Page 7 - GANDHI A Biography for Children and Beginners

GANDHI – A Biography for children and beginners

unemployment. The downtrodden are still to get justice, and peace and

prosperity have yet to reach all. We need opportunities for development for all

and there has to be an end to the exploitation of the weak by the strong.

We have a long way to go to eradicate poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and

exploitation. We can do so only by going back to Gandhiji's message of
Satyagraha and sustainable development by using human hands and tools to

supplement their strength.

May God give us the wisdom to choose the right path. Pursuit of power by itself

is not going to end our problems. Pursuit of service of the weak by the strong

and putting an end to corruption and exploitation of the weak by the strong

with a firm hand alone can and will do so. Similarly we must avoid machines
which make human hands mere cogs in the machine and take away all joy of

creativity which is the reward of making things with one's own hands making

use of tools where necessary. Gandhiji's favourite example was the Singer
Sewing machine which takes away drudgery but not the joy of creativity.

A study of Gandhiji's message can show us the right path, and Ravindra Varma's
three books can prove very helpful to the youth of India. I have narrated above

the message of the 1st book. Book 3 concentrates on the implications and

application of Gandhian technique and the ideology of Satyagraha, non-
violence, non-cooperation and the importance of bringing about change of

heart in the opponent through self-suffering.

Book 2 narrates several anecdotes that illustrate the way Bapu dealt with

problems, which are very interesting.

I congratulate Ravindra Varma for the service he has rendered to the younger

generation in India by writing these three books and hope they will be widely

read and their message understood and accepted by our people.

Sevagram

June 19, 2000 Dr. Sushila Nayar

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