notable international personalities who found themselves inspired by his life, words and actions.
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was influenced by Gandhi’s light when, at the age of 19, he came to India in 1974 in search of spiritual guidance. Upon returning to America, Jobs immediately declared, “There is no one better than what I want to be, except Gandhi, he changed the world”. According to a report by Paperclip, several years later, during a particularly difficult time with Apple, Jobs switched out his regular glasses for the now iconic circular wire rim type, to better match Gandhi’s – for him An ideal, a photograph that was a constant in his wallet.
Indeed, in his 1999 interview with Time Magazine, Jobs said, “Mohandas Gandhi is my choice for Person of the Century because he showed us a way out of the destructive side of our human nature. Gandhi showed that we could do that.” Can.” Force change and justice through moral acts of aggression rather than physical acts of aggression, our species has never needed this wisdom more”.
John Lennon
John Lennon’s relationship with Gandhiji was more substantial than literal. In a rare instance when he addressed it, the Beatles singer had said, “Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King are great examples of brilliant nonviolent people who died violently. I can never work on that. We’re pacifists. , but I’m not sure what it means when you’re so pacifist that you get shot, I’ll never understand it.”
Lennon reportedly included Bapu in early drafts of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. However, the band decided not to pursue it further, as they feared the reaction from India. The imagery was changed to palm leaves instead in the final draft.
Speaking of nonviolence, he and his wife Yoko Ono were front and center when it came to pushing for nonviolent negotiations to end the Vietnam War. Not only this, his 1973 anti-war song, mind gameSongs directly referencing Gandhiji were presented – ‘Playing Mana Guerrilla/Chanting the Mantra: Peace on Earth Millions of Mana Guerrilla/Putting Your Soul Power into the Karma Chakra,
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Words will fall short if we find out that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has every time acknowledged Gandhi’s influence on him and the world. In fact, when receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo in 1989, the Dalai Lama said, “I pay tribute to the man who founded the modern tradition of nonviolent action for change, Mahatma Gandhi, whose life taught and inspired me.” .
Many years later, during a conversation with Mint on the occasion of Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, he said, “He was the most influential person of the 20th century with his idea of nonviolence. He took the 3,000-year-old Indian tradition of nonviolence and compassion and made it alive and Made relevant. He made it relevant by fighting for India’s freedom through non-violence – that’s great”.
Barack Obama
Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, has not hesitated to express his deep admiration for the Father of our Nation. Excerpts from his 2020 memoir, a promised landRead, “However, my fascination with India was most profoundly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi. Along with (Abraham) Lincoln, (Martin Luther) King, (Nelson) Mandela, Gandhi has deeply influenced my thinking… As a young As a man, I studied his writings and found that they were giving voice to some of my deepest tendencies.”
Writing about his visit to Mani Bhavan, Gandhi’s Mumbai residence, in November 2010, Obama expressed, “And at that moment, I had a strong desire to sit down and talk to him. To ask him what he should do. Where did the strength and imagination come from?” A lot with very little”.
In fact, Obama reportedly kept a framed photograph of Bapu in his Senate office as a never-ending source of inspiration.
Matt Damon
Actor Matt Damon credits Gandhi as his inspiration for his inclination towards humanitarian work. Several years ago, during an interview with Parade Magazine, Matt revealed that his connection with Gandhi actually dates back to his childhood. He shared, “When I was a boy, my mother had a magnet on the refrigerator that had a small picture of Gandhi as well as a quote from him. It said, ‘Whatever you do, how much No matter how insignificant it may seem, it’s important that you do it.’ As a child, I was raised to believe this, and to this day I try my best to live that out when I meet people. ‘When you shake their hands and hear their stories, it’s really powerful.’
How will you celebrate Gandhi Jayanti this year?
