A Collection of Wise Sayings

A Collection of Wise Sayings
"We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time." -- T.S. Eliot
"Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the
certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out."
-- Vaclav Havel
"If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself,
what am I? And if not now -- when?" -- Hillel
"Come my friends, 'tis not too late to seek a newer world." -- Tennyson
"If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not
understand, things are just as they are." -- Zen proverb
"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that
would suffice." -- Meister Eckhart
"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a
miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." -- Albert
Einstein
"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who
walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece
of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient
proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last
of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of
circumstances." -- Victor Frankl
"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the
lesson afterwards." -- Unknown
"The shell must break before the bird can fly." -- Tennyson
"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own
heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." -- Carl
Jung
"The years teach much that the days never know." -- Emerson
"If you bring forth what is within you, it will heal you. And if you do not
bring forth what is within you, it will destroy you." (from the Gospel of
St. Thomas)
"Go to your bosom: Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth
know." -- William Shakespeare
"The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a
leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution
comes to you and you don't know how or why." -- Albert Einstein
"The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will
have sought and found how to serve." -- Albert Schweitzer
"The difference between a smart person and a wise person is that a
smart person knows what to say and a wise person knows whether or
not to say it." -- Quote found on the wall of a recreation center office in
Berkeley, California.
"Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you
get." -- Dave Gardner
"We do not see things as they are; we see things as we are." -- Talmud
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the
children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in
the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or
nothing. " -- Helen Keller
"This is the true joy in life: the being used for a purpose recognized by
yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a
feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that
the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the
opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I
live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be
thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I
rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no 'brief candle' to me. It is a sort
of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want
to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future
generations." -- George Bernard Shaw
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back,
always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation)
there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless
ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits
oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help
one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of
events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of
unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no
man could have dreamed would have come his way. I have learned a
deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets:
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. "
-- W.H. Murray, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition
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On Being in Touch with Our Inner Child
"There is an innocence within me that already knows how to trust my

Higher Power, to cherish life while holding it lightly, to live fully and
simply in the present moment. I will allow that part of myself to come
forward and nourish me as I continue on this journey."
(from Courage to Change: One Day at a Time in Al-Anon II, page 82).
Reprinted with permission of Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc.,
Virginia Beach, VA
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On Being in Touch with Our Higher Power

"There is guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening, we shall hear
the right word. Certainly there is a right for you that needs no choice
on your part. Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and
wisdom which flows into your life. Then, without effort, you are
impelled to truth and to perfect contentment." --Ralph Waldo Emerson
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On Contentment
"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the

realization of how much you already have." --Unknown
Content: A Poem
I should be content
to look at a mountain
for what it is
and not as a comment
on my life
--David Ignatow
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On Worry
A thousand reasons for worry,

A thousand reasons for anxiety
Oppress day after day
the fool,
But not the wise man.
-- Hitopadesa of Narayana
"Do your best. Then, don't worry, be happy."
-- Meher Baba
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Our Deepest Fear
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is
that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light that most
frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented, fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of
God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing
enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure
around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. We were born to
make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of
us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we
unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're
liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates
others." -- Marianne Williamson
This quote is often erroneously attributed to Nelson Mandela. Please

click here for more details.
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On Patience
"I remembered one morning when I discovered a cocoon in a bark of a

tree, just as a butterfly was making a hole in its case and preparing to
come out. I waited awhile, but it was too long appearing and I was
impatient. I bent over it and breathed on it to warm it. I warmed it as
quickly as I could and the miracle began to happen before my eyes,
faster than life.
The case opened, the butterfly started slowly crawling out and I shall
never forget my horror when I saw how its wings were folded back and
crumpled; the wretched butterfly tried with its whole trembling body to
unfold them. Bending over it I tried to help it with my breath. In vain.
It needed to be hatched out patiently and the unfolding of its wings
should be a gradual process in the sun. Now it was too late. My breath
had forced the butterfly to appear, all crumpled, before its time. It
struggled desperately and, a few seconds later, died in the palm of my
hand.
The little body is, I do believe, the greatest weight I have on my
conscience, for I realize today that it is a mortal sin to violate the great
laws of nature. We should not hurry, we should not be impatient, but
we should confidently obey the eternal rhythm."
(from Zorba the Greek, by Nikos Kazantzakis)
"Improving our own attitudes and our own state of mind takes time.
Haste and impatience can only defeat our purposes."
(from This is Al-Anon, quoted in Courage to Change, page 93).
Virginia Beach, VA
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On Commitment
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back,

always ineffectivness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation),
there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless
ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits
oneself, then Providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help
one that would never otherwise have occurred. The whole stream of
events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of
unforeseen incidents and meetings and material his way. I have
learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: 'Whatever you
can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and
magic in it.'"
(from W.H. Murray, "The Scottish Himalayan Expedition")
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On Being Responsible
"I came to Al-Anon confused about what was and was not my
responsibility. Today, after lots of Step work, I believe I am responsible
for the following:
• to be loyal to my values
• to please myself first
• to rid myself of anger and resentment
• to express my ideas and feelings instead of stuffing them
• to attend Al-Anon meetings and keep in touch with friends in the
fellowship
• to be realistic in my expectations
• to make healthy choices
• to be grateful for my blessings
I also have certain responsibilities to others:
• to extend a welcome to newcomers
• to be of service
• to recognize that others have a right to live their own lives
• to listen, not just with my ears, but also with my heart
• to share my joy as well as my sorrow"
(from Courage to Change, One Day at a Time in Al-Anon II, page 85).
Virginia Beach, VA
"I have a primary responsibility to myself: to make myself into the best
person I can possibly be. Then, and only then, will I have something
worthwhile to share."
(from Living with Sobriety)
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On Learning to Do Better
I walk down the street.

There is a hole.
I don't see it.
I fall in.
It isn't my fault.
It takes a very long time to get out.
I walk down the same street.
There is still a deep hole.
I pretend not to see it.
I fall in.
I pretend it's still not my fault.
It takes a long time to get out.
There is still the same deep hole.
I see it.
I fall in anyway.
It's a habit.
I get out quicker this time.
There is a deep hole.
I see it.
I walk around it.
I don't fall in.
I walk down a different street.
-- Portia Nelson
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On Right Action
"Codes of ethics are most often associated with prohibitions: Don't do

this, don't do that. All the spiritual traditions I know have more or less
the same lists of don'ts. This makes sense, since all the don'ts
elaborate on the awareness that if we are not alert, our naturally
arising impulses of greed and anger might lead us to do something
exploitive or abusive. The fundamental rule is, 'Don't cause pain.'
Traditional Buddhist texts, when they talk about Right Action, use the
terms hiri and ottappa, usually translated as 'moral shame' and 'moral
dread.' Shame and dread have ominous overtones in English, but I
rather like these terms. I appreciate the sense of awesome
responsibility they are meant to convey. Collectively, what they mean
is that every single act we do has the potential of causing pain, and
every single thing we do has consequences that echo way beyond
what we can imagine. It doesn't mean we shouldn't act. It means we
should act carefully. Everything matters."
(from It's Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness, by
Sylvia Boorstein, page 41. Published by Harper San Francisco)
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On Pain
"They say that pain is inevitable but suffering is optional. If I learn to

accept that pain is part of life, I will be better able to endure the
difficult times and then move on, leaving the pain behind me."
(from Courage to Change: One Day At A Time in Al-Anon II, page 83).
Virginia Beach, VA
"...When we long for life without...difficulties, remind us that oaks grow
strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure." --
Peter Marshall
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On Living With A Full Heart
When one is too hurt one cannot see others' pain, is too blind with
one's own.
When one has many weights to lift, one cannot enjoy life.
When one has many expectations, one cannot be patient with others.
When one has fear, one cannot enjoy life.
When one does not give, one is making the heart lonely.
When one does not take, one is making the heart feel inferior
When one does not hope, one is shutting oneself into a tight closet.
But when one does not love, one is killing one's self.
(written by 12-year old Olivia, Berkeley, California, 2/12/02)
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No Problem Lasts Forever
No problem lasts forever. No matter how permanently fixed in the

center of our lives it may seem, whatever we experience in this ever-
changing life is sure to pass. Even pain.
Difficult situations often bring out qualities in us that otherwise might
not have risen to the surface, such as courage, faith, and our need for
one another. All of our experiences can help us to grow.
But we may need patience. Some wounds cannot be healed quickly.
They must be given time. In the meantime, we can appreciate the new
capabilities we are developing, such as the capacity to mourn and the
willingness to accept. Let us share our losses and triumphs with each
other, for that is how we gather courage.
(From Courage to Change: One Day at A Time in Al-Anon II, page 77).
Virginia Beach, VA
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On Fear
"We have two kinds of fears. One is a fear that whatever is going on is
going to go on forever. It’s just not true -- nothing goes on forever. The
other is the fear that, even if it doesn’t go on forever, the pain of
whatever is happening will be so terrible we won’t be able to stand it.
There is a gut level of truth about this fear. It would be ridiculous to
pretend that in our lives, in these physical bodies, which can hurt very
much, and in relationships that can hurt very much, there aren’t some
very, very painful times. Even so, I think we underestimate ourselves.
Terrible as times may be, I believe we can stand them.
"Because we become frightened as soon as a difficult mind state blows
into the mind, we start to fight with it. We try to change it, or we try to
get rid of it. The frenzy of the struggle makes the mind state even
more unpleasant.
"The familiar image is a children’s cartoon character, like Daffy Duck,
walking along freely and suddenly stepping into taffy. In a hasty,
awkward attempt to extricate himself, he might fall forward and
backward and eventually be totally stuck in the taffy. Even children see
a better solution.
"The best solution would be the nonalarmed recognition, ‘This is taffy. I
didn’t see it as I stepped into it, but I felt it after I got stuck. It’s just
taffy. The whole world is not made out of taffy. What would be a wise
thing for me to do now?'"
(from It's Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness, by
Sylvia Boorstein, page 71. Published by Harper San Francisco)
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God's Jobs
An eight year old wrote this for his third-grade Sunday school teacher,
who asked her students to explain God:
One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes these to put in the
place of the ones who die so there will be enough people to take care
of things here on earth. He doesn't make grownups, he just makes
babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way
he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to walk
and talk. He can just leave that up to the mothers and fathers. I think it
works out pretty good.
God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of
this goes on, 'cause some people, like preachers and things, pray other
times besides bedtimes, and Grandpa and Grandma pray every time
they eat, except for snacks. God doesn't have time to listen to the
radio and watch TV on account of this. 'Cause God hears everything,
there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears unless he has thought of
a way to turn it down.
God sees and hears everything and is everywhere, which keeps him
pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time asking for things that
aren't important, or go over parents' heads and ask for something they
said you couldn't have. It doesn't work anyway.
(From A Third Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul, by Jack Canfield
and Mark Victor Hansen. Published by Health Communications,
Deerfield Beach, Florida. To order, call 1-800-441-5569)
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The Secrets of Heaven and Hell
The old monk sat by the side of the road. With his eyes closed, his legs
crossed and his hands folded in his lap, he sat. In deep meditation he
sat.
Suddenly his zazen was interrupted by the harsh and demanding voice
of a samurai warrior. "Old man! Teach me about heaven and hell!"
At first, as though he had not heard, there was no perceptible response
from the monk. But gradually he began to open his eyes, the faintest
hint of a smile playing around the corners of his mouth as the samurai
stood there, waiting impatiently, growing more and more agitated with
each passing second.
"You wish to know the secrets of heaven and hell?" replied the monk at
last. "You who are so unkempt. You whose hands and feet are covered
with dirt. You whose hair is uncombed, whose breath is foul, whose
sword is all rusty and neglected. You who are ugly and whose mother
dresses you funny. You would ask me of heaven and hell?"
The samurai uttered a vile curse. He drew his sword and raised it high
over his head. His face turned to crimson, and the veins of his neck
stood out in bold relief as he prepared to sever the monk's head from
its shoulders.
"That is hell," said the old monk gently, just as the sword began its
descent.
In that fraction of a second, the samurai was overcome with
amazement, awe, compassion and love for this gentle being who had
dared to risk his very life to give him such a teaching. He stopped his
sword in mid-flight and his eyes filled with grateful tears.
"And that," said the monk, "is heaven."
(From A Third Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul, by Jack Canfield
and Mark Victor Hansen. Published by Health Communications,
Deerfield Beach, Florida. To order, call 1-800-441-5569)
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Symptoms of Inner Peace
Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great

