The Mahatma’s remarkable wife,
Kasturbai, did not object when he failed to set aside any part of his wealth
for the use of her and their children. Married in early youth, Gandhi and his
wife took a vow of celibacy after the birth of four sons. A tranquil heroine in
the intense drama that has been their life together, Kasturbai has followed her
husband to prison, shared his three-week fasts, and fully borne her share of
his endless responsibilities. She has paid Gandhi the following tribute:
I thank you for having had the
privilege of being your life-long companion and helpmate. I thank you for the
most perfect marriage in the world, based on brahmacharya( self-control) and
not on sex. I thank you for having considered me your equal in your life work
for India. I thank you for not being one of those husbands who spend their time
in gambling, racing, women, wine, and song, tiring of their wives and children
as the little boy quickly tires of his childhood toys. How thankful I am that
you were not one of those husbands who devote their time to growing rich on the
exploitation of the labour of others.
How thankful I am that you put
God and country before bribes, that you had the courage of your convictions and
a complete and implicit faith in God. How thankful I am for a husband who put
God and his country before me. I am grateful to you for your tolerance of me
and my shortcomings of youth, when I grumbled and rebelled against the change
you made in our mode of living, from so much to so little.
As a young child, I lived in your
parents’ home; your mother was a great and good woman; she trained me, taught
me how to be brave, courageous wife and how to keep the love and respect of her
son, my future husband. As the years passed and you became India’s most beloved
leader, I had none of the fears that beset the wife who may be cast aside when
her husband has climbed the ladder of success, as so often happens in other
countries. I knew the death would still find us husband and wife.
SOURCE: AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI:
BY PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA
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