As usual. Cycling along for my early morning Seaview to Ryde and back again constitutional. Dark, mild, still - lovely clean sea air. Quality thinking time.
I am recalling some of my recent India trip. In the blogs I wrote about it I mentioned Gandhi several times. I visited Raj Ghat in Delhi where he was cremated and Gandhi Smitri where he was actually shot dead. These were moving and significant places to attend.
But this was not what was in my mind particularly this morning. What was in my mind was a rather scruffy Gandhi quote stenciled on a back street wall in Fort Cochin, Kerala. I had hired a bike to have a look around. I was trying to find my way back through the backstreet maze and came across the quote in a inconsequential narrow road. I read it as I cycled past - it made me smile and then made me think. I got half a kilometre down the road and thought I want a photo of that quote. I cycled back and took the photo below. It was a narrow street, only my mob camera - so getting the perspective was tricky - but it doesn't matter because it is legible and in describes where it was when I first read it.
Subsequently I have done no research into the quote but have thought quite a lot about what Gandhi might have meant and what it means to me.
I guess it could refer to moral rather than immoral behaviour - being lead astray. Being tempted. Polluting an otherwise good moral mind. Resisting it. I am sure it does.
However I have been thinking more about "peace of mind" - contentment - being your own person - shaping your own life - taking responsibility for your own life - rather than being pressured to conform to someone else's ideas and values that do not sit comfortably with you and ultimately disturb and undermine your peace of mind. I am thinking of things like materialism, social media - self promotion, keeping up with the Jones's, following the latest trends and fashions in a vain attempt to conform or impress. Maybe Gandhi meant we should resist that - to resist things that detract from our peace and simple happiness.
The other thing I think it might mean is not allowing mean spirited, judgemental or unreasonable people to undermine us. For example I know someone who is a vocational carer. A very professional and thoughtful lady. She was harangued by the daughter of one of the elderly persons under her care for not being caring enough. My friend was very upset and questioned herself. It is now apparent the daughters attitude - and her taking it out on my friend has its roots in the daughters own self guilt for placing her mother in care rather than looking after her herself. I think this happens a lot in life. People can be horrible to other people - but it very often it says most about them - and maybe Gandhi is saying don't let people upset you or disturb your mind if deep down you know you are leading a good life.
I am smiling writing this - I need to lighten up - ha! I have a Glastonbury ticket. How to approach those mad hedonistic 4 days - I will think about it on my early morning bike ride tomorrow! Oh and Christmas of course!
I am recalling some of my recent India trip. In the blogs I wrote about it I mentioned Gandhi several times. I visited Raj Ghat in Delhi where he was cremated and Gandhi Smitri where he was actually shot dead. These were moving and significant places to attend.
But this was not what was in my mind particularly this morning. What was in my mind was a rather scruffy Gandhi quote stenciled on a back street wall in Fort Cochin, Kerala. I had hired a bike to have a look around. I was trying to find my way back through the backstreet maze and came across the quote in a inconsequential narrow road. I read it as I cycled past - it made me smile and then made me think. I got half a kilometre down the road and thought I want a photo of that quote. I cycled back and took the photo below. It was a narrow street, only my mob camera - so getting the perspective was tricky - but it doesn't matter because it is legible and in describes where it was when I first read it.
I guess it could refer to moral rather than immoral behaviour - being lead astray. Being tempted. Polluting an otherwise good moral mind. Resisting it. I am sure it does.
However I have been thinking more about "peace of mind" - contentment - being your own person - shaping your own life - taking responsibility for your own life - rather than being pressured to conform to someone else's ideas and values that do not sit comfortably with you and ultimately disturb and undermine your peace of mind. I am thinking of things like materialism, social media - self promotion, keeping up with the Jones's, following the latest trends and fashions in a vain attempt to conform or impress. Maybe Gandhi meant we should resist that - to resist things that detract from our peace and simple happiness.
The other thing I think it might mean is not allowing mean spirited, judgemental or unreasonable people to undermine us. For example I know someone who is a vocational carer. A very professional and thoughtful lady. She was harangued by the daughter of one of the elderly persons under her care for not being caring enough. My friend was very upset and questioned herself. It is now apparent the daughters attitude - and her taking it out on my friend has its roots in the daughters own self guilt for placing her mother in care rather than looking after her herself. I think this happens a lot in life. People can be horrible to other people - but it very often it says most about them - and maybe Gandhi is saying don't let people upset you or disturb your mind if deep down you know you are leading a good life.
I am smiling writing this - I need to lighten up - ha! I have a Glastonbury ticket. How to approach those mad hedonistic 4 days - I will think about it on my early morning bike ride tomorrow! Oh and Christmas of course!
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| Raj Ghat |
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| Gandhi Smitri |
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| Gandhi's last steps and where he was assassinated. |
have the fairies told you to beware the computer monster that goes 1|0 1|0 1|0. It's an ancient deity, very repressed and wild, and it has long bejewelled fingers that glitter and glow 1|0 1|0 1|0 like so. And it has six rows of teeth that never stop moving around in its head, and it knows that the jester's hat is really just a mermaid that got stuck on the wrong way. It likes to jump out of all good technology and wag it's tongue around and it can seize you when you're not looking and carry you off. It is particularly fond of early morning cyclists - it blows its breathe into their heart and drags them down to the bottom of the seabed.
ReplyDeleteI have just read your note - genuine would be my description...of your note, which makes it a really pleasant read. The reason I read it was that I was also contemplating what Ghandi meant and I thought I'd see what others think. Personally, I take it not allow others to influence you through their ideas, manipulations or even their proposed compromise. You can only have peace when u know u have done what you believe to be right. This may not alway be what others believe and I'm guessing that this is the reason why this particular text is so difficult to define. Such a pity we don't know what Ghandi meant specifically as he doesnt strike me as a man that left something open to interpretation.
ReplyDeleteHappy cycling and beware of the bejewelled computer monsters on your morning cycle!