many have already been exposed to inner peace and it is possible that
people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions.
This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly
stable condition of conflict in the world.
Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:
• A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears
based on past experiences.
• An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
• A loss of interest in judging other people.
• A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
• A loss of interest in conflict.
• A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom).
• Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
• Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
• Frequent attacks of smiling.
• An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them
happen.
• An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as
the uncontrollable urge to extend it.
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The Rules for Being Human
1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours
for the entire period this time around.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a fulltime informal school
called life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to
learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and
stupid.
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and
error, experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of
the process as the experiment that ultimately "works."
4. A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you
in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it,
you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not
contain its lessons. If you are alive there are lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better than "here." When your "there" has become a
"here" you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better
than "here."
7. Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something
about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or
hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and
resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is
yours.
9. Your answers lie inside you. The answer to life's questions lie inside
you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. This will often be forgotten, only to be remembered again.
(Cherie Carter-Scott)
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The Illusion of Perfect Parents
"It is a universal part of the human condition that we must heal

wounds from our past. The illusion of perfect parents must eventually
give way to the realities of who our parents are as concrete individuals.
Their limitations invariably become our own, in one way or another,
and their struggles with identity and self-esteem become the stumbling
blocks that we find in our own lives. This is the human condition.
"Children of alcoholics teach us about the very nature of being human.
Their experience reminds us that self-esteem is not innate but rather
comes from being valued by people who value themselves."
(Timmen Cermak, M.D., quoted in New Realities magazine,
November/December 1988, page 46).
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What is Maturity?
• Knowing myself.
• Asking for help when I need it and acting on my own when I don't.
• Admitting when I'm wrong and making amends.
• Accepting love from others, even if I'm having a tough time loving
myself.
• Recognizing that I always have choices, and taking responsibility for
the ones I make.
• Seeing that life is a blessing.
• Having an opinion without insisting that others share it.
• Forgiving myself and others.
• Recognizing my shortcomings and my strengths.
• Having the courage to live one day at a time.
• Acknowledging that my needs are my responsibility.
• Caring for people without having to take care of them.
• Accepting that I'll never be finished -- I'll always be a work-in-
progress.
(from Courage to Change: One Day At a Time in Al-Anon, page 63.
Virginia Beach, VA)
Comes the Dawn
After awhile you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul.
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't mean security.
And you begin to understand that kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises,
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head held high and your eyes wide open.
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child.
You learn to build your roads
On today because tomorrow's ground
Is too uncertain for plans, and futures have
A way of falling down in midflight.
After awhile you learn that even sunshine
Burns if you get too much.
So you plant your own garden and decorate
Your own soul, instead of waiting
For someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure,
That you really are strong.
And you really do have worth.
And you learn and learn...and you learn
With every goodbye you learn.
(Veronica A. Shoffstall)
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Pearls of Wisdom from Helen Keller
"Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn,
whatever state I may be in, therein to be content." -- Helen Keller
"Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -- Helen Keller
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Some Native American Wisdom
A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this
manner:
"Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil.
The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time."
When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied,
"The one I feed the most."
How A Child Learns
If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, she learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame, she learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement, she learns confidence.
If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.
If a child lives with fairness, she learns justice.
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval, she learns to like herself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in
the world.
(Dorothy Law Nolte)
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Insights and Wisdom from Dick Olney
Who was Dick Olney? Dick was both a master psychotherapist and, for
many, a profound spiritual teacher. He called his work Self-Acceptance
Training and he trained therapists and others from coast to coast for
more than two decades. Dick said the truth can never be spoken. Even
so, his words point the way. Here are some samples of what Dick has
said (excerpted from Walking in Beauty: A Collection of the
Psychological Insights and Spiritual Wisdom of Dick Olney, edited by
Roslyn Moore. To order, contact DO Publishing, P.O. Box 103,
Mendocino, California 95460):
"There is only one wound of the mental body, and that is the wound of
self-criticism or self-judgment"
"Self-criticism or self-judgment is self-hatred. It will always hurt you.
There is no exception to that."
"One definition of insanity is to do something for twenty years that has
not worked, and then do it again as if it will work."
"To see what you are not is most important. Then what you are will
naturally emerge."
"The goal of a good therapist is to help someone wake up from the bad
dream that they are their self-image."
"Your thoughts come automatically. It is to the extent you identify with
them that they make you their slave. You become the mistress of your
thoughts, not when you can control the machine, but when you do not
identify with it."
"Emotion will not drive you crazy. What will drive you crazy is the fear
of emotion."
Living According to False Beliefs
We all live according to false beliefs. Bringing such beliefs to light is an
important step in our deconditioning process. A few random false
beliefs:
"Because my father abandoned me when I was a child, I must go
through life abandoning the people close to me."
"If I make a mistake, I will die."
"I don't have time to feel what I am feeling, because I have to figure it
all out."
"I have to get where I go by suffering."
"When I start to feel good, I must remember to feel bad, because I
didn't feel good before."
"Because my mother withheld intimacy from me when I was small, I
cannot offer intimacy for the rest of my life."
"If I leave him, I'll die."
"I can't be happy, because if I allow myself to be happy, I might be
humiliated."
"I must earn and deserve every good thing I get."
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Other People's Expectations
"The only man who behaved sensibly was my tailor; he took my

measurement anew every time he saw me, while all the rest went on
with their old measurements and expected them to fit me." -- George
Bernard Shaw
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Turning It Over to Higher Power
"God loves you and He knows all the secrets of your heart...you've
allowed the past to come between you and God. Turn the past over to
God. He's strong enough to take it. And give Him your future,
too....He'll make you strong enough to live it."
The angel Claire, speaking to Jake, a jaded Vietnam vet, in the TV show
Touched By An Angel.
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On Being Happy and Serving Others
"Happiness is not an individual matter. When you are able to bring

relief, or bring back the smile to one person, not only that person
profits, but you also profit. The deepest happiness you can have comes
from that capacity to help relieve the suffering of others. So if we have
the habit of being peace, then there is a natural tendency for us to go
in the direction of service. Nothing compels us, except the joy of
sharing peace, the joy of sharing freedom from afflictions, freedom
from worries, freedom from craving, which are the true foundations for
happiness.
"And once we have the condition of peace and joy in us, we can afford
to be in any situation. Even in the situation of hell, we will be able to
contribute our peace and serenity. The most important thing is for each
of us to have some freedom in our heart, some stability in our heart,
some peace in our heart. Only then will we be able to relieve the
suffering around us."
(Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist teacher, interviewed by Ram
Dass, as quoted in Inquiring Mind Magazine, Spring 1996 issue)
Today, like every other day,
we wake up empty and scared.
Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading.
Take down the dulcimer.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways
to kneel
and kiss the ground.
(Rumi, Sufi mystic)
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The Essence of All Being
Meher Baba, offers a comprehensive spiritual sweep to life:

"From the spiritual point of view, the only important thing is to realize
Divine Life and to help others realize it by manifesting it in everyday
happenings. To penetrate into the essence of all being and significance
and to release the fragrance of that inner attainment for the guidance
and benefit of others -- by expressing, in the world of forms, truth,
love, purity, and beauty -- this is the sole game that has intrinsic and
absolute worth. All other happenings, incidents, and attainments in
themselves can have no lasting importance." Meher Baba, Discourses,
page 200.
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A Prayer for Peace, Growth, and Recovery
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred...let me sow love.
Where there is injury...pardon.
Where there is doubt...faith.
Where there is despair...hope.
Where there is darkness...light
Where there is sadness...joy.
Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be
consoled...as to console.
To be understood...as to understand.
To be loved...as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
(St. Francis of Assissi)
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1. When there is a conflict between the heart and the brain, let the
heart be followed.
2. A man of intellect can turn into a devil, but never a man of

heart.
3. Religion is not a theoretical need but a practical necessity.
4. Renunciation does not mean simply dispassion for the world. It
means dispassion for the world and also longing for God.
5. There is no misery where there is no want.
6. The secret of life is not enjoyment, but education through

experience.
7. Every new thought must create opposition.
8. Renunciation is the withdrawal of mind from other things and

concentrating it on God.
9. Every man who thinks ahead of his time is sure to be

misunderstood.
10. In this short life there is no time for the exchange of

compliments.
11. Do not wait to cross the river when the water has all run
down.
12. The greatest sin is fear.
13. Better the scolding of the wise than the adulation of the
fools.
14. If you love God's creation more than God, you will be
disillusioned.
15. Everything can be sacrificed for truth, but truth can't be

sacrificed for anything.
16. God has become man, man will become god again.
17. If it is impossible to attain perfection here and now, there is

no
proof that we can attain perfection in any other life.
18. That part of the Vedas which agrees with reason is the Vedas,
and nothing else.
19. If you want to do anything evil, do it before the eyes of your
superiors.
20. Happiness presents itself before man, wearing the crown of

sorrow on its head.
21. If one is a slave to his passions and desires, one cannot feel
the pure joy of real freedom.
22. If you can't attain salvation in this life, what proof is there
that you can attain it in the life or lives to come?
23. Never mind if your contribution is only a mite, your help only
a little, blades of grass united into a rope will hold in confinement
the maddest of elephants.
24. The cow never tells a lie, and the stone never steals, but,
nevertheless, the cow remains a cow and the stone remains a
stone. Man steals and man tells a lie, and again it is man that
becomes the god.
25. When even man never hears the cries of the fool, do you
think God will?
26. Strength is life, weakness is death.
27. Never are the wants of a beggar fulfilled.
28. We want the education by which character is formed,

strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by
which one can stand on one's own feet.
29. Let the heart be opened first, and all else will follow of itself.
30. Tell the man his defaults directly but praise his virtues before
others.
31. Activity is life and inactivity is death.
32. Salvation is not achieved by inactivity but by spiritual

activities.
33. Even the least work done for others awakens the power
within.
34. New things have to be learned, have to be introduced and
worked out, but is that to be done by sweeping away all that is
old, just because it is old?
35. The man who says he has nothing more to learn is already at
his last grasp As long as I live, so do I learn.
36. No one can save a person who hires a carriage to go from

one street to another, and then complain of diabetes.
37. By the control of the subconscious mind you get control over
the conscious.
38. It is the constant struggle against nature that constitutes

human progress, not conformity with it.
39. The very essence of education is concentration of mind, not

the collecting of facts.
40. As we get further and further away from sense-pleasures,

â€œknowledge for the sake of knowledgeâ€ becomes the
supreme pleasure of mind.
41. It is through the many that we reach the one.
42. The soul is the circle of which the circumference is nowhere,

but the center is the body. God is a circle whose circumference is
nowhere, but whose center is everywhere.
43. The body itself is the biggest disease.
44. If any one of you believes what I teach, I will be sorry. I will
only be too glad if I can excite in you the power of thinking for
yourselves.
45. When the world is the end and God the means to attain that
end, that is material. When God is the end and the world is only
the means to attain that end, spirituality has begun.
46. The fear of God is the beginning of religion, but the love of
God is the end of religion.
47. Do not give up anything! Things will give you up.
48. The sage is often ignorant of physical science, because he

reads the wrong book- the book within; and the scientist is too
often ignorant of religion, because he reads the wrong book- the
book without.
49. Experience is the only source of knowledge.
50. Do one thing at a time and while doing it put your whole soul
into it to the exclusion of all else.
51. Where there is life, there will be death; so get away from life
if you want to get rid of death.
52. Records of great spiritual men of the past do us no good

whatever except that they urge us onward to do the same, to
experience religion ourselves.
53. We may read all the Bibles of the world, but that will not give
us religion.
54. The brave alone can afford to be sincere.
55. he balance is so nice that if you disturb the equilibrium of

one atom, the whole world will come to an end.
56. Save the spiritual store in your body by observing

continence.
57 The wicked see in God wickedness. The virtuous see in Him

virtue.
58. When good nectar is unattainable, it is no reason why we

should eat poison.
59. Love to enemies is not possible for ordinary men.
60. Everything that comes from India take as true, until you
cogent reasons for disbelieving it. Everything that comes from
Europe take as false, until you find cogent reasons for believing
it.
61. The benefit of Yoga is that we learn to control instead of
being controlled.
62. Never talk about the faults of others, no matter how bad they
may be.
63. All quarrels and disputations concerning religion simply show

that religion is not present.
64. You must not criticize others, you must criticize yourself.
65. What you have inside you is what you see in others.
66. Our business is to verify not to swallow.
67. How can that be loveless which causes love in me?
68. You cannot judge a man by his faults.
69. You must believe in yourself and then you will believe in God.
70. If you are pure, if you are strong, you, one man, is equal to
the whole world.
71. Mother represents colorless love that knows no barter, love

that never dies.
72. We trust the man in the street, but there is one being in the
universe we never trust and that is God.
73. My motto is to learn whatever good things I may come across

anywhere.
74. The secret of religion lies not in theories but in practice.
75. Seek for the highest, aim at the highest, and you shall reach
the highest.
76. There is an ocean of difference between idleness and

renunciation.
78. The self-seeking man who is looking after personal comforts

and leading a lazy life, there is no room for him even in hell.
79. Hope is the greatest of all miseries, the highest bliss lies in
giving up hope.
80. No one ever succeeded in keeping society in good humor and

at the same time did great works.
81. Know that talking ill of others in private is a sin.
82. This Atman is not to be attained by one who is weak.

