An Evening With Gandhiji's 11 Vows And 3 Friends

"Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it..!"
-- Gandhiji

Dear Friends,

Friday evening was possibly one such insignificant attempt towards understanding and adopting something important. We may not be able to completely absorb during our life span everything that possibly Gandhiji has practiced in his life but it was important to know that we are together to support each other's journey towards Gandhihood.

This Friday we came together to understand Gandhiji's 11 Vows. The Vows that Gandhiji learned, experimented and practiced in his daily life. The central idea of the evening was to reflect upon some of these vows and learn from each other how we can make it part of our life, even in a small insignificant way that could possibly shape our destiny.

The circle started with a beautiful recitation of a prayer by Jaimit reflecting each of these 11 vows in the form of life values.

"Satya, Ahimsa, Chori na karvi, Van joytu nav sangharvu , Brahmcharya ne Jate Mahenat, Koi ade na Abhadavu, abhay, Swadeshi, Swad tyag ne Sarvadharma sarkha ghanva aa agiyar mahavrat samji namra pane dradh aacharva.. aa agiyar mahavrat samji namra Maun pana thi aacharva.. "

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Jaimit also shares with us an interesting anecdote from Vinobhaji's life - "Once Vinobhaji went to a Mahadev temple in Baidyanathahdham at Deoghar, with a few Harijan friends and companions for a Darshan. Unfortunately, they were not allowed to get the Darshan of deity but they did get a good Prasad in the form of beating from some of the devotees. It was a shocking moment for Vinobhaji but all the companions remained calm and felt no anger at all because they believed what the devotees are doing it out of ignorance. This story is a quick reminder of how the caste system (something that Gandhiji was strictly against) had plagued our society then and continues to do so even in modern times. But more importantly, the story also tells us how to overcome discrimination and hatred with compassion.


Our 3 speakers for the evening gave us a wonderful insight into their own journey with one of these Gandhiji's 11 Vows. It was so insightful to know from our friends about how over the years they have experienced and practiced these gems of wisdom in their personal journey.



Siddharth Spoke about Satya (Truth): The early brush of life with Truth for Siddharth came during his college days when he was drawn to unfavorable habits. But unlike any other teenager of his age, he had the courage to confess the TRUTH to his parents. An event which he describes as a major turning point from where on he has practiced and remained committed to Truth in every step of his life. He remains a committed practitioner of Truth and has been guided in every decision in his life by nothing else but the Truth, the holy truth, the Ultimate Truth.



Lokesh spoke about Sparshbhavana (untouchability): Lokesh described an incident a few years back when he was given a lift on a cycle by a policeman in his village. Upon arrival at his destination, the policeman inquired about his name and something that is intertwined with individual identity in his village - his Caste. On learning about the same, the same helpful policeman actually cursed and abused him. However, Lokesh chose to respond with Compassion and rather thanked him for his gesture. A similar incident at a temple where Prasadam was being served to people after inquiring about their caste. Lokesh described how these experiences have helped him abstain from all caste-based gatherings and institutions. He practices Sarva Dharma Saman in his everyday life and treats each individual with respect and equality keeping himself unaffected of their second / family name.



Pinki Di introduced us to her practice of Asangraha (Non-Possession): She mentioned the times when Retail for therapy for her and her all-time favorite mood-lifter was Shopping. A habit that got her to accumulate material possessions much more than she ever needed. However, a short conversation with a fellow Gandhian metamorphose from Sangra to Asangraha. She has vowed not to buy new material until she completely runs out of what she already possesses. She has even resolved not to receive or offer gifts on birthdays and celebrations. She has also expanded the scope of her practice with her family members where all of them collectively have started giving away material possessions to individuals more in need and gradually adapting to the principle of minimalist living.

Sharing of our 3 keynote speakers for the evening moved all our other friends in the circle from the core. The sharing was so deep and real that each of the above stories and experiences felt one of our own and possibly created a micro shift within. What followed this beautiful slice of life experiences were reflections by each circle member on their own journey and experiments with Satya, Sparshbhavana, and Asangraha:




Trishala opened the circle of reflections with her story of practicing Truth. No matter how challenging the situation may be, she never leaves the side of truth and always confronts reality with a tough stance. She shared about an instance during her student days of how temptation for quick success did not get over her resolve to do what is right and be righteous.
Shyamji told us about his experiments with minimalism especially during the lockdown time where he has been able to give up on various extrinsic indulgences and live rather simple life so that others can simply live. He has started with a practice of gifting books from his collection to all our community friends moving away from the notion of my, mine, and me.
Gyan shared about similar malpractices of untouchability in his village too and how he always has always maintained arm's length distance from such practices and practitioners. He sees himself as part of a larger one world community where a relationship is based on character and not on caste.
Khushboo gave us a beautiful notion of "knowing your own truth" and also how standing by truth is not easy and comes with a lot of responsibility.
Gaurang spoke about the significance of Non -Violence in contemporary times we live in. He strongly expressed the need to use the weapon of non-violence to address some of the burning socio-political issues of our country.
Manali expressed how truth always gets better of you since it takes a lot of courage to identify and stand up for the right things.
Neela auntie connected so well with each of the Gandhian values and vows mentioned above. She mentioned about her humble upbringing and how Gandhian teaching has influenced her life right from the beginning (at Shayadri School) inculcating the value of living with a minimalistic approach.
Kunal shared about his resolution to eat only as much to satisfy his hunger and need for nutrition and not eat to satisfy cravings. Putting to practice Gandhian vow of Aswada (control of palette). It was his way of giving to society in this challenging time. Lesser the food he consumes, more will be available to be offered to the less fortunate members of our society.
Ritesh offered his presence and his gift of listening to the circle. A wonderful gesture indeed.
Raji Auntie mentioned how Asangraha has been an organic part of her life ever since childhood. She has been blessed to be born in a family which never believed in possession but rather giving where the doors of the house were always open to share with the fellow community members. It was amazing to know how she did not bow down to the societal pressure of putting a pompous show and boisterous display at her daughter's wedding and rather took an unconventional call of not spending a penny for shopping or gifts in the name of wedding celebrations/customs.

The circle had such subtle moments of delight and discovery that brought us closer to Gandhian values through many to many learning. Raji Auntie aptly in her gratitude note appreciated all the energy and forces working towards making this circle possible. Special gratitude for our 3 speakers for the evening - Siddharth, Lokesh, and Pinki di for bringing such pure intentions forward and sharing their personal journey with Gandhiji's 11 Vows which gave us so much to learn from.

As the circle came to a closure the sense of Sanga was truly and deeply felt. Gandhiji may not be with us today but we are blessed to have this Sangha which gives us immense opportunity to learn and be inspired by each's stories and journey.

In the end, like Mother Terresa said: Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.



With Great Love and Gratitude,

Vadodara Maitri Circle Volunteers.


A few more inspiring stories of our beloved Arun Dada from Trupti's desk have been attached below. A true Hero, A Gandhian, and a huge inspiration for all of us:

- Fearlessness. Dada always says fearlessness is not only when we don't feel the fearless, true fearlessness is when others also don't feel fearful in our presence:)
- Non-violence and Maitri
-Truth