Anupam- The Dreamer

Some personalities are great, not because of any awards or recognitions or degrees, but by the principles and values that they continuously stood for, fought for and advocated throughout their lives. One of them was Gandhiji. As he once summed up his philosophy of life by saying that “My life is my message”. Indeed, the way he lived his life was a message to the whole humanity. He was a persistent lighthouse of the immemorial principles of “satya” and “ahimsa”, but he never claimed credit for being the originator of these principles, as he once remarked that “Satya (truth) and ahimsa (non-violence) are as old as the Himalayas”.

He first practiced what he preached to others. Once, a lady brought his son to Gandhiji and requested that he tell her son to not eat sugar. Gandhiji did not advise the kid in the first instance, rather asked to come back after 2 weeks. Then, he told the child to not eat sugar. You could have thought what was the big deal to tell the child in the first meeting? Because at that time, Gandhiji was himself eating the sugar! So, in 2 weeks he practised to give up sugar himself and then only he told the kid to do the same. Indeed, he was the apostle of “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”.

Given all his achievements and being one of the major inspirations behind the freedom struggle, his name was considered for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947 and then again just a few days before his death in 1948. But everytime, for one or the other reason, he was not awarded the prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. They may have their own reasons to not award the prize to the most eligible personality at that time (if you are interested, you can read here: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/themes/mahatma-gandhi-the-missing-laureate/?utm_campaign=fullarticle&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=inshorts).

But, in a way, I think it was good that he was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, because if he did, then this would have placed him at the same pedestal as that of the other Peace Prize winners who were awarded before and after him. Being a Nobel Peace Prize awardee would not have elevated the status of Gandhiji, rather it would have belittled his stature. This is not to say that the other awardees before and after, were less worthy of getting the same. But, Gandhiji was of a different league altogether. Some people become known worldwide, just because they got “Nobel Prize”! But, Gandhiji did not need a Nobel for being known to the world. He was already a global personality even in the age of no internet or social media! Every great leader of every country of the world knew about him. Many great leaders later like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., His Holiness The Dalai Lama etc. were inspired by his teachings and became a torchbearer of Gandhiji’s principles all their lives.

The very fact that Gandhiji’s statues are installed in over 80 nations out of around 190 nations in the world is a testament to his popularity and wide acceptability. His birthday is celebrated as “International Day of Non-Violence” across the world. Is that a small achievement? So, what else could a “Nobel” have given him? Money? He didn’t want any! Fame? He already had that in enough measure! Recognition? He was already recognized across the world! A Platform to spread his message during Nobel acceptance speech? He didn’t need any special platform to speak to the world as his message was already spreading like wildfire.

Some great people are not driven by awards and accolades. If awards come during their good work, then it is just a by-product. If it doesn’t come, then also it is not an impediment to their good work. Their purpose is clear, that is they love doing what they do and for the welfare of humanity and society, and it is the pursuit of the same that drives them to work even harder and better. They are made up of different thinking and calibre which makes them different from other people. So, how does it matter if a few select members of the Nobel Peace Committee could not recognize the personality of the magnitude of Gandhiji? Gandhiji was an institution in himself and at last it would suffice to say that “बस उनका नाम ही काफी है”.

FTW!!!!