83. Whatever fosters materiality is no work.
84. Why look up to men for approbation, look up to God.
85. He who knows how to obey knows how to command.
86. Want of sympathy and lack of energy are at the root of all
misery.
87. India is the only place where, with all its faults, the soul finds
its freedom, its God.
88. It is the heart that conquers, not the brain.
89. All the strength is in you, have faith in it.
90. The body must go no mistake about that. It is better to wear

out than to rust out.
91. In every attempt there are many obstacles to cope with, but
gradually the path becomes smooth.
92. One must raise oneself by one's own exertions.
93. Both attachment and detachment perfectly developed make

a man great and happy.
94. Where there is struggle, where there is rebellion, there is a

sign of life, there consciousness is manifested.
95. Isn't it man that makes money? Where did you ever hear of
money making man?
96. He who always speculates as to what awaits him in future,

accomplishes nothing whatsoever.
97. Fear is one of the worst enemies.
98. If one intends to really find truth, one must not cling to
comfort.
99 We manufacture our own heaven and can make a heaven
even in hell.
100. The satisfaction of desire only increases it, as oil poured on

fire makes it burn more fiercely.
• When u r in light, everything will follow u. But when u enter dark, even your own
shadow will not follow u that is life.
• God made relatives. Thank God we can choose our friends
• Money glitters, beauty sparkles, and intelligence shines.
• Keep a very firm grasp on reality, so you can strangle it at any time.
• Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're getting.
• People may not always believe what you say, but they will believe what you do.
• I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific.
• You can't have everything - where would you put it?
• Laugh and the world ignore you. Crying doesn't help either.
• God is not moved or impressed with our worship until our hearts are moved and
impressed by Him.
• Life is like a mirror, if you frown at it, it frowns back; if you smile, it returns the
greeting.
• Never trust a person who isn't having at least one crisis.
• Goodness is the only investment that never fails.
• The only thing lazy people do fast is get tired.
• Never deprive someone of hope; it may be all they have.
• Silence is the only thing that can't be misquoted!
• If we don't control our money, it will control us.
• Life Insurance: A contract that keeps you poor all your life so that you can die rich..
• Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
• Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film.
• If you r living on the edge, make sure you're wearing your seat belt.
• A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to
read.
• Minds, like parachutes, only function when they are open.
• The shortest distance between two points is under construction.
• Learn from other people's mistakes, life isn't long enough to make them all yourself.
• On the road, never argue with a vehicle heavier than yours.
• One thing you can give and still keep is your word.
• Life is funny if you don't think about it.

• Life is like a grammar lesson. You find the past perfect and the present tense.
• There are two kinds of lawyers, those who know the law and those who know the
judge.
• More doors are opened with 'please' than with keys.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in the town of Porbandar in

the state of what is now Gujarat on 2 October 1869. He had his
schooling in nearby Rajkot, where his father served as the adviser or
prime minister to the local ruler. Though India was then under British
rule, over 500 kingdoms, principalities, and states were allowed
autonomy in domestic and internal affairs: these were the so-called
'native states'. Rajkot was one such state.
Gandhi later recorded the early years of his life in his extraordinary
autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth. His father died
before Gandhi could finish his schooling, and at thirteen he was
married to Kasturba [or Kasturbai], who was even younger. In 1888
Gandhi set sail for England, where he had decided to pursue a degree
in law. Though his elders objected, Gandhi could not be prevented from
leaving; and it is said that his mother, a devout woman, made him
promise that he would keep away from wine, women, and meat during
his stay abroad. Gandhi left behind his son Harilal, then a few months
old.
In London, Gandhi encountered theosophists, vegetarians, and others
who were disenchanted not only with industrialism, but with the legacy
of Enlightenment thought. They themselves represented the fringe
elements of English society. Gandhi was powerfully attracted to them,
as he was to the texts of the major religious traditions; and ironically it
is in London that he was introduced to the Bhagavad Gita. Here, too,
Gandhi showed determination and single-minded pursuit of his
purpose, and accomplished his objective of finishing his degree from
the Inner Temple. He was called to the bar in 1891, and even enrolled
in the High Court of London; but later that year he left for India.
After one year of a none too successful law practice, Gandhi decided to
accept an offer from an Indian businessman in South Africa, Dada
Abdulla, to join him as a legal adviser. Unbeknown to him, this was to
become an exceedingly lengthy stay, and altogether Gandhi was to
stay in South Africa for over twenty years. The Indians who had been
living in South Africa were without political rights, and were generally
known by the derogatory name of 'coolies'. Gandhi himself came to an
awareness of the frightening force and fury of European racism, and
how far Indians were from being considered full human beings, when
he when thrown out of a first-class railway compartment car, though
he held a first-class ticket, at Pietermaritzburg. From this political
awakening Gandhi was to emerge as the leader of the Indian
community, and it is in South Africa that he first coined the term
satyagraha to signify his theory and practice of active non-violent
resistance. Gandhi was to describe himself pre-eminently as a votary
or seeker of satya (truth), which could not be attained other than
through ahimsa (non-violence, love) and brahmacharya (celibacy,
striving towards God). Gandhi conceived of his own life as a series of
experiments to forge the use of satyagraha in such a manner as to
make the oppressor and the oppressed alike recognize their common
bonding and humanity: as he recognized, freedom is only freedom
when it is indivisible. In his book Satyagraha in South Africa he was to
detail the struggles of the Indians to claim their rights, and their
resistance to oppressive legislation and executive measures, such as
the imposition of a poll tax on them, or the declaration by the
government that all non-Christian marriages were to be construed as
invalid. In 1909, on a trip back to India, Gandhi authored a short
treatise entitled Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, where he all but
initiated the critique, not only of industrial civilization, but of modernity
in all its aspects.
Gandhi returned to India in early 1915, and was never to leave the
country again except for a short trip that took him to Europe in 1931.
Though he was not completely unknown in India, Gandhi followed the
advice of his political mentor, Gokhale, and took it upon himself to
acquire a familiarity with Indian conditions. He travelled widely for one
year. Over the next few years, he was to become involved in numerous
local struggles, such as at Champaran in Bihar, where workers on
indigo plantations complained of oppressive working conditions, and at
Ahmedabad, where a dispute had broken out between management
and workers at textile mills. His interventions earned Gandhi a
considerable reputation, and his rapid ascendancy to the helm of
nationalist politics is signified by his leadership of the opposition to
repressive legislation (known as the "Rowlatt Acts") in 1919. His
saintliness was not uncommon, except in someone like him who
immersed himself in politics, and by this time he had earned from no
less a person than Rabindranath Tagore, India's most well-known
writer, the title of Mahatma, or 'Great Soul'. When 'disturbances' broke
out in the Punjab, leading to the massacre of a large crowd of unarmed
Indians at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar and other atrocities, Gandhi
wrote the report of the Punjab Congress Inquiry Committee. Over the
next two years, Gandhi initiated the non-cooperation movement, which
called upon Indians to withdraw from British institutions, to return
honors conferred by the British, and to learn the art of self-reliance;
though the British administration was at places paralyzed, the
movement was suspended in February 1922 when a score of Indian
policemen were brutally killed by a large crowd at Chauri Chaura, a
small market town in the United Provinces. Gandhi himself was
arrested shortly thereafter, tried on charges of sedition, and sentenced
to imprisonment for six years. At The Great Trial, as it is known to his
biographers, Gandhi delivered a masterful indictment of British rule.
Owing to his poor health, Gandhi was released from prison in 1925.
Over the following years, he worked hard to preserve Hindu-Muslim
relations, and in 1924 he observed, from his prison cell, a 21-day fast
when Hindu-Muslim riots broke out at Kohat, a military barracks on the
Northwest Frontier. This was to be of his many major public fasts, and
in 1932 he was to commence the so-called Epic Fast unto death, since
he thought of "separate electorates" for the oppressed class of what
were then called untouchables (or harijans in Gandhi's vocabulary, and
dalits in today's language) as a retrograde measure meant to produce
permanent divisions within Hindu society. Gandhi earned the hostility
of Ambedkar, the leader of the untouchables, but few doubted that
Gandhi was genuinely interested in removing the serious disabilities
from which they suffered, just as no one doubt that Gandhi never
accepted the argument that Hindus and Muslims constituted two
separate elements in Indian society. These were some of the concerns
most prominent in Gandhi's mind, but he was also to initiate a
constructive programme for social reform. Gandhi had ideas -- mostly
sound -- on every subject, from hygiene and nutrition to education and
labor, and he relentlessly pursued his ideas in one of the many
newspapers which he founded. Indeed, were Gandhi known for nothing
else in India, he would still be remembered as one of the principal
figures in the history of Indian journalism.
In early 1930, as the nationalist movement was revived, the Indian
National Congress, the pre-eminent body of nationalist opinion,
declared that it would now be satisfied with nothing short of complete
independence (purna swaraj). Once the clarion call had been issued, it
was perforce necessary to launch a movement of resistance against
British rule. On March 2, Gandhi addressed a letter to the Viceroy, Lord
Irwin, informing him that unless Indian demands were met, he would
be compelled to break the "salt laws". Predictably, his letter was
received with bewildered amusement, and accordingly Gandhi set off,
on the early morning of March 12, with a small group of followers
towards Dandi on the sea. They arrived there on April 5th: Gandhi
picked up a small lump of natural salt, and so gave the signal to
hundreds of thousands of people to similarly defy the law, since the
British exercised a monopoly on the production and sale of salt. This
was the beginning of the civil disobedience movement: Gandhi himself
was arrested, and thousands of others were also hauled into jail. It is to
break this deadlock that Irwin agreed to hold talks with Gandhi, and
subsequently the British agreed to hold another Round Table
Conference in London to negotiate the possible terms of Indian
independence. Gandhi went to London in 1931 and met some of his
admirers in Europe, but the negotiations proved inconclusive. On his
return to India, he was once again arrested.
For the next few years, Gandhi would be engaged mainly in the
constructive reform of Indian society. He had vowed upon undertaking
the salt march that he would not return to Sabarmati Ashram in
Ahmedabad, where he had made his home, if India did not attain its
independence, and in the mid-1930s he established himself near a
remote village, in the dead center of India, by the name of Segaon. He
named his new home Sevagram - village of service. It is to this obscure
village, which was without electricity or running water, that India's
political leaders made their way to engage in discussions with Gandhi
about the future of the independence movement, and it is here that he
received visitors such as Margaret Sanger, the well-known American
proponent of birth-control. Gandhi also continued to travel throughout
the country, taking him wherever his services were required.
One such visit was to the Northwest Frontier, where he had in the
imposing Pathan, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (known by the endearing
term of "Frontier Gandhi", and at other times as Badshah [King] Khan),
a fervent disciple. At the outset of World War II, Gandhi and the
Congress leadership assumed a position of neutrality: while clearly
critical of fascism, they could not find it in themselves to support
British imperialism. Gandhi was opposed by Subhas Chandra Bose, who
had served as President of the Congress, and who took to the view that
Britain's moment of weakness was India's moment of opportunity.
When Bose ran for President of the Congress against Gandhi's wishes
and triumphed against Gandhi's own candidate, he found that Gandhi
still exercised influence over the Congress Working Committee, and
that it was near impossible to run the Congress if the cooperation of
Gandhi and his followers could not be procured. Bose tendered his
resignation, and shortly thereafter was to make a dramatic escape
from India to find support among the Japanese and the Nazis for his
plans to liberate India.
In 1942, Gandhi issued the last call for independence from British rule.
On the grounds of what is now known as August Kranti Maidan at
Mumbai, he delivered a stirring speech, asking every Indian to lay
down their life, if necessary, in the cause of freedom. He gave them
this mantra: "Do or Die"; at the same time, he asked the British to 'Quit
India'. The response of the British government was to place Gandhi
under arrest, and virtually the entire Congress leadership was to find
itself behind bars, not to be released until after the conclusion of the
war.
A few months after Gandhi and Kasturba had been placed in

