10 Things Students Can Learn from Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi or Bapu, call him whatever you want but you just cannot ignore the magnanimous contribution of this man in India’s independence. Be it the Satyagraha Movement, Dandi March or Quit India movement, Gandhiji has always been in the thick of things. His weapon of non-violence or “Ahimsa” played an instrumental role in overpowering the strong British Empire in the Indian subcontinent. Even 70 years after death, his teachings continue to be the pole star for world leaders as well as commoners alike. He taught us to keep looking for a glimmer of hope even if the going gets harder every day.

He also believed that the students need to have a certain set of rules and regulations which will make them better servants of the nation. On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's 151st Birth Anniversary, check the valuable lessons taught by him -

1. Don’t run after Material Possession: Gandhiji believed that the purpose of human life is not to run after material possession because these things stay behind when man meets his maker. He advises investing time and money in other valuable things like pursuing a hobby, learning new things, travelling to new places etc. He also said that human beings must spread happiness around themselves

2. Avoid Stress: In a fast-paced world, the biggest issue students face is related to stress. Gandhiji successfully maintained a safe distance from undue stress and he suggested others to do the same. In order to keep himself relaxed and calm, he resorted to meditation or even sometimes play with children to keep himself stress-free

3. Positive Thinking: Gandhiji once remarked - A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes”. He said that if a person knows how to stay positive even after being completely down and out, the problems will start appearing much smaller. He said that negative thoughts can have a severely detrimental effect on human beings

4. Self Belief: Gandhiji believed that one who has faith in himself can conquer the world. Yes, he proved it. He also added that there will be times when an individual might be stranded alone due to a lack of belief from others but if the individual chooses to traverse the path without losing his self-belief, success cannot be very far away from him/her. He believed that a person must hold on to his/her self belief even though the entire universe mock, ignore and fight him/her

5. Patience: Probably the biggest lesson that Bapu taught us is how to be patient even during desperate times. He said that it takes time for good things to happen but the person must be patient enough to wait until the time comes. For instance, he pursued the path of non-violence to free India from the shackles of imperialism, which was a lengthy process yet, he achieved his goal due to his perseverance and patience

6. “Be the Change you want to see in the World”: Gandhiji said that “nothing gets much easier than to blame other people for misfortune” which does no good at the end of the day. He believed that in order to change the world, one must start with himself/herself. Instead of blatantly holding someone responsible for some misfortune will never be helpful. Rather, one must do whatever is possible for him at his level to make the world a better place to live in

7. Be Humble: Another important lesson that the students must teach themselves is how to stay humble. Gandhiji said that today will never assure one of his/her tomorrow. A person might be at the height of his success today but may suffer a mighty fall tomorrow. If a person stays humble while he is at the top, he must treat everyone below himself with respect and charity, after all, it takes only a small error from a human being and the next moment he might find himself among those or below those who were once below him

8. Do the Right Thing even if Nobody is Watching: Another valuable quality which students must imbibe from Gandhiji is to keep doing the right things even if the results are not going your way. It is important to initiate the process and keep working on that and one day when the time is right, it will bore the sweetest fruit

9. Live Each Day to its Fullest: Gandhiji believed that life is too short to be wasted on pondering over the future. He said that one must live in his present because he cannot change the past and the future is still quite a distance away

10. A Healthy Mind resides in a Healthy Body: Gandhiji always spoke about the importance of a healthy body. According to him, good health is the real wealth which cannot be bought with some pieces of silver or gold

If the students follow the golden rules mentioned above, the day is not far away when we might again see India attain its former glory!