THE RETURN OF THE MAHATMA!

It was a normal sunny day in the salubrious confines of heaven.Everything there was pitch perfect and the inmates were treated to the best of comforts and there was a blissful resonance in each face free from all sorrows and bonds.The select few who were there in the abode of gods had passed the tests of life with flying colours and had been chosen to enjoy the fruits of their good karma on earth.Every face looked calm,serene and replenished with spotless, pure minds.In a corner sat a frail looking man, with very minimal clothing.Bespectacled, and with a loving smile, he was an embodiment of all ascetic qualities.Slowly, as he opened his tender eyes from his trance, some of the other inmates of the celestial abode congregated in front of him and wished him with such fondness that it moved the man.Profusely thanking each one of them for the love showered on him, he gently stood up, held the walking stick in his hand and walked towards the chamber of a celestial God.It was October 2nd and the man was none other than Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi!

As Gandhi walked into the chamber, he was given a cordial welcome by the God who did not forget to wish him.Though it was his birthday that day, it was of no consequence as the beings in that magical place were free of hunger,thirst,desires and ageing. After exchanging a few pleasantries, the God sensed something amiss in Bapu's countenance and asked him whether something was troubling his mind for which he got an affirmative nod. It had been more than 60 years since he rose up to heaven and after such a long time, he had felt a call to visit his dear homeland for whose freedom he had strived for decades and was finally able to free his mother from the iron clutches of the British. The God, with a slight twinkle in his eyes readily agreed to the wish of the venerable man who stood before him, a man whose very life on earth was a message to the masses. An attendant was called in quickly to aid Gandhiji's sojourn on earth and in no time, the Bapu was on his way back to his beloved Bhaarat with a glint of hope in his eyes.

As they started descending from the illustrious heights of heaven, the temperature started increasing,the whole atmosphere underwent a sea change and whereas being blissful was a way of living in heaven, that exalted state of mind was dropping away slowly but surely with each minute. After a few brief moments, the Mahatma along with the attendant descended invisible on beautiful Bhaarat. With unadulterated tears of joy, Gandhiji kneeled down on his knees, took a few grains of sand and poured it on his head.It had been a very long time, he had been separated from his motherland for decades and it was an emotional homecoming for the Mahatma and the joy he felt was indescribable.

The attendant reverentially called out Gandhiji so that they could begin their trip throughout the country.With happiness and hope written large on his face, he rose up to resume their whirlwind tour.It was an auspicious day, the roads were partially filled and the morning sun shone radiantly as if according a grand welcome to the Mahatma. The man was dumbstruck seeing the massive changes in the country's landscape.Huge skyscrapers dotted the cities' roads, people moved around in many varieties of vehicles, so much of development compared to the 1940's and everyone from the young to the old alike were frantically busy in a small box like thing which he learnt later was a mobile phone! It was indeed a heady moment for the man who belonged to a very distant era where they had not even thought of such technological advancement.

As they moved ahead, he could see big posters of himself on many boards with some of his quotes and messages.In many places, he could see congregations headed by political leaders dressed in spotless white clothes eulogizing so eloquently the Mahatma's contributions. They talked of principles, morals and truth and exhorted the gathering to follow Bapu's footsteps. In schools and colleges, the youth of the nation gave flowery speeches followed by a preachy address by prominent people of the area or the teachers. Newspapers were full of advertisements and statements praising Gandhi's life. Televisions were blaring all day with special programmes and feature presentations. People were giving sound bytes about how inspired they were by the example of Gandhi. Social media was abuzz with photos, status updates and comments about him. In short, Mohandas Gandhi was the trending topic everywhere!Statues were built for him, roads and many schemes of government were named after him, Indian currency notes bore his smiling picture! In many places, people from all walks of life were seen with brooms in their hands cleaning the roads!Seeing such adulation and homage being paid, Gandhiji was overwhelmed. In a corner stood a boy with a group of youngsters behind him holding brooms. The boy extended his arms forward  carrying the mobile in his hand and the group behind him shouted loud giving wild expressions. Gandhiji was taken aback by this and questioningly turned towards the attendant from heaven who gave a naughty smile and informed that it was a 'selfie'- a new way of taking one's own pictures. Gandhiji was befuddled and just wondered how it would have been if he had taken a selfie with the tricolour after delivering independence. Selfie of the century?! Maybe.

With such warmth exuded by the masses, the Mahatma felt a sense of pride that he was still in the hearts and minds of his countrymen and that his ideals and principles were still in vogue being practiced by millions.He turned towards the attendant and remarked that his Indian sojourn was very successful and that they could return to their abode with satisfaction now. The attendant sensing the mood cajoled the Mahatma to stay on for a few more days.The Mahatma retired for the day totally absorbed in his meditation.