confinement in the Aga Khan's Palace in Pune, Kasturba passed away:
this was a terrible blow to Gandhi, following closely on the heels of the
death of his private secretary of many years, the gifted Mahadev
Desai. In the period from 1942 to 1945, the Muslim League, which
represented the interest of certain Muslims and by now advocated the
creation of a separate homeland for Muslims, increasingly gained the
attention of the British, and supported them in their war effort. The
new government that came to power in Britain under Clement Atlee
was committed to the independence of India, and negotiations for
India's future began in earnest. Sensing that the political leaders were
now craving for power, Gandhi largely distanced himself from the
negotiations. He declared his opposition to the vivisection of India. It is
generally conceded, even by his detractors, that the last years of his
life were in some respects his finest. He walked from village to village
in riot-torn Noakhali, where Hindus were being killed in retaliation for
the killing of Muslims in Bihar, and nursed the wounded and consoled
the widowed; and in Calcutta he came to constitute, in the famous
words of the last viceroy, Mountbatten, a "one-man boundary force"
between Hindus and Muslims. The ferocious fighting in Calcutta came
to a halt, almost entirely on account of Gandhi's efforts, and even his
critics were wont to speak of the Gandhi's 'miracle of Calcutta'. When
the moment of freedom came, on 15 August 1947, Gandhi was
nowhere to be seen in the capital, though Nehru and the entire
Constituent Assembly were to salute him as the architect of Indian
independence, as the 'father of the nation'.
The last few months of Gandhi's life were to be spent mainly in the
capital city of Delhi. There he divided his time between the 'Bhangi
colony', where the sweepers and the lowest of the low stayed, and
Birla House, the residence of one of the wealthiest men in India and
one of the benefactors of Gandhi's ashrams. Hindu and Sikh refugees
had streamed into the capital from what had become Pakistan, and
there was much resentment, which easily translated into violence,
against Muslims. It was partly in an attempt to put an end to the
killings in Delhi, and more generally to the bloodshed following the
partition, which may have taken the lives of as many as 1 million
people, besides causing the dislocation of no fewer than 11 million,
that Gandhi was to commence the last fast unto death of his life. The
fast was terminated when representatives of all the communities
signed a statement that they were prepared to live in "perfect amity",
and that the lives, property, and faith of the Muslims would be
safeguarded. A few days later, a bomb exploded in Birla House where
Gandhi was holding his evening prayers, but it caused no injuries.
However, his assassin, a Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin by the name of
Nathuram Godse, was not so easily deterred. Gandhi, quite
characteristically, refused additional security, and no one could defy
his wish to be allowed to move around unhindered. In the early
evening hours of 30 January 1948, Gandhi met with India's Deputy
Prime Minister and his close associate in the freedom struggle,
Vallabhbhai Patel, and then proceeded to his prayers.
That evening, as Gandhi's time-piece, which hung from one of the folds
of his dhoti [loin-cloth], was to reveal to him, he was
uncharacteristically late to his prayers, and he fretted about his
inability to be punctual. At 10 minutes past 5 o'clock, with one hand
each on the shoulders of Abha and Manu, who were known as his
'living walking sticks', Gandhi commenced his walk towards the garden
where the prayer meeting was held. As he was about to mount the
steps of the podium, Gandhi folded his hands and greeted his audience
with a namaskar; at that moment, a young man came up to him and
roughly pushed aside Manu. Nathuram Godse bent down in the gesture
of an obeisance, took a revolver out of his pocket, and shot Gandhi
three times in his chest. Bloodstains appeared over Gandhi's white
woolen shawl; his hands still folded in a greeting, Gandhi blessed his
assassin: He Ram! He Ram! [Oh God! Oh God!]
As Gandhi fell, his faithful time-piece struck the ground, and the hands
of the watch came to a standstill. They showed, as they had done
before, the precise
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India

was born at Allahabad on 14 November 1889. He was the only son of
Motilal Nehru and Swarup Rani. From the age of 15 to 23 Jawaharlal
studied in England at Harrow, Cambridge and the Inner Temple
returning to India in 1912.
Even though he had a brilliant academic record, the legal profession
did not attract him. Instead, he wanted to join the freedom struggle
under the influence of Gandhiji. For a while he was the Chairman of the
Allahabad Municipal Committee as a member of the Congress and then
he joined the Home Rule League established by Bal Gangadhar Tilak
and Annie Besant.
During the freedom struggle, he courted arrest many a times, and had
been jailed 14 years in all. He was elected Congress President 5 times,
and it was under his influence in Lahore, that the Congress adopted
complete freedom as its goal. In 1947, after India gained its
independence, he was automatically elected first Prime Minister.
Jawaharlal Nehru remained the Prime Minister of India for 17 long years
and can rightly be called the architect of modern India. He set India on
the path of democracy and nurtured its institution - Parliament, multi-
party system, independent judiciary and free press. He encouraged
Panjayati Raj institutions.
With the foresight of a statesman he created institutions like Planning
Commission, National Science Laboratories and laid the foundation of a
vast public sector for developing infrastructure for industrial growth.
Besides, developing the public sector, Nehru also wanted to encourage
the private sector to establish a social order based on social justice he
emphasised the need of planned development. Nehru gave a clear
direction to India’s role in the comity of nations with the policy of non
alignment and the principle of Panchsheel, the five principles of
peaceful coexistence at a time when the rivalries of cold-war were
driving the humanity to its doom. His vision was that of extensive
application of science and technology and industrialisation for better
living and liberation from the clutches of poverty, superstition and
ignorance. Education to him was very important for internal freedom
and fearlessness. It was Nehru who insisted if the world was to exist at
all; it must exist as one. He was generous and gracious. Emotional
sensitivity and intellectual passion infused his writings, giving them
unusual appeal and topicality even today. He was awarded Bharat
Ratna in 1955. He never forgot India's great cultural heritage and liked
to combine tradition with modernity.
Jawaharlal was a prolific writer in English and wrote a number of books
like ‘The Discovery of India’, ‘Glimpses of World History’, his
autobiography, ‘towards Freedom' (1936) ran nine editions in the first
year alone. Emotional sensitivity and intellectual passion infused his
writings, giving them unusual appeal & topicality even today. He was
awarded Bharat Ratna in 1955.
Nehru as a Personality
Not only was he a brilliant orator, a charming, warm and noble thinker
and philosopher, but also a fantastic writer. He has written a few
wonderful books 'Discovery of India', 'Glimpses of World History' and '
Letters from a father to a daughter''.
On May 27, 1964, India lost a great influence. In the words of Dr.
Radhakrishnan "As a fighter for freedom he was illustrious as a maker
of a modern India, his services were unparalleled. His life and works
have had a profound influence on our mental make-up, social structure
and intellectual development."
Mahakavi Subramania Bharathiyar is is celebrated as one of India’s

greatest poets, with many of his composed poems and songs in the
Dravidian language Tamil, being popularised in schools, movies and
households across India over the years. He is a renowned poet of Tamil
Nadu, South India, and his literature is popular among Carnatic
musicians.
As a person, Bharathiyar was a simple man, interested in his writing

alone. His wife would leave the house to bring food somehow, while he
wrote and brought in little income for the poor family. However, his
writings have earned him the title (or laudatory epithet) “Mahakavi,”
which in Tamil means “Great Poet.” Bharathi was prolific and adept in
both prose, and poetry, known for its appeal to the liberty and strength
of the people - which also helped rally the masses to support the Indian
independence movement in Southern India. Bharathi lived during an
eventful period of Indian history; his contemporaries included other
prominent leaders of the Indian independence movement such as
Mahatma Gandhi, Tilak, Aurobindo and V.V.S.Aiyar.
Born to Chinnaswaamy Iyar and Lakshmi Ammal in 1882 at
Ettiyapuram, he lost his mother at 5, and at 11 was invited to a
conference of Ettiyapuram court poets and musicians. There he was
given the title Bharathi for his ability to compose poems and songs - he
accepted a challenge and composed a Chindu on the model of a Kavadi
Chindu of Annamalai Reddiar. He married Chellamal in 1897, and in
1898, his father died.
At 22, he became a Tamil teacher at Setupati High School in Madurai
and the same year was appointed Assistant Editor of a daily newspaper
called “Swadesamitran.” In 1906, he was editor of a weekly magazine
called “India” in Madras and the next year a friend of his,
Krishnaswaamy Aiyyar received from him songs he had composed on
patriotism and published them, titled “Sudhesa Geetangal”. In 1908
the government wanted to arrest him, but he escaped to Pondicerry
(under French rule) and published “India” from there. In 1912 he
translated the Bhagavad Geeta into simple Tamil (making it accessible
to Tamils who couldn’t understand Sanskrit) and composed songs on
Krishna (Kannan Paattu), “Kuyil”, and “Panchali Sabadam” (on
Draupadi of the epic Mahabharata). Other types of songs he composed
can be distinguished by; Patriotic, Phillosophical, Auto-biographical,
Devotional, Killikani (Kavadi Chindus), Kannamma (songs addressed to
his wife, Chellamma), Taalaatu (lullabies) and Miscellaneous songs.
When he left Pondicherry in 1918, he was arrested and later released.
His national integration songs earned him the title “Dhesiya Kavi”
(National Poet). He composed Tamil keertanais on love, devotion,
fearlessness, mysticism. His stepbrother C. Vishwanaata Iyer and V.V.S.
Iyer tells us that he himself set his songs to music and could sing them
well in a variety of raagams. In “Bharata Dheviyin Thiru Dasangam” he
used 10 different raagams. His patriotic songs emphasize nationalism,
unity of India, equality of man and the greatness of the Tamil language,
set himself to folk tunes. He sang these himself at Congress meetings
at the Madras beach.
Though he was fluent in Sanskrit (and other languages including
Bengali, Hindi, Sanskrit, Kutchi, French and English), he only composed
2 compositions purely in Sanskrit, with the vast majority being in the
rich language of Tamil. His voracious appetite for learning ancient and
contemporary Tamil literature derived some very astonishing insights
from the ancient poems.
In an article “Sangeeta Vishayam” (Issues in Music), Bharathiyar
rebukes musicians for singing songs of the Trinity, Patnam Subramania
Iyer and others without knowing the meaning because the songs are all
in Sanskrit or Telegu. Without knowing the meaning, singers are unable
to sing with proper expression. He also says songs usually portray
devotion and love and not other emotions like courage,
anger, wonder, fear, and hatred. He emphasized that
musicians should not sing songs which they don’t
understand and should learn from Hindustani musicians
how to train their voices.
Bharathi’s health was badly affected by the imprisonments
and by 1920, when a General Amnesty Order finally
removed restrictions on his movements, Bharathy was
struggling in penury and failing health resulting in his tragic
premature death. Bharathi was struck by an elephant at
Parthasarathy temple, Thiruvallikeni, Chennai. He however
survived the mishap. A few months later his health deteriorated and he
died on September 11, 1921, not yet forty years of age. His funeral
was attended by only seven people.
Bharathiyar tuned a lot of his songs, however, not all of them were
recovered, so other musicians tend to tune his compositions too. Some
of the songs of Bharathiyar that are very popular in the Carnatic music
concert circuit include: Theeratha Vilaiyattu Pillai, Chinnanchiru Kiliye,
Suttum Vizhi, Thikku Theriyaatha, Senthamizh Nadenum, and
Paarukkule Nalla Naadu. Usually, Bharati’s songs are rendered towards
the end of the concert more for their aesthetic appeal rather than
musical grammar alone. However, recently, many musicians have held
thematic concerts, rendering Bharathiyar’s items alone.
Born: January 23, 1897

