One day, after much frustration and helplessness, a mother decided to seek advice from Mahatma Gandhi who happened to be in a nearby city. Her problem was that one of her children was eating too many sweets a day. She knew it was not good for her child but every effort she made bore no satisfactory result. She sought help from her older children, neighbors and even teachers at school. She knew nothing about Gandhi Ji except that many people always talked about him as a living saint.
Knowing she had nothing to lose and being made aware that it is not easy to meet Gandhi Ji, she sets out with her child in tow to the nearby city where he was expected to visit. Finally, she was able to reach where Gandhi was staying. She felt good when she saw with her own eyes how many people were waiting to see him. With her luck she was able to meet him in person. Teary eyed she explained her problem. Gandhi Ji smiled at the child, asked a few questions, and told the mother to bring her child next week.
The mother and her child went to see him a week later. Gandhi Ji smiled and lovingly looked at the child. After a chit chat Gandhi Ji told the child why sweets are not healthy and asked him to quit.
The child promised Gandhi Ji and his mother to abide by his instructions. Mother left with happiness and saw changes in the child’s eating habits.
The mother makes a trip by herself to meet Gandhi Ji and inquires why he could not tell the child the first time they came to see him. Gandhi Ji told her that before giving the advice, he himself quit eating sweets. What Gandhi Ji did is called ANUVRAT.
On Gandhi Ji’s birthday let us pay tribute to this man of millennium by doing at least one small act that he was famously stickler for:
- Try to be nonviolent for a day
- Try to be teetotaler for a day
- Try to be a vegetarian for a day
- Avoid sweets for a day
- Speak truth, better be a mute for a day
- Listen to or sing one of his daily prayer songs like Vaishnav Jan Toh or Raghu Pati Raghav Raja Ram
- Since it is Saturday and most likely a day off from work, take your child or your niece, nephew to park and play/walk with them
- If you like to read, please read a chapter of book on Gandhi or from his autobiography
- Make an effort to attend an event that celebrates 152nd birthday of Gandhi Ji
Any one or more acts on your part is considered as Anuvrat.
