Motivational Stories: The Story of Mahatma Gandhi
If greatness was measured by report cards or school performance, then Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi would never be more than “mediocre,” the term he used to describe his academic record. When Gandhi misspelled the word “kettle”, his teacher called him stupid because he was the only student who couldn’t spell that word. Throughout his school career, Gandhi never achieved a high grade, in fact, all of his grades are below average. When it was time for him to go to college, he barely passed the matriculation exam for Samaldas College in Bhavnagar, Gujarat.
However, greatness cannot be measured by something as mundane as a spelling test or report card. There is more to life than just getting good grades in school. After graduating from law school, Gandhi began fighting for civil rights in South Africa before returning to his homeland of India. There he fought to free India from British control, not with fists but with civil disobedience.
At first, those in power rejected Gandhi’s efforts. Winston Churchill dismissed him as a “seditious lawyer from the Middle Temple, now posing as a fakir”. The armed men could not understand a man who said: “There are many causes for which I am willing to die, but no cause for which I am willing to kill.” However, his opponents learned that Gandhi did not need to use violence; he had courage and spirit that could not be crushed. Although he was imprisoned many times during his life, he refused to give up. Now that he is true spirit. Gandhi’s efforts eventually helped bring independence to India.
This mediocre student came to be labeled by another term: mahatma, meaning “great soul.” Throughout his life, Gandhi used nonviolent means to help the downtrodden. His example and teachings have inspired leaders of civil rights and freedom movements in the United States, South Africa, and around the world. Although Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1937, 1938, 1939, and 1947, he never received the award. In 1948, Gandhi was considered for the award for the fifth time. However, he was assassinated two days before the nominations closed. The Nobel Committee considered awarding him the prize posthumously that year, but the prize had always been awarded to a living person. Instead, the committee decided not to award any prizes in 1948 because “there was no suitable living candidate”. Simply put, the award was meant to be presented to Mahatma Gandhi.