Died: August 18, 1945
Achievements: Passed Indian Civil Services Exam; elected Congress
President in 1938 and 1939; formed a new party All India Forward
block; organized Azad Hind Fauj to overthrow British Empire from India.
Subhas Chandra Bose, affectionately called as Netaji, was one of the
most prominent leaders of Indian freedom struggle. Though Mahatma
Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru have garnered much of the credit for
successful culmination of Indian freedom struggle, the contribution of
Subash Chandra Bose is no less. He has been denied his rightful place
in the annals of Indian history. He founded Indian National Army (Azad
Hind Fauj) to overthrow British Empire from India and came to acquire
legendary status among Indian masses.
Subhas Chandra Bose was born on January 23, 1897 in Cuttack, Orissa.
His father Janaki Nath Bose was a famous lawyer and his mother
Prabhavati Devi was a pious and religious lady. Subhas Chandra Bose
was the ninth child among fourteen siblings. Subhas Chandra Bose was
a brilliant student right from the childhood. He topped the
matriculation examination of Calcutta province and graduated with a
First Class in Philosophy from the Scottish Churches College in
Calcutta. He was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda's
teachings and was known for his patriotic zeal as a student. To fulfill his
parents wishes he went to England in 1919 to compete for Indian Civil
Services. In England he appeared for the Indian Civil Service
competitive examination in 1920, and came out fourth in order of
merit. However, Subhas Chandra Bose was deeply disturbed by the
Jallianwalla Bagh massacre, and left his Civil Services apprenticeship
midway to return to India in 1921
After returning to India Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose came under the
influence of Mahatma Gandhi and joined the Indian National Congress.
On Gandhiji's instructions, he started working under Deshbandhu
Chittaranjan Das, whom he later acknowledged his political guru. Soon
he showed his leadership mettle and gained his way up in the
Congress' hierarchy. In 1928 the Motilal Nehru Committee appointed by
the Congress declared in favour of Domination Status, but Subhas
Chandra Bose along with Jawaharlal Nehru opposed it, and both
asserted that they would be satisfied with nothing short of complete
independence for India. Subhas also announced the formation of the
Independence League. Subhas Chandra Bose was jailed during Civil
Disobedience movement in 1930. He was released in 1931 after
Gandhi-Irwin pact was signed. He protested against the Gandhi-Irwin
pact and opposed the suspension of Civil Disobedience movement
specially when Bhagat Singh and his associates were hanged.
Subash Chandra Bose was soon arrested again under the infamous
Bengal Regulation. After an year he was released on medical grounds
and was banished from India to Europe. He took steps to establish
centres in different European capitals with a view to promoting politico-
cultural contacts between India and Europe. Defying the ban on his
entry to India, Subash Chandra Bose returned to India and was again
arrested and jailed for a year. After the General Elections of 1937,
Congress came to power in seven states and Subash Chandra Bose
was released. Shortly afterwards he was elected President of the
Haripura Congress Session in 1938. During his term as Congress
President, he talked of planning in concrete terms, and set up a
National planning Committee in October that year. At the end of his
first term, the presidential election to the Tripuri Congress session took
place early 1939. Subhas Chandra Bose was re-elected, defeating Dr.
Pattabhi Sitaramayya who had been backed by Mahatma Gandhi and
the Congress Working Committee. Clouds of World War II were on the
horizon and he brought a resolution to give the British six months to
hand India over to the Indians, failing which there would be a revolt.
There was much opposition to his rigid stand, and he resigned from the
post of president and formed a progressive group known as the
Forward Block.
Subhas Chandra Bose now started a mass movement against utilizing
Indian resources and men for the great war. There was a tremendous
response to his call and he was put under house arrest in Calcutta. In
January 1941, Subhas Chandra Bose disappeared from his home in
Calcutta and reached Germany via Afghanistan. Working on the maxim
that "an enemy's enemy is a friend", he sought cooperation of
Germany and Japan against British Empire. In January 1942, he began
his regular broadcasts from Radio Berlin, which aroused tremendous
enthusiasm in India. In July 1943, he arrived in Singapore from
Germany. In Singapore he took over the reins of the Indian
Independence Movement in East Asia from Rash Behari Bose and
organised the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) comprising mainly
of Indian prisoners of war. He was hailed as Netaji by the Army as well
as by the Indian civilian population in East Asia. Azad Hind Fauj
proceeded towards India to liberate it from British rule. Enroute it
lliberated Andeman and Nicobar Islands. The I.N.A. Head quarters was
shifted to Rangoon in January 1944. Azad Hind Fauj crossed the Burma
Border, and stood on Indian soil on March 18 , 1944.
However, defeat of Japan and Germany in the Second World War forced
INA to retreat and it could not achieve its objective. Subhas Chandra
Bose was reportedly killed in an air crash over Taipeh, Taiwan
(Formosa) on August 18, 1945. Though it is widely believed that he was
still alive after the air crash not much information could be found about
him.
Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje*, Macedonia,

on August 26**, 1910. Her family was of Albanian descent. At the age
of twelve, she felt strongly the call of God. She knew she had to be a
missionary to spread the love of Christ. At the age of eighteen she left
her parental home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish
community of nuns with missions in India. After a few months' training
in Dublin she was sent to India, where on May 24, 1931, she took her
initial vows as a nun. From 1931 to 1948 Mother Teresa taught at St.
Mary's High School in Calcutta, but the suffering and poverty she
glimpsed outside the convent walls made such a deep impression on
her that in 1948 she received permission from her superiors to leave
the convent school and devote herself to working among the poorest of
the poor in the slums of Calcutta. Although she had no funds, she
depended on Divine Providence, and started an open-air school for
slum children. Soon she was joined by voluntary helpers, and financial
support was also forthcoming. This made it possible for her to extend
the scope of her work.
On October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from the Holy
See to start her own order, "The Missionaries of Charity", whose
primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was
prepared to look after. In 1965 the Society became an International
Religious Family by a decree of Pope Paul VI.
Today the order comprises Active and Contemplative branches of

Sisters and Brothers in many countries. In 1963 both the
Contemplative branch of the Sisters and the Active branch of the
Brothers was founded. In 1979 the Contemplative branch of the
Brothers was added, and in 1984 the Priest branch was established.
The Society of Missionaries has spread all over the world, including the
former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. They provide
effective help to the poorest of the poor in a number of countries in
Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and they undertake relief work in the
wake of natural catastrophes such as floods, epidemics, and famine,
and for refugees. The order also has houses in North America, Europe
and Australia, where they take care of the shut-ins, alcoholics,
homeless, and AIDS sufferers.
The Missionaries of Charity throughout the world are aided and

assisted by Co-Workers who became an official International
Association on March 29, 1969. By the 1990s there were over one
million Co-Workers in more than 40 countries. Along with the Co-
Workers, the lay Missionaries of Charity try to follow Mother Teresa's
spirit and charism in their families.
Mother Teresa's work has been recognised and acclaimed throughout

the world and she has received a number of awards and distinctions,
including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971) and the Nehru Prize for
her promotion of international peace and understanding (1972). She
also received the Balzan Prize (1979) and the Templeton and
Magsaysay awards.
Indira Gandhi (1917-1984) was the only child of Kamla and Jawaharlal
Nehru. She spent part of her childhood in Allahabad, where the Nehrus
had their family residence, and part in Switzerland, where her mother
Kamla convalesced from her periodic illnesses. She received her
college education at Somerville College, Oxford. A famous photograph
from her childhood shows her sitting by the bedside of Mahatma
Gandhi, as he recovered from one of his fasts; and though she was not
actively involved in the freedom struggle, she came to know the entire
Indian political leadership. After India's attainment of independence,
and the ascendancy of Jawaharlal Nehru, now a widower, to the office
of the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi managed the official residence of
her father, and accompanied him on his numerous foreign trips. She
had been married in 1942 to Feroze Gandhi, who rose to some
eminence as a parliamentarian and politician of integrity but found
himself disliked by his more famous father-in-law, but Feroze died in
1960 before he could consolidate his own political forces.
In 1964, the year of her father's death, Indira Gandhi was for the first
time elected to Parliament, and she was Minister of Information and
Broadcasting in the government of Lal Bahadur Shastri, who died
unexpectedly of a heart attack less than two years after assuming
office. The numerous contenders for the position of the Prime
Ministership, unable to agree among themselves, picked Indira Gandhi
as a compromise candidate, and each thought that she would be easily
manipulable. But Indira Gandhi showed extraordinary political skills
and tenacity and elbowed the Congress dons -- Kamaraj, Morarji Desai,
and others -- out of power. She held the office of the Prime Minister
from 1966 to 1977. She was riding the crest of popularity after India's
triumph in the war of 1971 against Pakistan, and the explosion of a
nuclear device in 1974 helped to enhance her reputation among
middle-class Indians as a tough and shrewd political leader. However,
by 1973, Delhi and north India were rocked by demonstrations angry at
high inflation, the poor state of the economy, rampant corruption, and
the poor standards of living. In June 1975, the High Court of Allahabad
found her guilty of using illegal practices during the last election
campaign, and ordered her to vacate her seat. There were demands for
her resignation.
Mrs. Gandhi's response was to declare a state of emergency, under
which her political foes were imprisoned, constitutional rights
abrogated, and the press placed under strict censorship. Meanwhile,
the younger of her two sons, Sanjay Gandhi, started to run the country
as though it were his personal fiefdom, and earned the fierce hatred of
many whom his policies had victimized. He ordered the removal of
slum dwellings, and in an attempt to curb India's growing population,
initiated a highly resented program of forced sterilization. In early
1977, confident that she had debilitated her opposition, Mrs. Gandhi
called for fresh elections, and found herself trounced by a newly
formed coalition of several political parties. Her Congress party lost
badly at the polls. Many declared that she was a spent force; but, three
years later, she was to return as Prime Minister of India. The same
year, however, her son Sanjay was killed in an airplane crash.
In the second, post-Emergency, period of her Prime Ministership, Indira
Gandhi was preoccupied by efforts to resolve the political problems in
the state of Punjab. In her attempt to crush the secessionist movement
of Sikh militants, led by Jarnail Singh Bindranwale, she ordered an
assault upon the holiest Sikh shrine in Amritsar, called the "Golden
Temple". It is here that Bindranwale and his armed supporters had
holed up, and it is from the Golden Temple that they waged their
campaign of terrorism not merely against the Government, but against
moderate Sikhs and Hindus. "Operation Bluestar", waged in June 1984,
led to the death of Bindranwale, and the Golden Temple was stripped
clean of Sikh terrorists; however, the Golden Temple was damaged,
and Mrs. Gandhi earned the undying hatred of Sikhs who bitterly
resented the desacralization of their sacred space. In November of the
same year, Mrs. Gandhi was assassinated, at her residence, by two of
her own Sikh bodyguards, who claimed to be avenging the insult
heaped upon the Sikh nation.
Mrs. Gandhi acquired a formidable international reputation as a
"statesman", and there is no doubt that she was extraordinarily skilled
in politics. She was prone, like many other politicians, to thrive on
slogans, and one -- Garibi Hatao, "Remove Poverty" -- became the
rallying cry for one of her election campaigns. She had an authoritarian
streak, and though a cultured woman, rarely tolerated dissent; and she
did, in many respects, irreparable harm to Indian democracy. Apart
from her infamous imposition of the internal emergency, the use of the
army to resolve internal disputes greatly increased in her time; and she
encouraged a culture of sycophancy and nepotism. At her death, her
older son, Rajiv Gandhi, was sworn in as head of the Congress party
and Prime Minister.
Lal Bahadur Shastri (born 1904) succeeded Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime

