Ten Motivating quotes by Dr. Abdul Kalam

APJ Abdul Kalam will be etched in our hearts forever.  Dr. Abdul Kalam Sir, was our inspiration...our beloved inventor. His life served to prove a Sanskrit doctrine my parents taught me as a child, "विद्या विनयेन शोभते" (Vidya Vinayen Shobhate) which means that that the more knowledgeable are always humble. As a tribute to him, I'm sharing some of my favourite Dr. Abdul Kalam quotes.

Ten Motivating Quotes by APJ Abdul Kalam

•  Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident.

• We must think and act like a nation of a billion people and not like that of a million people. Dream, dream, dream.

•  Unless India stands up to the world, no one will respect us. In this world, fear has no place. Only strength respects strength.

•  Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow.

• Science is a beautiful gift to humanity; we should not distort it.

• Be more dedicated to making solid achievements than in running after swift but synthetic happiness.

•  It is very easy to defeat someone, but it is very hard to win someone

•  Those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all around.

•  You see, God helps only people who work hard. That principle is very clear.

•  If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.

The real hero of the nation, Dr. Abdul Kalam even after passing away remains in our thoughts, continues to motivate us.

Which of Dr. Kalam's quote is your favourite? Do let me know.

Gandhi

Once in many centuries, such a man is born; when he walks the path of his life, even Gods raise their fingers to salute. He is born is to show the humans, that love does conquer all. All the people who told you that power, and strength makes a winner were wrong. The only qualification for victory is the firm belief in yourself, and truth. Mahatma Gandhi was one such man, he was never a national leader. He was the leader of the whole humanity, his actions changed the future of the world, not just India. The birth of Gandhi was the stimulus which made the world a better place.

My only regret is that I was born many decades later, and missed to see the great man in action. Worse, I was brought up in a nation which wasn’t overwhelmed by his birth, but overshadowed by his death. In our country, I’ve heard so many times, how Gandhi’s action were against India. In fact, this is what got me interested in Gandhi. You see, I love to study contradictions. I wondered why Gandhi led a long-drawn struggle for India’s independence, if he was so much against India. It didn’t make sense.

After a research on Gandhi, I was glad he was born. I’m among the few who think pre-independence India wasn’t worth living. I’m thankful to him for the part, he played in our independence. Now, I wasn’t sure why would any Indian hate him? It was then I heard about the term do-gooder derogation. It means that overtly moral behavior can elicit annoyance and ridicule rather than admiration and respect. I can totally understand this attitude. There is no way any of us can measure up to his high standards of morality. The best, we can do to feel equal, is derogate him. If you acutely observe, most of the people who hate Gandhi are those who claim to be champions of morality in our society.

This is not a post, to make you respect or like Gandhi, what you do is your choice. I’m not even going to write and justify his views. All I ask is read everything he wrote, before you decide what you feel about him. It is never good to form an opinion based on hearsay.

Whenever, I’m depressed about the way world works, I think of this:

“Remember that all through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible. But in the end, they always fall. Always.”

― Mahatma Gandhi, in The Story of My Experiments With Truth

It helps me to maintain my optimism. Mahatma Gandhi has proved beyond doubt, “you don't need to terrorise others to gain respect and obedience, love is enough".

Read more about do-gooder derogation here.
Read about Jawaharlal Nehru's views on state of India on the eve of Gandhi's entry in the country in emergence of Gandhi.

Lokmaya Tilak: the man who dared to dream

*Lokmanya Tilak

Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it!”- Lokmanya Tilak

Every child in India knows the above sentence and the man who said it. However, when he talked about it Swaraj was considered a hopeless dream, a mission impossible. The British had invested in a lot of propaganda to make Indians believe that British Raj was for their own good and how freedom wasn’t a happy outcome. Many Indian leaders shared the outlook. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was the first leader who not only challenged the idea but believed that freedom was possible.

Most of the leaders of that time preached from the dais but half of them weren’t eager to work along with the people. They considered the Indian people backward in ideas. Tilak was the leader of the masses and earned the title ‘Lokmanya’(acceptable to the people) with his involvement with the people from all strata of society.

Emergence of Gandhi- J.N

World war I ended at last and peace, instead of bringing us relief and progress, brought us repressive legislation and martial law in the Punjab. A bitter sense of humiliation and passionate anger filled our people. All the unending talk of constitutional reform and indianization of services was a mockery and an insult when the manhood of our country was being crushed. And the inexorable and continuous process of exploitation was deepening our poverty and sapping our vitality. We had become a derelict nation.

Yet what could we do, how change this vicious process? We seemed helpless in the grip of this all-powerful monster; our limbs were paralyzed, our minds deadened....

And then Gandhi came.