A Legacy of Inspiration

In January 1948, Mohandas Gandhi was shot three times by a Hindu assassin as he walked through a garden in New Delhi to take evening prayers. He died instantly.

Today he is remembered as an anti-colonialist, an advocate of non-violence, a pioneer of civil disobedience and the father of the world's largest democracy.

He achieved a great deal as a political leader, working against discrimination, poverty and the caste system. He ended "untouchability." He expanded women's rights, religious tolerance and economic self-reliance.

For all these things, Gandhi is rightly honored. In the long run, however, Mahatma (literally "Great Soul") may be best remembered for his contribution to humanity's inner life.

Gandhi advocated a simple and unassuming lifestyle. He lived modestly, wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, and ate plain vegetarian food. He said it did not require money to be neat, clean and dignified.

He undertook long fasts, sometimes for self-purification, other times as social protest.

And he had a sense of humor. Asked once what he thought about Western civilization, Gandhi replied, "I think it would be a good idea."

Gandhi suffered many hardships in his life. He was imprisoned several times and for many years in both South Africa - where he first employed non-violent civil disobedience as an expatriate lawyer - and in India.

During these periods, he took the time to write down his key principles. Here are just a few of his thoughts:

~ In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.

~ All of your scholarship, all your study of Shakespeare and Wordsworth would be in vain if at the same time you did not build your character and attain mastery over your thoughts and your actions.

~ A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes.

~ The only tyrant I accept in this world is the 'still small voice' within.

~ Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

~ I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the present.

~ What a great thing it would be if we in our busy lives, could retire into ourselves each day, for at least a couple of hours, and prepare our minds to listen to the voice of the great silence.

~ Experience has taught me that silence is a part of the spiritual discipline of a votary of truth.  Proneness to exaggerate, to suppress or modify truth, wittingly or unwittingly, is a natural weakness of man, and silence is necessary to surmount it. A man of few words will rarely be thoughtless in his speech. He will measure every word.

~ True happiness is impossible without true health and true health is impossible without rigid control of the palate. All the other senses will automatically come under our control when the palate has been brought under control. And he who has conquered his senses has really conquered the whole world.

More than sixty years after his death, Gandhi is still viewed as one of the world's great spiritual leaders.

He dedicated his life to the purpose of discovering Truth - something he insisted could only be revealed to those with a deep sense of humility - and believed the most important battle is overcoming our own fears and insecurities.

The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing, Gandhi insisted, is sufficient to solve most of our problems.

"He was driven to help the poor, the sick and the downtrodden and to free them from colonialism no matter the cost to himself," writes Archbishop Desmond Tutu. "In the end it cost him his life.  However, he left us a legacy of inspiration that is remarkable in its sincerity and love of humanity."

Albert Einstein agreed. He was moved to say: "Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked the earth."

Gandhi asked that his writings be cremated with his body. He wanted his life to be his message, not what he had written or said.

In the end, he believed that words are meaningless. Actions alone show our true priorities. Or, as he famously said:

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

 

Carpe Diem,  Alex Green – SpiritualWealth

Posted:  Knowledge Creates Power

Is It Time For You to Take the Leap?

"Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality." ...Earl Nightingale: Author, The Strangest Secret, Lead the Field

We can plant any seed we want in the soil, and if it's given enough time and attention, it will grow into a flower, vegetable, or tree. The same goes for our mind. We can plant misery and negative thoughts, or we can choose to plant the most hopeful, success-focused thoughts we can muster. With enough time and attention, those seeds will grow as well. Will they grow into a promising future or a mediocre life? That depends on what you planted.

Dear Reader,

Nine years ago this month I made a big change. After sixteen years in the money management business, I accepted a job writing about the financial markets for Agora Publishing.

My former colleagues told me I was nuts.

"Nobody gets to the point where he has all these clients, all these assets and all these fees coming in and then just quits," one co-worker insisted. "People spend sixteen years in this business to be exactly where you are now. No one in his right mind just walks away."

But I did. I was bored.

I love the financial markets. I loved my clients, too. But I was tired of having the same repetitive conversations about their accounts every day.

I needed to re-pot myself. And when my friend and former colleague Steve Sjuggerud decided to step down as Investment Director of The Oxford Club to start a hedge fund, I had the opportunity.

There was one drawback, however. The starting salary I was offered was only a small fraction of what I was currently making.

I left anyway. And I've never regretted it for a minute.

Doors opened up that I could never have imaged when I first took the job. I've traveled the world, from Europe and South America to Africa and the Orient. After years of being chained to my telephone and my "quote machine," I was free at last.

Last summer I made another leap. After twenty-eight years living in central Florida, my wife Karen and I decided to move our family to Charlottesville, VA - just to try it out.

"You've only been here seven months?" a woman I met last week asked. "So your job brought you here?"

"No," I said.

"You have family here in Charlottesville?"

"No."

"You had friends here?"

"No."

"Really?" she persisted. "Who did you know here in town?"

"No one, actually."

From her expression, you'd have thought she'd just identified someone in the federal witness protection program.

There were plenty of good reasons we moved here, of course. Unlike Florida, there are four gorgeous seasons. (Well, three. I'm still not crazy about that last one.) Charlottesville is a charming town with tons of culture - thanks to the University of Virginia - and no big-city problems.

The majestic Blue Ridge sits just west of town, providing spectacular sunsets. In twenty minutes, I can be hiking the Appalachian Trail. And I have family in Staunton less than an hour away.

It hasn't been a completely smooth transition, of course. There's no major airport here. We're renting a furnished house. (And learning just how little of "all that stuff" back in Florida we actually need.)

The toughest part was leaving friends we've known for most of our lives. But we still go back to visit. And we're already making new ones. It looks like we're here to stay.

People we meet often tell us they dream of doing something like this. Only money holds them back, they say.

But I read an inspiring column by my old friend Steve Sjuggerud this week and it reminded me that while a lack of money can dictate your choices, it doesn't mean they have to be poor ones.

If this sounds counterintuitive, read his essay and you'll see what I mean. Just click here - It's Never Too Late to Escape

Carpe Diem,

Alex Greene, SpiritualWealth