INTRODUCTION
Mahatma (the great soul) was a name conferred upon Gandhiji. His life has been a true reflection of his persona. Gandhiji always said,
"My Life is my Message".He had few principles which he imbibed and lived a life of excellence beyond par.
HIS PRINCIPLES:
1. Truth
Mahatama Gandhi preached to always seek for truth, along with discipline. He insisted on following truth in thought, speech and action. He compared Truth to God. He believed that in the march towards truth 'anger', 'hatred', 'selfishness' give way.
"Truth never damages a cause that is just."
2. Nonviolence
Gandhi was against violence of any form. The best example of non-violence is said was that if a man slaps you show him your other cheek. He believed in making the evil-doer realize his evil doing without retorting to violence. Following this required incredible faith and courage. However using non-violence to hide cowardice wasn't justifiable. He said he would rather prefer violence over cowardice.
"Non-violence is not merely a negative state of harmlessness , but it is positive state of love , of doing good even to the evil-doer."
3. Vegetarianism
Mahatma Gandhi followed vegetarianism since birth, though he once experimented with meat at a younger age. For him it was better to eat fruits, vegetables, beans, etc since it was more cheaper (in those days poverty was a major problem in India. Though it still is today!!).
4. Brahmacharya
For his entire life Mahatma practised self-control and self-discipline i.e. control of the thought, senses and deed. He saw it as a means to becoming close to god and achieving self-realization.
5. Love your enemy
He believed that along with non-violence loving the enemy would make the enemy feel guilty for his evil doing. Hence the basic intention was to cure the enemy through Love.
"No man could look upon another as his enemy unless he first became his own enemy."
6. Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No EvilGandhi's only notable position the statue of the 3 wise monkeys at Gandhi Ashram, Ahmadabad says it all.
7. All Religions are Equal
For Gandhi all religions were different ways to GOD. As long as he was alive he pressed on to a unified India consisting of people from different religions living in peace and harmony.
"Religions are different roads converging to the same point."
CONCLUSION
Many people in India follow Mahatma's principles even today. They are called as 'Gandhians'
Martin Luther King Jr incorporated many of his principles to lead the African-American Civil Rights Movement in America in the 60s. Steve Jobs followed is said to have followed some of Gandhi's principles.
A lot of Mahatama's principles match with the 30 Human Rights. As of today if his principles can be actively applied or not depends on the environment. A movie Lage raho Munna bhai gives a minor account of how his principles can be followed today.
For further reading:
Site: http://www.mkgandhi.org/
Quotes: http://www.mkgandhi.org/gandhiquotes.htm
Books: Autobiography: The story of my experiments with Truth
Movie: Gandhi (1982)