As the new day dawned, they resumed their journey with Gandhiji hoping to see similar incidents as the previous day. They visited a government office with a plank in front "People's work is God's work" which impressed the Mahatma. But what he saw inside was a rude shock. No work was possible without inducing the smell of the notes that had his face to the authorities. All he could see there was blatant corruption, dishonesty and immoral practices. The same story unfolded in most of the places to get even simple things done.Police stations were supposed to protect the people, but they protected the mighty and the influential and harassed the common man.Hospitals and other institutions of public service were also not without their share of unethical activities. The big irony was that most places had him smiling through a photo frame, but none of the things that he stood for were put to practice! Courts saw people flagrantly lying by taking oath on sacred scriptures. The laws were tweaked to the convenience of the rich and influential and a poor common man had little respite or hope of justice in most cases.

On subsequent days, his travels brought him in close communion with the complex issues faced by the country.The moral fibre of the land was at its lowest ebb. Women were unsafe with rapes happening every day. The gulf between the rich and the poor was increasing and quite a sizeable population still lived in penury unable to meet the basic needs of roti, kapda and makaan. The political class had brought absolute disrepute to the nation with their frivolous acts and insatiable lust for money and power. Lakhs of crores of money were squandered away in numerous small and big ticket scams. Instead of attending to the problems of the people and bring a positive change, the politicians were indulging in games to usurp power and money at all costs and such brute insensitivity of them had hurt the masses. Truth and non-violence remained great concepts on paper and now it was the era of half-truths, convenient truths and in most cases glaring lies. People used their intelligence to twist facts and presented anything as the truth to suit their beliefs.

The British had left their legacy of 'Divide and Rule' policy and it continued even after decades. Political parties used the communities for their own electoral benefit without a thought towards development of all. Terms like secularism were never really understood and appeasement of certain sections had come to be known as secularism. Violence between communities had become the order of the day and there was a general mistrust between the brethren of different religions. Even after seeing such colossal technological advancements, the Mahatma observed that the evil effects of casteism were still prevalent.Just for a few petty votes, caste and religion were used as weapons. As long as people remained educationally and economically backward, it worked out in favour of the political parties. Foreign countries plundered India in the past and after independence, the politicians had sucked out a lot of blood. The prevailing system made Gandhiji averse to the politics of the land. 

Gandhiji had played a vital role in shaping the media during pre-independence and the state of the current media shook him. It was more of sensationalism and hyperbole that ruled than correct, honest presentation of facts. He was impressed with the way the media had taken the lead to set things right in some cases and worked like a moral watchdog, but those cases could not outnumber the negativities.Stories were tweaked, and things taken out of context to create breaking news and everything was viewed with suspicion and with doubts of ulterior motives. This led him to introspect how things would have panned out if this avatar of the media was present during pre-independence. Would he have been considered a messiah or would the media have presented shrill debates and turned him into a villain? 

After a few days of Gandhiji's birthday, the roads were littered with garbage. Stench pervaded the air for very long, cleanliness was not visible anymore. The attendant candidly asserted that things were back to normal! Gandhiji no longer had a surprised look as he had come face to face with the harsh reality and he took it as a matter of fact.There was no cleanliness on ground and no cleanliness in the mindset of the people too.The glory of the whole environment that he had witnessed on his birthday was just a facade, a fake show. Morality, truth, honesty, principles, ideals had no place in present Bhaarat. October 2nd was a mere symbolic day of photo-ops and showoffs and nothing more. It was just a lazy holiday where a few people could exhibit their oratorical skills. Was he relevant today? No! Gandhiji with his head bent and with a brooding thought came to the conclusion that neither he, nor what he stood for was relevant in the society today. The people had changed, their aspirations were different and they wanted to reach their goals by hook or by crook. The utopian state that he had dreamt of was nowhere to be seen, it had remained just an idea. A vast majority did not care about the state of affairs, neither were they angry about the issues, nor did they ever get the essence of true freedom. A man had stood resolutely like an unflinching rock with solid ethics on the path of non violence decades ago. His silence had broken walls and his ideals had shook the world. But now, he remained relegated to history books with obligatory homage on a few days and the Mahatma accepted this fact. His statues had already gathered dust and birds had also obliged with a few droppings. Perhaps it was time to move on!

The celestial attendant was moved seeing the pain of Gandhiji. He asked if it was not the right time to return to heaven. It was early morning then, and a street sweeper was diligently doing his task and in no time, he had made the whole street spick and span.An elderly passerby was so impressed by the efficiency of his work that he offered him ten rupees, which was politely turned down by the man who responded "This is my duty sir, and I am just doing my duty to the best of my ability". The Mahatma with a slight grin asked a mobile phone from the attendant who instantly created it out of thin air! Taking the phone, extending his arms and including the sweeper in the frame, he shot his first selfie much to the amusement of the attendant. Back in heaven from the trip of Bhaarat, Mahatma Gandhi shared the picture on a wall with a tagline "Be the change YOU want to see in the world" !

.