Gandhi Mandela Foundation organized a digital Global Prayer meet on 30th January 2022 at 5:00 pm, as a tribute to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi on his 74th Martyrdom Day. Distinguished personalities from various fields of life joined to commemorate the great legacy of Father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi during this digital meet. The theme of the virtual lecture session was ‘Contribution of Mahatma Gandhi towards International Human Rights’ and ‘My life is my message’. The Global Prayer Meet was organized under the leadership of the Secretary General of GMF Mr Nandan Jha.
Eminent personalities who joined the Global prayer meet include Acharya Dr Lokesh Muni ji, Vice-Chairman, Gandhi Mandela Foundation; Dr Savita Singh, Vice-Chairman, Gandhi Mandela Foundation; Agus Indra Udayana, Padma Shri and President, Indonesia GMF; Swami Avdheshanand Giri ji, Chairman, GMF; Justice KG Blakrishnan, Jury Chairman, GMF; Justice Dipak Misra, Jury, GMF; Justice Kedarnath Upadhyay, Jury, GMF; Justice Md Tafazzul Islam, Former Chief Justice of Bangladesh, Veteran Journalist Dr Ved Pratap Vaidik; Yog guru Baba Ramdev ji, Founder, Patanjali Yogpeeth and Patron, GMF; Swami Chidanand Saraswati ji, Vice Chairman, GMF; Mr Nandan Jha,, Secretary General, GMF; Sadhvi Bhagwati Saraswati Ji, President, Divine Shakti Foundation; Syed Zafar Islam, Member of Rajya Sabha; HE Roger Gopaul, Hon’ble High Commissioner, High Commission of Republic of Trinidad & Tobago in India; HE Deliwe Ndhlema, Hon’ble Acting High Commissioner, High Commission of Zambia in India; HE Muhammad Imran, Hon’ble High Commissioner, High Commission of Bangladesh in India; Vijay Goel, Hon’ble Vice Chairman, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti; Dr Mohd Ali Rabbani, Cultural Counselor, Islamic Republic of Iran in India; International Spiritual Preceptor Dr Pawan Sinha ji; Political activist Ajay Bhutoria; Bernard Isaac Wekesa, Political Counselor, High Commision of Kenya in India; Chief Temitope Ajayi, Queen Mother of Nigeria; Dayankar Ratakonda, Director International Affairs, GMF, and Dr Bu Abdullah.
Ida Rsi Putra Manuaba (Agus Indra Udayana), President, Indonesia GMF started with a special Hindu prayer on the occasion. He said that this is a special day for all of us as Mahatma Gandhi’s words will also be special and his approach of non-violence is so relevant in today’s world. He added that through this event we can inspire others to walk on the path showed by Mahatma Gandhi.
Mr Nandan Jha, Secretary General, GMF said that it is very rare for someone to have an impact not only on an entire nation but the whole world like Mahatma Gandhi did. Mr Jha also explained when Gandhi actually said the lines ‘my life is my message’. He said, “On 16 August 1946, Mohd Ali Jinnah called for direct action and thousands of people lost their lives, Mahatma Gandhi went to Bengal and stopped this violence out of sympathy. One year later on 9th August 1947, Mahatma Gandhi reached the same Bengal and told them not to stop the non-violence movement and ‘fast till death’. When he was returning, one of the volunteers asked Gandhiji to give them some message and it is then when Mahtma Gandhi said that if you can’t learn from my life, how you will learn from a message? There he wrote in Bengali- My life is my message.”
Justice KG Balakrishnan (Jury Chairman, GMF & Former Chief Justice of India & Former Chairman of NHRC India) said that we all have gathered here to pay tribute for the great Mahatma who was a special man though he did not commit any crime, the only thing he did was love everyone. He also said that everywhere Gandhiji went he spread love and he didn’t even want anything, he wanted freedom for his country. He paid humble tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion and thanked everyone.
