My first date...

I don't know when or how it started...but it did start while I was still young. I admit I fell flat for this one man with those unique qualities. I am yet to meet another man of his caliber, grace and gentleness. Outwardly though seemed so delicate and fragile but looking deep inside you would see the most COURAGEOUS and HEADSTRONG man of all times. He was a man with big dreams, bold, daring and assertive. His perseverance and simplicity is a match to none. His out of box thinking and going back to the basics is truly amazing.

His influence on me was so strong that anything and everything I am/was involved with, be it personal, professional or social, his principles have guided me rather over-powered my decisions. He does not know how much he has changed me ever since I came across him. What grew me closer to him was the fact that he brought his ambitious dreams to reality.

I can keep talking about this one man endlessly. But wait let me first reveal his name. A name that is a common household name . A name that has much more meaning in today's chaotic world. Yes, it is none other than our father of the nation, "M.K.Gandhi".

As I turn my memory pages, the time period I remember him the best was when I was at school. I was preparing for the "My Experiment with the Truth" exam. Though the initial motivation, thanks to my influential friend Monika who took me to the path of reading good books, was to get a certificate to enhance my portfolio, little did I realize then the tremendous impact the book would have on me.

I would have read the book atleast a hundred times. I started to look at life through a different prism. Everytime I read it I kept questioning my purpose of life and wondered if I am travelling towards that. The book drew me very close to Gandhi. Even though we lived at different time periods I could relate to what was going in his mind. He has shown the world what it is to be a true leader.

Since childhood I was very curious to understand the teachings of the different religions that exist today. In today's world there are so many confusions and chaos due to religious differences. Differences caused by people who are no true followers of their religion. Gandhi was one man whom I can relate to all religious teaching. To me he is a true Hindu, a true Christian, a true Muslim and a true whatever religions I missed quoting. May be that is why he could understand and relate to people the best in spite of the religious differences.

My thrist to get to know him better has not been quenched yet. Even today when I watch the Gandhi movie, or read an article on him on the Internet or book, I totally forget the world around me. It becomes such a mesmerizing experience.

I really wished I was born during his times. I would have made all the attempts to have seen him at least once. To me he is the only God that anyone could have come close to. He won my heart as other million hearts.

There's this guy that I met few years back who once said that the rights and wrongs that we choose is based on FCD (Fundamental Childhood Decisions). So much of that is true in my life. I can't but thank him for terming the acronym FCD. It puts the reasoning behind a person's personality in a nutshell!