Q: Guruji, Please share your thought about Mahatma Gandhi and his teachings?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Mahatma Gandhi used to read it every day. Ill share an inst
ance with you, probably nobody knows it. My Guru, Pandit Sudhakar Chaturvedi had
been with Mahatma Gandhi in Rewara Jail. He had been with him for forty years.
He is the knower of the four Vedas (and hence conferred the title Chaturvedi). T
he day when Kasturba Gandhi died, Mahatma Gandhi came out, tears rolling down hi
s eyes and spoke to Pandit Sudhakar Chaturvedi (who was known as Bengaluri back th
en). Mahatma Gandhi ji said, Bengaluri, read out the second chapter of Gita today
. It is the day to test your Bapu (Gandhiji was fondly known as Bapu, which mean
s Father), whether I am Stithapragya (Stable intellect centered) or not. So he re
ad out the second chapter; stitha prajna shyaka bhasha samadhisthsya keshava, sth
itadhih kim prabhasheta kimasita vrajet kim (chapter II Verse 54). With eyes clos
ed, he listened to the verse, and tears started rolling down his eyes. He said, T
oday is the testing day for me. And with the support of Gita, I am able to bear
this grief. All those who havent read it must read it once. It will take a week at
the most.
Whenever there is chaos, start a kirtan (devotional song) and the chaos will set
tle down. This is what happened when the country was trapped in turmoil. What di
d Mahatma Gandhi ji do then? He went to many places and started organising satsa
ngs. Everyone started singing, Ishwar Allah tero naam, sabko sanmati de Bhagwaan,
and the country was woven into one thread. The chaos and the turmoil were transf
ormed into a revolution. Even today we require this. There is a need for a peace
ful revolution in this country. Where there is ignorance, injustice, scarcity an
d lack of hygiene, that place requires a peaceful revolution so that the ignoran
ce is wiped out, people stand against injustice, scarcity will end and cleanline
ss would reign over the place. Only kirtan can bring this revolution. Whenever t
his country was overcome by a problem, the sages, the intellectuals and the maha
tmas (great souls) of this country came forward and gave the country a new hope.
Today, we are again standing at that crossroad, where the country essentially re
quires a wave of spirituality. What does spirituality mean? Sitting somewhere fo
r a while and doing kirtan? No, my dear! Spirituality (Adhyatma) means the feeli
ng of oneness. One who sees everyone in himself and himself in everyone will be
called a spiritual person, a devotee. So, what does spirituality mean? It is a b
lossoming of this feeling of oneness. Nobody is a stranger, all are my own; if thi
s feeling awakens in us, then it is spirituality.