Dr Ved Paratap Vaidik (Advisor-GMF, Veteran Journalist) thanked Mr Nandan Jha for remembering the two great leaders, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela on this day. Dr Vaidik said that the 19th and 20th centuries are known for violence. “Many revolutions such as the French revolution and the Chinese revolution took place, which are all violent but Mahatma Gandhi showed the whole world a new path of non-violence. He led such a huge non-violence movement against the Britishers which never took place before that. As Mr Nandan said that Gandhi’s life was his message, there is so much to learn from Gandhi’s life, I am happy that this initiative has been taken by the Gandhi Mandela Foundation to instill Gandhi’s values in the next generation.
Mr Syed Zafar Islam (Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha) emphasized on the fact that the life of Mahatma Gandhi was a message for the entire humanity as he has a source of motivation for the entire humanity. “He preached what he practiced and he practiced was he preached. Whatever he taught if relevant for every citizen of every country and he taught the message of peace and non-violence. He had a deep influence on me. I have seen how his life has inspired each and every person of the country. It is amazing”, he added.
Swami Avdheshanand ji (Chairman, GMF, Junapeethadhishwar Acharya Mahamandaleshwar) said that Gandhi and Mandela are the ‘Dev-Doot’ on the face of earth. “The biggest strength Gandhi had was the power of truth. I admire the initiative taken by GMF and Mr Nandan Jha on this great occasion. There is no bigger weapon than non-violence on this earth. I am deeply honoured to be speaking today”, he added.
Acharya Dr Lokesh Muni ji (Founder President 'Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti', Vice Chairman of GMF) thanked everyone for being part of the prayer meet. He said that Gandhian principles are even more required in today’s world because violence is not the solution to any problem. He said that every problem can be solved by peaceful talks and non-violence. He added that everyone should follow their religion and respect other religions also and for development every society needs peaceful atmosphere.
Mr Lutfi Hassan (President, GMF US & Hon'ble Consul General of the Republic of Guyana to Southwest United States of America) said that it’s an honour to be speaking on the occasion of Gandhi’s Marytyrdom day. “GMF is a great organization because everyone here works with so dedication. Bapu had worked so hard for the freedom which we enjoy today. Because of Mahatma Gandhi’s inspiration, we have leaders like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King who followed his path and became icons. Let’s celebrate the greatness of our own Mahatma Gandhi on this special occasion”, he added.
Swami Chidanand Saraswati (Vice Chairman- GMF & Head, Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh) sais Gandhiji was a special man and he was a man on a mission. “In the 21th century, if there is shortage of anything, it is the shortage of consciousness. Gandhiji said we need speed but we need direction also. Today we have speed, but direction is lost, here we need Mahatma Gandhi’s ideologies. The direction is to giving more and more, sharing and caring about others more and more. Gandhi very rightly said there is always enough for everyone, but not enough for our greed”, he added.
Sadhwi Bhagwati (President, Divine Shakti Foundation & Secretary-General, Global Interfaith WASH Alliance) lauded the efforts of Mr Nandan Jha and GMF for bringing people from all over the world on this occasion. She said that Gandhiji was exceptional, he was not only the father of India but he was also the father of non-violent resistance and revolution across the planet; he is also the father of a powerful political system which has inspired so many leaders in so many different areas across the world. She thanked everyone for being part of this beautiful event and prayed for Mahatma’s great soul.
Justice Gyan Sudha Misra (Jury Gandhi Mandela Foundation & Former Judge, Supreme Court of India) thanked everyone for being present on this special occasion to celebrate the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. She also gave her valuable suggestion to invite global leaders from various ethnic groups who believe in violence and convince them in believing that violence is not the right way and said that we should try to spread the Gandhian values among the people.
Other esteemed personalities present on the occasion thanked the Gandhi Mandela Foundation for organizing such an event to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi and paid rich tributes to the ‘Father of the nation’. Everyone echoed their sentiments on Gandhiji and said that his principles are more relevant in today’s world as there is so much need for them.
The Gandhi Mandela Foundation a Govt. of India registered trust which promotes individual freedom, civil liberties, and human rights across the globe. The organization’s objective is to promote individual freedom, civil liberties and human rights across the globe and to instill the Gandhian principles among the humanity. The headquarter of the foundation is situated at New Delhi and Global presence include America, Africa, Russia, London, Switzerland, China, Nepal and Bangladesh.
The Foundation instituted the Gandhi Mandela Awards during the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhiji to celebrate those who have carried forward that the legacies of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.