Minister of India in 1964. Though eclipsed by such stalwarts of the
Congress party as Kamaraj (the Kingmaker) and Morarji Desai, Finance
Minister in Nehru's government, Shastri emerged as the consensus
candidate in the midst of party warfare. He had not been in power long
before he had to attend to the difficult matter of Pakistani aggression,
as represented by India, along the Rann of Kutch; and though a cease-
fire under the auspices of the United Nations put a temporary halt to
the fighting, the scene of conflict soon shifted to the more troubled
spot of Kashmir. While Pakistan claimed that a spontaneous uprising
against the Indian occupation of Kashmir had taken place, India
charged Pakistan with fomenting sedition inside its territory and
sending armed raiders into Jammu and Kashmir from Azad Kashmir.
Shastri promised to meet force with force, and by early September the
second Indo-Pakistan war had commenced.
Though the Indian army reached the outskirts of Lahore, Shastri agreed
to withdraw Indian forces. He had always been identified with the
interests of the working class and peasants since the days of his
involvement with the freedom struggle, and now his popularity agree.
But his triumph was short-lived: invited in January 1966 by the Russian
Premier, Aleksei Kosygin, to Tashkent for a summit with General
Muhammad Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan and commander of the
nation's armed forces, Shastri suffered a fatal heart attack hours after
signing a treaty where India and Pakistan agreed to not meddle in each
other's internal affairs and "not to have recourse to force and to settle
their disputes through peaceful means. Shastri's body was brought
back to India, and a memorial, not far from the national memorial to
Mahatma Gandhi, was built to honor him. It says, in fitting testimony to
Shastri, "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" ("Honor the Soldier, Honor the Farmer").
He is, however, a largely forgotten figure, another victim of the
engineering of India's social memory by Indira Gandhi and her clan.
Swami Vivekananda was the disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansa. He

founded the Ramakrishna mission to spread the teachings of his Guru
throughout the world. One of the most famous and influential spiritual
leaders of India, he sought to promote the philosophies of Vedanta and
Yoga. Swami Vivekananda was the first spiritual leader of India who
introduced Hinduism, Yoga and Vedanta at the World's Parliament of
Religions. Read this biography further to know more about Swami
Vivekananda, his teachings and his life history.
Early Life
Swami Vivekananda was born as Narendranath Dutta in Calcutta (now
Kolkata), in the year 1863. Even as a child, Narendra showed a high
level of intelligence and a deep inclination towards meditation. He
joined Presidency College of Calcutta in 1879 for one year and then
entered Scottish Church College to study philosophy. By this time,
Narendra started questioning God and His presence. He also became a
part of the Brahmo Samaj, a religious movement. Unsatisfied with only
congregational prayers and devotional songs, he started looking
elsewhere to find answers to his questions.
Meeting Ramakrishna and Renunciation
His search led Narendra towards Ramakrishna, whom he met in
November 1881. After testing Ramakrishna to his maximum limit,
Narendra accepted him wholeheartedly as his Guru. He remained with
Ramakrishna for a period of five years. After the death of his Guru,
Narendra took his vows as a monk, renounced the world and became
Swami Vivekananda. In July 1890, Narendra started his journey as a
wanderer, roaming around the country promoting the teachings of his
Guru.
Ramakrishna Mission
Swami Vivekananda established the Ramakrishna Mission to spread the
teachings of his Guru, Ramakrishna, far and wide. He left for the holy
abode in 1902, at the Belur Math, near Calcutta.
Swami Vivekananda Teachings
• Each individual is himself responsible for making or breaking
his life. He should concentrate on his goal and should not rest
until it is achieved.
• God in Nirankar (formless), with attributes.
• God is one and different religions serve as a path towards the
same God.
• God is present in every living being and he, who serves others,
serves God.
• Human being should strive towards truth, purity, sincerity,
morals and unselfishness.
• The quintessence of every religion is to make people realize
the highest spiritual truth.
• To be good and to do good is the main aim of every individual.
PERSONAL DATA: Born in Karnal, India. Died on February 1, 2003

over the southern United States when Space Shuttle Columbia and the
crew perished during entry, 16 minutes prior to scheduled landing. She
is survived by her husband. Kalpana Chawla enjoyed flying, hiking,
back-packing, and reading. She held a Certificated Flight Instructor's
license with airplane and glider ratings, Commercial Pilot's licenses for
single- and multi-engine land and seaplanes, and Gliders, and
instrument rating for airplanes. She enjoyed flying aerobatics and tail-
wheel airplanes.
EDUCATION: Graduated from Tagore School, Karnal, India, in 1976.
Bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab
Engineering College, India, 1982. Master of science degree in
aerospace engineering from University of Texas, 1984. Doctorate of
philosophy in aerospace engineering from University of Colorado,
1988.
AWARDS: Posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of
Honor, the NASA Space Flight Medal, and the NASA Distinguished
Service Medal.
EXPERIENCE: In 1988, Kalpana Chawla started work at NASA Ames
Research Center in the area of powered-lift computational fluid
dynamics. Her research concentrated on simulation of complex air
flows encountered around aircraft such as the Harrier in "ground-
effect." Following completion of this project she supported research in
mapping of flow solvers to parallel computers, and testing of these
solvers by carrying out powered lift computations. In 1993 Kalpana
Chawla joined Overset Methods Inc., Los Altos, California, as Vice
President and Research Scientist to form a team with other researchers
specializing in simulation of moving multiple body problems. She was
responsible for development and implementation of efficient
techniques to perform aerodynamic optimization. Results of various
projects that Kalpana Chawla participated in are documented in
technical conference papers and journals.
NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in December 1994, Kalpana
Chawla reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995 as an
astronaut candidate in the 15th Group of Astronauts. After completing
a year of training and evaluation, she was assigned as crew
representative to work technical issues for the Astronaut Office
EVA/Robotics and Computer Branches. Her assignments included work
on development of Robotic Situational Awareness Displays and testing
space shuttle control software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration
Laboratory. In November, 1996, Kalpana Chawla was assigned as
mission specialist and prime robotic arm operator on STS-87. In
January 1998, she was assigned as crew representative for shuttle and
station flight crew equipment, and subsequently served as lead for
Astronaut Office’s Crew Systems and Habitability section. She flew on
STS-87 (1997) and STS-107 (2003), logging 30 days, 14 hours and 54
minutes in space.
SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-87 Columbia (November 19 to
December 5, 1997). STS-87 was the fourth U.S Microgravity Payload
flight and focused on experiments designed to study how the
weightless environment of space affects various physical processes,
and on observations of the Sun's outer atmospheric layers. Two
members of the crew performed an EVA (spacewalk) which featured
the manual capture of a Spartan satellite, in addition to testing EVA
tools and procedures for future Space Station assembly. STS-87 made
252 orbits of the Earth, traveling 6.5 million miles in in 376 hours and
34 minutes.
STS-107 Columbia (January 16 to February 1, 2003). The 16-day flight
was a dedicated science and research mission. Working 24 hours a
day, in two alternating shifts, the crew successfully conducted
approximately 80 experiments. The STS-107 mission ended abruptly on
February 1, 2003 when Space Shuttle Columbia and the crew perished
during entry, 16 minutes prior to scheduled landing.
Bhagat Singh was born in September 27, 1907 in the village Banga of
Layalpur to Mata Vidyavati and Sardar Kishan Singh. Bhagat Singh
grew up in a patriotic atmosphere as his father and uncle, were great
freedom fighters and were put in jail many times by the British.
Bhagat Singh grew up at a time when the Freedom struggle was all
around him. Since his young age he wondered why so many Indians
could not get freedom from a few British invaders, he dreamed of a
free India. The massacre at Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919 drove
him to go to Amritsar, where he kissed the earth and brought back
home a little of the blood soaked soil, he was just 12 years old then.
Kartar Sing Sarabha, hanged at the age of 19 by the British was Bhagat
Singh's hero.
Bhagat Singh, along with the help of Chandrashekhar Azad, formed the
Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA). The aim of this Indian
revolutionary movement was defined as not only to make India
independent, but also to create "a socialist India."
In February 1928, a committee from England visited India. It came to
be known as the Simon Commission. The purpose of its visit was to
decide how much freedom and responsibility could be given to the
people of India. Indian freedom fighters started an agitation called
"Simon go back". It was in this agitation that during a police
lathicharge, Lala Lajpat Rai was hurt and died. To avenge the death of
Lala Lajpat rai, Bhagat Singh and Rajguru shot and killed the British
Officer who had hit Lala Lajpat Rai.
In April 1929, the Central Legislative Assembly met in Delhi. The British
Government wanted to place before the Assembly two bills which were
likely to harm the country's interests. Even if the Assembly rejected
them, the Viceroy could use his special powers and approve them, and
they would become laws. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt planned
to throw a bomb in the Legislative Assembly and, get arrested. On 8th
of April 1929 this is what they exactly did. The idea of the attack was
not to kill anyone but to create awareness about India's freedom
struggle. They were arrested after this attack.
In their trial Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt stated, "If the deaf
are to hear, the sound has to be very loud. When we dropped the
bomb, it was not our intention to kill anybody. We have bombed the
British Government. The British must quit India and make her free."
In the trial it was decided that Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru
were to be hanged for all their anti British activities. On 24th of March
1931 Bhagat Singh walked upto the hanging rope kissed it and put it
around his neck to be hanged.
Bhagat Singh became "Shaheed Bhagat Singh" or Martyr at the age of
24. The stories of his courage and patriotism became an inspiration for
many youth at that time who wanted to see India independent. Even
today Shaheed Bhagat Singh's memory continues to inspire the youth
and many poems and songs have been written about his courage and
undying patriotism.
Born: October 31, 1875

Died: December 15, 1950
Achievements: Successfully led Kheda Satyagraha and Bardoli revolt
against British government; elected Ahmedabad's municipal president
in 1922, 1924 and 1927; elected Congress President in 1931; was
independent India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister;
played a key role in political integration of India; conferred Bharat
Ratna in 1991.
Sardar Patel was popularly known as Iron Man of India. His full name
was Vallabhbhai Patel. He played a leading role in the Indian freedom
struggle and became the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home
Minister of India. He is credited with achieving political integration of
India.
Vallabhbhai Patel was born on October 31, 1875 in Nadiad, a small
village in Gujarat. His father Jhaverbhai was a farmer and mother Laad
Bai was a simple lady. Sardar Vallabhai's early education took place in
Karamsad. Then he joined a school in Petlad. After two years he joined
a high school in a town called Nadiad. He passed his high school
examination in 1896. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was a brilliant student
throughout his schooling.
Vallabhbhai wanted to become a barrister. To realize this ambition he
had to go to England. But he did not have the financial means to even
join a college India. In those days a candidate could study in private
and sit for an examination in Law. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel borrowed
books from a lawyer of his acquaintance and studied at home.
Occasionally he attended courts of law and listened attentively to the
arguments of lawyer. Vallabhbhai passed the Law examination with
flying colours.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel started his Law practice in Godhra. Soon his
practice flourished. He got married to Jhaberaba. In 1904, he got a
baby daughter Maniben, and in 1905 his son Dahyabhai was born.
Vallabhbhai sent his elder brother Vitthalbhai, who himself was a
lawyer, to England for higher studies in Law. Patel was only thirty-three
years old when his wife died. He did not wish to marry again. After his
brother's return, Vallabhbhai went to England. He studied with single-
minded devotion and stood first in the Barrister-at-Law Examination.
Sardar Patel returned to India in 1913 and started his practice in
Ahmedabad. Soon he became popular. At the urging of his friends,
Patel contested and won elections to become the sanitation
commissioner of Ahmedabad in 1917. Sardar Patel was deeply
impressed by Gandhiji's success in Champaran Satyagraha. In 1918,
there was a drought in the Kheda division of Gujarat. Peasants asked
for relief from the high rate of taxes but the British government
refused. Gandhiji took up peasants cause but could not devote his full
time in Kheda. He was looking for someone who could lead the
struggle in his absence. At this point Sardar Patel volunteered to come
forward and lead the struggle. He gave up his lucrative legal practice
and entered public life.
Vallabhbhai successfully led peasants revolt in Kheda and the revolt
ended in 1919 when the British government agreed to suspend
collection of revenue and roll back the rates. Kheda Satyagraha turned
Vallabhbhai Patel into a national hero. Vallabhbhai supported Gandhi's
Non-Cooperation Movement, and as president of the Gujarat Congress,
helped in organizing bonfires of British goods in Ahmedabad. He gave
up his English clothes and started wearing Khadi. Sardar Vallabh Bhai
Patel was elected Ahmedabad's municipal president in 1922, 1924 and
1927. During his terms, Ahmedabad was extended a major supply of
electricity and underwent major education reforms. Drainage and
sanitation systems were extended over all the city.
In 1928, Bardoli Taluka in Gujarat suffered from floods and famine. In
this hour of distress the British government raised the revenue taxes
by thirty percent. Sardar Patel took up cudgels on behalf of the farmers
and appealed to the Governor to reduce the taxes. The Governor
refused and the government even announced the date of the collection
of the taxes. Sardar Patel organized the farmers and told them not to
pay even a single pie of tax. The government tried to repress the revolt
but ultimately bowed before Vallabhbhai Patel. It was during the
struggle and after the victory in Bardoli that caused intense excitement
across India, that Patel was increasingly addressed by his colleagues
and followers as Sardar.
Sardar Patel was imprisoned during Civil Disobedience Movement in
1930. After the signing of Gandhi-Irwin pact in 1931, Sardar Patel was
released and he was elected Congress president for its 1931 session in
Karachi. Upon the failure of the Round Table Conference in London,
Gandhiji and Sardar Patel were arrested in January 1932 and
imprisoned in the Yeravada Central Jail. During this term of
imprisonment, Sardar Patel and Mahatma Gandhi grew close to one
another, and the two developed a close bond of affection, trust, and
frankness without reserve. Sardar Patel was finally released in July
1934.
In August 1942, the Congress launched the Quit India Movement. The
government jailed all the important leaders of the Congress, including
Vallabhai Patel. All the leaders were released after three years. After
achieving independence on 15th of August 1947, Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru became the first Prime Minister of independent India and Sardar
Patel became the Deputy Prime Minister. He was in charge of Home
Affairs, Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of States.
There were 565 princely states in India at that time. Some of the
Maharajas and Nawabs who ruled over these were sensible and
patriotic. But most of them were drunk with wealth and power. They
were dreaming of becoming independent rulers once the British quit
India. They argued that the government of free India should treat them
as equals. Some of them went to the extent of planning to send their
representatives to the United Nations Organization. Patel invoked the
patriotism of India's monarchs, asking them to join in the freedom of
their nation and act as responsible rulers who cared about the future of
their people. He persuaded the princes of 565 states of the
impossibility of independence from the Indian republic, especially in
the presence of growing opposition from their subjects. With great
wisdom and political foresight, he consolidated the small kingdoms.
The public was with him. He tackled the Nizam of Hyderabad and the
Nawab of Junagarh who initially did not want to join India. Sardar
Patel's untiring efforts towards the unity of the country brought
success. He united a scattered nation without much bloodshed. Due to
the achievement of this massive task, Sardar Patel got the title of 'Iron
Man'. Sardar Patel died of cardiac arrest on December 15, 1950. For his
services to the nation Sardar Patel was conferred with Bharat Ratna in
1991.
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, popularly known as Dr. A.P.J.

