Thought for the day

What is birth? It is only a continuation of a previous birth

From the book "Autobiography of I without I" 

“We stand on the shoulders of those who have come before us..." 


ASCENT 
Part One Part One
Chapter 1 
 “...the seed of wisdom is ‘I without i’.” 
Seed 
This is my autobiography. I was born into a family where all had deep devotional fervor. For generations, my ancestors were devotees of Lord Vishnu. My parents had great love for Lord Krishna. My father, Madhurakavi Azhwar was a freedom fighter. He was imprisoned many times. My father, who was only educated to the fourth standard, learned Hindi, Sanskrit and studied the Bhagavad Gita while in jail. He took part in various social movements that were a part of Gandhian thought. My father vowed, “I dedicate my life for the cause of women, harijans and the country.” He worked tirelessly for the ideals that were dear to his heart. An example of this was his commitment to the Kadhi movement. My father cultivated cotton in our garden, picked it, deseeded it and spun it into yarn before weaving it on a handloom. Every day he would set aside time for spinning of khadi at home. My father wore khadi all his life and wanted all in our house to follow his example. In the 1940’s when Gandhiji came to Madurai, my father made an offering of the khadi that he had woven. His spinning wheel never stopped. He kept the practice alive as a life principle! 
The Khadi movement promoted home spinning as a demonstration against imported mill cloth. It encouraged unity, integrity, self-reliance and non-violence. 
 Some slogans popular among people in those days were: 

‘Handloom liberates’. ‘Khadi is the lifeline of the poor’. 
‘Khadi kindles dharmic thought’. 
‘Khadi fosters unity’. 

After India’s independence, my father did not enter political life, which was a natural choice of many. He followed Gandhiji’s assertion that the Congress movement was not for political aims, but to make India an independent nation. He then actively involved himself in village life and the welfare of the community. My father opened the ‘Gandhi Khadi Vidyalaya’ to benefit all in the village. There he would daily give free 
medicine to the villagers and also ran a library. Daily common prayers were held at 6:00 pm. All from the village came together for prayer. On Fridays, bhajans were sung. He would teach the children the Gita, Narayan Suktha, Alwar’s verses and Andal’s Tiruppavai. The villagers fully appreciated my father’s faith and dedication; all loved his resounding voice that gave them hope and succour.  At home, my father’s austere life set an example. He maintained a rigorous schedule from morning till night that included meditation, walking, chanting, writing the names of the Lord, spinning cotton and keeping a diary. He followed his timetable precisely. When he went to the fields for his evening walk, the farm workers said, “Here 
is Ayyah, it is 5’ o’ clock.”