Yet, his belief in prayer the healing power of nature remained unshaken
As the nation celebrates the 154th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi organizing massive cleanliness campaigns and honouring sanitary workers in memory of the man who was fondly addressed by his admirers as ‘Bapu’, a look back at the last birthday of Gandhi on October 2, 1947 reveals a heartbroken man who had lost his desire to live as the country was drowning in the horrors of a violent partition.
On his 79th birthday, Gandhi had been staying at the residence Ghanshyamdas Birla in New Delhi. Well-wishers had already gathered there as was the practice wherever Gandhi went and eagerly waited to greet him, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was also among them. The seat in his room was artistically decorated by Miraben with a beautiful cross and the words ‘Hey Ram’ and ‘Om’ were written with colourful flowers. There was a constant flow of friends and well-wishers all day to pay salutations to the father of the nation, including those from other countries. Many of them conveyed greetings from the leaders of their respective nations. Last to arrive was Lady Mountbatten with a bunch of letters and telegrams, writes Brijmohan Heda, a US-based Gandhian scholar, author of several books on Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi was quite unwell that day. Known to be a man who was engaged in a lifelong experiment with his health, Gandhi refused to take penicillin when doctors pressed him to do so. He told them ‘Ramanama’ was his penicillin and that he would rather fall a martyr to his researches in the science of ‘Ramanama’ than a casualty to theirs.
When the doctors argued that science had definitely established the benefits of medicines, Gandhi called it arrogance. “Science has yet much to learn. It has only touched the hem of the garment. An illness is the result of violation of the laws of nature, in other words, the penalty for sin against Him,” he declared. “I am out to demonstrate it. I must discover it or perish in the attempt.”
“I do not celebrate my birthday in the usual way. I would say that, on this day, we must fast, spin and pray. That, in my view, is the most appropriate way of celebrating one’s birthday,”
MK Gandhi
Later in the day, while giving a speech at a prayer meeting, he reflected on his birthday. “I do not celebrate my birthday in the usual way. I would say that, on this day, we must fast, spin and pray. That, in my view, is the most appropriate way of celebrating one’s birthday,” he told the crowd gathered at the venue. It was a practice that Gandhi had been following for many years, spending his birthday fasting, spinning and praying along with his well-wishers.
But that year, he was despondent at the madness that was going on all around him. He labelled his 79th birthday as a ‘day of mourning’. “I am surprised and also ashamed that I am still alive. I am the same person whose word was honoured by the millions of the country. But today nobody listens to me. In such a situation what place do I have in India and what is the point of my being alive? I have now stopped thinking about living for 125 years. I have stopped thinking in terms of 100 or even 90 years.”
“I am surprised and also ashamed that I am still alive. I am the same person whose word was honoured by the millions of the country. But today nobody listens to me. In such a situation what place do I have in India and what is the point of my being alive?
MK Gandhi
In the past, Gandhi had frequently shared with his associates about how he would live for 125 years practicing his way of life and constantly experimenting with his health. But that resolve appeared to have vanished.
He further went on to say that it pained him even to enter the 79th year and urged people to give up violence bestiality. “If you really want to celebrate my birthday, it is your duty not to let anyone be possessed by madness and if there is any anger in your hearts, you must remove it… This is all I wish to tell you,” Gandhi said on his last birthday. Seven and a half decades later, his message is as fresh and relevant as it was back in 1947.
MK Gandhi was assassinated at the Birla House in New Delhi on January 30, 1948.