Abdul Kalam, the son of a little educated boat-owner in Rameswaram,
Tamil Nadu, has become the 11th President of the Republic of India.
Dr. Kalam was born on October 15, 1931. He had a secured childhood
both materially and emotionally. To quote from his autobiography
Wings of Fire: “I was born into a middle-class Tamil family in the island
town of Rameswaram in Madras state. My father, Jainulabdeen,
possessed neither much formal education nor much wealth; despite
these disadvantages, he possessed great innate wisdom and a true
generosity of spirit. He had an ideal helpmate in my mother,
Ashiamma. I do not recall the exact number of people she fed
everyday, but I am quite certain that far more outsiders ate with us
than all the members of our own family…We lived in our ancestral
house, which was built in the middle of the 19th century. It was a fairly
large pucca house, made of limestone and brick, on the Mosque Street
of Rameswaram.
My austere father used to avoid all inessential comforts and luxuries.

However, all that was needed was provided for, in terms of food,
medicine or cloths. In fact, I would say mine was a very secure
childhood, both materially and emotionally.” Dr. Kalam’s father
commanded a high respect as a religious man. Dr, Kalam has
acknowledged that his scientific accomplishment and his views are
very much influenced by his parents and other well-wishers. To quote
him from his autobiography : “Every child is born, with some
characteristics, into a specific socio-economic and emotional
environment, and trained along the way, in certain ways by figures of
authority. I inherited honesty and self-discipline from my father; from
my mother, I inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness as did my
three brothers and sisters. But it was the time I spent with Jallaluddin
and Samsuddin that perhaps contributed most to the uniqueness of my
childhood and made all the difference in my later life. The unschooled
wisdom of Jallauddin and Samsuddin was so intuitive, responsive to
non-verbal messages that I can unhesitatingly attribute my
subsequently manifested creativity to their company in my childhood.”
It may be noted that Ahmed Jallaluddin was a close friend of Dr. Kalam
and Somesuddin was his first cousins.
After studying in a primary school in Ramaeswaran, Dr. Kalam went to

Schwartz High School at Ramanathpuram from where he went to
Tiruchchirapalli for his higher studies. Dr. Kalam wrote : “By the time I
completed my education at Schwartz, I was a self-confident boy with
the determination to be successful. The decision to go in for further
education was taken without a second thought. To us, in those days,
the awarness of the possibilities for a professional education did not
exist; higher education simply meant going to college. The nearest
college was at Tiruchchirapalli, spelled Trichinopoly those days, and
called Trichi for short. “
After completing his BSc from St. Joseph’s college he joined the Madras
Institute of Technology (MIT), for studying aeronautical engineering.
From MIT, he went to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at
Bangalore as a trainee. As aeronautical engineer Dr. Kalam had two
options -- in short, to join the Directorate of Technical Development and
Production, or DTD & P (Air) of the Ministry of Defence or the Indian Air
Force. As he could not make it to Indian Air Force, Dr. Kalam joined the
Technical Centre (Civil Aviation) of the DTD&P (Air) as Senior Scientific
Assistant on a basic salary of Rs. 250/-. While working at the Air force
Directorate he got a chance to realise his dream. He joined the Indian
Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), the predecessor of the
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). And thus Kalam started his
much talked about career in rocket and missile technology
Dr. Kalam has been often referred to as the "Missile Man of India" and
was the Project Director of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch
Vehicle (SLV-III). Career. He graduated in aeronautical engineering from
the Madras Institute of Technology in 1958 and joined the Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). In 1962, Kalam
joined the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). In 1982, he
rejoined DRDO as the Chief Executive of Integrated Guided Missile
Development Programme (IGMDP). Dr. Kalam is credited with the
development and operationalisation of India's Agni and Prithvi missiles.
He worked as the Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and
Secretary, Department of Defence Research & Development from 1992
to 1999. During this period , the Pokhran-II nuclear tests were
conducted. Dr. Kalam held the office of the Principal Scientific Advisor
to the Government of India from November 1999 to November 2001.
Dr. Kalam took up teaching at Anna University, Chennai from
November 2001. He is a prolific author. His books , "Wings of Fire",
"India 2020 - A Vision for the New Millennium", "My journey" and
"Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power within India" have become
bestsellers. He is a favourite with children all over the country and has
met children all over the country and has encouraged them with his
learned talks.
Dr. Kalam has received a host of awards both in India and abroad. He
was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma Vibhushan 1990 and
the Bharat Ratna in 1997. He is of the view that we should work
wholeheartedly to make India a developed nation by 2020.Besides
being a bachelor, Kalam is a strict disciplarinian, a complete vegetarian
and teetotaler. Among the many firsts to his credit, he became India's
first President to undertake an undersea journey when he boarded the
INS Sindhurakshak, a submarine, from Visakhapatnam. He also became
the first president to undertake a sortie in an fighter aircraft, a Sukhoi-
30 MKI.
On November 10, 2001, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam quit as principal scientific
advisor to the government. Sources close to Kalam, said he quit
because of "lack of executive authority". However Kalam had been for
quite some time keen on pursuing academic interests and helping
scientists across the country in developing their research capabilities.
Thats why after quitting he took over the job as distinguished professor
at Anna University.
On July 25, 2002, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was sworn in as the 11th
President of India by Chief Justice of India B.N. Kirpal in the Central Hall
of Parliament at an impressive function telecast live across the country.
Kalam took the oath in the name of God as a 21-gun salute boomed in
the background.
A notable engineer, he is often referred to as the Missile Man of India
for his work and is considered a progressive mentor, innovator and
visionary in India. He is also popularly known as the People's President.
His term as president ended on July 25, 2007.
E.V. Ramasami, or E.V.R. as he was popularly known, was born on Sept.

17, 1879 at Erode in Tamil Nadu. He left school at the age of ten and
joined his father in business when he was twelve.The patriotic fervour
of Ramasami lid him to give up his lucrative business and join the
Indian National Congress in its struggle for freedom.
He became an ardent fighter and came to ne closely associated with
Rajaji. Ramasami courted imprisonment several times during the
freedom movement.
The sathyagraha he launched at Vaikom in Kerala against the
despicable practice of barring entry of people of certain castes into the
streets where people of other castes lived was a success and he
earned the title ‘Vaikkom Hero’. He left the Congress in 1925 and
carried on a crusade against the caste-system and advocated
prohibition. E.V.R. strove for the emancipation of the exploited masses
and weaker sections of society.
In 1925 he founded the Self-Respect Movement. a socio-political
organisation of which he was the President. He stared a weekly.
“Kudiyarasu” (Republic) and later a daily. “Viduthalai” (Freedom) to
propagate the principles of his movement. In particular, Ramasami
preached inter-caste marriages and re-marriage of widows. It was his
firm conviction that orthodoxy, superstition, social discrimination and
many other evils which persisted in the society should go. He waged a
relentless battle against these till the very end of his life.
In 1938 E.V.R. was elected President of the Justice Party. He started a
Movement in the cause of Tamil during this period. At the famous
Salem Conference in 1944 be and his lieutenant the late C.N.Annadurai
(later Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu) converted the Justice Party into a
new organisation called “Dravida Kazhagam”.
An ardent fighter, an avowed revolutionary and a hard-headed
rationalist. E.V.R. was simple and humane. He passed away on
December 24, 1973 when he was 94.
Year : 94 Years 3 Months and 7 Days
Months : 1,131
Days : 34,433
Days : 8200
Programme Speech in foreign: 302
Programme : 10,700
Period of speech : 21,400
BACK ^To
Born: April 14, 1891

Died: December 6, 1956
Achievements:
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was elected as the chairman of
the drafting committee that was constituted by the
Constituent Assembly to draft a constitution for the independent India;
he was the first Law Minister of India; conferred Bharat Ratna in 1990.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is viewed as messiah of dalits and downtrodden in
India. He was the chairman of the drafting committee that was
constituted by the Constituent Assembly in 1947 to draft a constitution
for the independent India. He played a seminal role in the framing of
the constitution. Bhimrao Ambedkar was also the first Law Minister of
India. For his yeoman service to the nation, B.R. Ambedkar was
bestowed with Bharat Ratna in 1990.
Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar was born on April 14, 1891 in Mhow (presently in
Madhya Pradesh). He was the fourteenth child of Ramji and Bhimabai
Sakpal Ambavedkar. B.R. Ambedkar belonged to the "untouchable"
Mahar Caste. His father and grandfather served in the British Army. In
those days, the government ensured that all the army personnel and
their children were educated and ran special schools for this purpose.
This ensured good education for Bhimrao Ambedkar, which would have
otherwise been denied to him by the virtue of his caste.
Bhimrao Ambedkar experienced caste discrimination right from the
childhood. After his retirement, Bhimrao's father settled in Satara
Maharashtra. Bhimrao was enrolled in the local school. Here, he had to
sit on the floor in one corner in the classroom and teachers would not
touch his notebooks. In spite of these hardships, Bhimrao continued his
studies and passed his Matriculation examination from Bombay
University with flying colours in 1908. Bhim Rao Ambedkar joined the
Elphinstone College for further education. In 1912, he graduated in
Political Science and Economics from Bombay University and got a job
in Baroda.
In 1913, Bhimrao Ambedkar lost his father. In the same year Maharaja
of Baroda awarded scholarship to Bhim Rao Ambedkar and sent him to
America for further studies. Bhimrao reached New York in July 1913.
For the first time in his life, Bhim Rao was not demeaned for being a
Mahar. He immersed himself in the studies and attained a degree in
Master of Arts and a Doctorate in Philosophy from Columbia University
in 1916 for his thesis "National Dividend for India: A Historical and
Analytical Study." From America, Dr.Ambedkar proceeded to London to
study economics and political science. But the Baroda government
terminated his scholarship and recalled him back.
The Maharaja of Baroda appointed Dr. Ambedkar as his political
secretary. But no one would take orders from him because he was a
Mahar. Bhimrao Ambedkar returned to Bombay in November 1917.
With the help of Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, a sympathizer of the
cause for the upliftment of the depressed classes, he started a
fortnightly newspaper, the "Mooknayak" (Dumb Hero) on January 31,
1920. The Maharaja also convened many meetings and conferences of
the "untouchables" which Bhimrao addressed. In September 1920,
after accumulating sufficient funds, Ambedkar went back to London to
complete his studies. He became a barrister and got a Doctorate in
science.
After completing his studies in London, Ambedkar returned to India. In
July 1924, he founded the Bahishkrit Hitkaraini Sabha (Outcastes
Welfare Association). The aim of the Sabha was to uplift the
downtrodden socially and politically and bring them to the level of the
others in the Indian society. In 1927, he led the Mahad March at the
Chowdar Tank at Colaba, near Bombay, to give the untouchables the
right to draw water from the public tank where he burnt copies of the
'Manusmriti' publicly.
In 1929, Ambedkar made the controversial decision to co-operate with
the all-British Simon Commission which was to look into setting up a
responsible Indian Government in India. The Congress decided to
boycott the Commission and drafted its own version of a constitution
for free India. The Congress version had no provisions for the
depressed classes. Ambedkar became more skeptical of the Congress's
commitment to safeguard the rights of the depressed classes.
When a separate electorate was announced for the depressed classes
under Ramsay McDonald 'Communal Award', Gandhiji went on a fast
unto death against this decision. Leaders rushed to Dr. Ambedkar to
drop his demand. On September 24, 1932, Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhiji
reached an understanding, which became the famous Poona Pact.
According to the pact the separate electorate demand was replaced
with special concessions like reserved seats in the regional legislative
assemblies and Central Council of States.
Dr. Ambedkar attended all the three Round Table Conferences in
London and forcefully argued for the welfare of the "untouchables".
Meanwhile, British Government decided to hold provincial elections in
1937. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar set up the "Independent Labor Party" in
August 1936 to contest the elections in the Bombay province. He and
many candidates of his party were elected to the Bombay Legislative
Assembly.
In 1937, Dr. Ambedkar introduced a Bill to abolish the "khoti" system of
land tenure in the Konkan region, the serfdom of agricultural tenants
and the Mahar "watan" system of working for the Government as
slaves. A clause of an agrarian bill referred to the depressed classes as
"Harijans," or people of God. Bhimrao was strongly opposed to this title
for the untouchables. He argued that if the "untouchables" were people
of God then all others would be people of monsters. He was against
any such reference. But the Indian National Congress succeeded in
introducing the term Harijan. Ambedkar felt bitter that they could not
have any say in what they were called.
In 1947, when India became independent, the first Prime Minister Pt.
Jawaharlal Nehru, invited Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, who had been
elected as a Member of the Constituent Assembly from Bengal, to join
his Cabinet as a Law Minister. The Constituent Assembly entrusted the
job of drafting the Constitution to a committee and Dr. Ambedkar was
elected as Chairman of this Drafting Committee. In February 1948, Dr.
Ambedkar presented the Draft Constitution before the people of India;
it was adopted on November 26, 1949.
In October 1948, Dr. Ambedkar submitted the Hindu Code Bill to the
Constituent Assembly in an attempt to codify the Hindu law. The Bill
caused great divisions even in the Congress party. Consideration for
the bill was postponed to September 1951. When the Bill was taken up
it was truncated. A dejected Ambedkar relinquished his position as Law
Minister.
On May 24, 1956, on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti, he declared in
Bombay, that he would adopt Buddhism in October. On 0ctober 14,
1956 he embraced Buddhism along with many of his followers. On
December 6, 1956, Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar died peacefully in
his sleep.
Kamraj was born on July 15, 1903, in a family of traders at Virudunagar.

His real name was Kamakshi Kumaraswamy Nader but was
affectionately shortened to Raja by his mother, Sivakami Ammal. His
father, Kumarswamy Nader, was a coconut merchant. Kamaraj was
enrolled at the local elementary school, the Nayanar Vidyalaya but was
later shifted to the high school Kshatriya Vidyalaya.
Unfortunately his father died within a year of Kamaraj’s enrollment in
school. Kamaraj’s mother sold all jewelry except her earrings and
deposited the money with a local merchant and cared for the entire
family on the monthly interest that the money earned.
Kamaraj was not a good student in school and dropped out when he
was in the sixth grade. When he entered mainstream public life he felt
handicapped and realized the importance of a good education. He
educated himself during his periods of imprisonment and even learned
English from his co-worker.
Kamaraj joined as an apprentice in his maternal uncle Karuppiah’s
cloth shop after dropping out of school. He would slip out from the
shop to join processions and attend public meetings addressed by
orators like Dr. Varadarajulu Naidu and George Joseph. His relatives
frowned upon Kamaraj ’s budding interest in politics. They sent him to
Thiruvananthapuram to work at another uncle’s timer shop. Even there
Kamaraj participated in the Vaikom Satyagraha led by George Joseph,
of the Congress, against the atrocities of the higher caste Hindus on
the Harijans. His elders had him called back home and pressured him
to marry. Kamaraj resolutely refused to bow to the dictates of his
elders.
At the age of 16, Kamaraj enrolled himself as full-time worker of the
Congress. He participated in inviting speakers, organizing meetings
and collecting funds for the party. He also participated in the march to
Vedaranyam led by Rajagopalachari as part of the Salt Satyagraha of
March 1930.
Kamaraj was arrested and sent to Alipore Jail for two years. He was
twenty seven at the time of arrest and was released in 1931 following
the Gandhi-Iriwn Pact. Kamaraj was implicated in the Virudhunagar
Bomb Case two years later. Dr. Varadarajulu Naidu and George Joseph
argued on Kamaraj’s behalf and proved the charges to be baseless.
Kamaraj was arrested again in 1940 and sent to Vellore Jail while he
was on his way to Wardha to get Gandhiji’s approval for a list of
satyagrahis.
While still in jail, Kamaraj was elected Chairman to the Municipal
Council. Nine months later upon his release, Kamaraj went straight to
the Municipality and tendered his resignation from his post. He felt that
“one should not accept any post to which one could not do full justice.”
Kamaraj was arrested once more in 1942 and sentenced to three years
in the Amaravathi prison for spreading propaganda material for Quit
India movement initiated by Gandhiji. While in prison, Kamaraj read
books and continued his self-education.
Kamaraj’s political guru and inspiration was S. Satyamurti, orator and
parliamentarian. Satyamurti found in Kamaraj “an efficient, loyal,
indefatigable worker and skillful organizer (p. 147, Pakshirajan).” Both
developed a deep friendship and complemented each others’ skills. In
1936, Satyamurti was elected President of the Provincial Congress and
he appointed Kamaraj the General Secretary. Four years later they
swapped positions. The party base was strengthened under their
leadership. So deep was Kamaraj’s devotion for Satyamurti that when
India gained independence, he first went to Satyamurti’s house and
hoisted the Indian flag there. On his election as Chief Minister, Kamaraj
went to Satyamurti’s house and garlanded his photo and paid his
respects to the leader’s widow.
On April 13, 1954, K. Kamaraj reluctantly became the Chief Minister of
Madras. To everyone’s surprise, Kamaraj nominated C. Subramaniam
and M. Bhakthavatsalam, who had contested his leadership, to the
newly formed cabinet. Kamaraj gave simple advice to his ministers,
“Face the problem. Don’t evade it. Find a solution, however small… .
People will be satisfied if you do something.” The State made immense
strides in education and trade. New schools were opened, better
facilities were added to existing ones. No village remained without a
primary school and no panchayat without a high school. Kamaraj
strove to eradicate illiteracy by introducing free and compulsory
education upto eleventh standard. He introduced the Midday Meals
Scheme to provide at least one meal per day to the lakhs of poor
children. He introduced free school uniforms to weed out caste, creed
and class distinctions among young minds.
Under Kamaraj’s administration, a number of irrigation schemes were
completed in record time. The Land Ceiling Act and the Tenancy
Protection Act benefited small farmers and saved them from being
exploited by landlords. Medium and small scale industries prospered in
the midst of large industries making Madras one of the leaders in
industrialization. Nehru complimented Kamaraj for making Madras
(later renamed State of Tamil Nadu) the best administered State in
India.”
Kamaraj remained Chief Minister for three consecutive terms. On
October 2, 1963, he resigned to serve a greater purpose. Kamaraj
noticed that the Congress party was slowly losing its vigor . He came
up with a plan which was called the “Kamaraj Plan.” He proposed that
all senior Congress leaders should resign form their posts and devote
all their energy to the re-vitalization of the Congress. A number of
Central and State ministers like Lal Bahadur Shastri, Jagjivan Ram,
Morarji Desai and S.K. Patil followed suite and resigned from their
posts. In 1964, Kamaraj was elected the President of the All India
Congress and he successfully navigated the nation through the stormy
years following Nehru’s death.
On October 2, 1975, Gandhi Jayanti, Kamaraj awoke from his afternoon
nap feeling uneasy. His housekeeper, Vairavan, rang up his physician.
While he was on his way out, Kamaraj said, “Vairavan, put out the
lights when you go out.” K. Kamaraj died that day. He was honored
with the highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, posthumously in
1976.

A Collection of Wise Sayings

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A Collection of Wise Sayings

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A Collection of Wise Sayings

"We shall not cease from exploration

On Being in Touch with Our Inner Child

"There is an innocence within me that already knows how to trust my

On Being in Touch with Our Higher Power

"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the

A thousand reasons for worry,

Our Deepest Fear

This quote is often erroneously attributed to Nelson Mandela. Please

"I remembered one morning when I discovered a cocoon in a bark of a

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back,

I walk down the street.

"Codes of ethics are most often associated with prohibitions: Don't do

"They say that pain is inevitable but suffering is optional. If I learn to

On Living With A Full Heart

No Problem Lasts Forever

No problem lasts forever. No matter how permanently fixed in the

The Secrets of Heaven and Hell

Symptoms of Inner Peace

Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great

The Rules for Being Human

"It is a universal part of the human condition that we must heal

Pearls of Wisdom from Helen Keller

Some Native American Wisdom

Insights and Wisdom from Dick Olney

Other People's Expectations

"The only man who behaved sensibly was my tailor; he took my

Turning It Over to Higher Power

On Being Happy and Serving Others

"Happiness is not an individual matter. When you are able to bring

The Essence of All Being

Meher Baba, offers a comprehensive spiritual sweep to life:

A Prayer for Peace, Growth, and Recovery

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

2. A man of intellect can turn into a devil, but never a man of

3. Religion is not a theoretical need but a practical necessity.

4. Renunciation does not mean simply dispassion for the world. It

5. There is no misery where there is no want.

6. The secret of life is not enjoyment, but education through

7. Every new thought must create opposition.

8. Renunciation is the withdrawal of mind from other things and

9. Every man who thinks ahead of his time is sure to be

10. In this short life there is no time for the exchange of

12. The greatest sin is fear.

15. Everything can be sacrificed for truth, but truth can't be

17. If it is impossible to attain perfection here and now, there is

20. Happiness presents itself before man, wearing the crown of

26. Strength is life, weakness is death.

27. Never are the wants of a beggar fulfilled.

28. We want the education by which character is formed,

31. Activity is life and inactivity is death.

32. Salvation is not achieved by inactivity but by spiritual

36. No one can save a person who hires a carriage to go from

38. It is the constant struggle against nature that constitutes

39. The very essence of education is concentration of mind, not

40. As we get further and further away from sense-pleasures,

41. It is through the many that we reach the one.

42. The soul is the circle of which the circumference is nowhere,

43. The body itself is the biggest disease.

47. Do not give up anything! Things will give you up.

48. The sage is often ignorant of physical science, because he

49. Experience is the only source of knowledge.

52. Records of great spiritual men of the past do us no good