a beautiful tribute to Mahatma Gandhi by his wife Kasturba
Presently I am reading Autobiography of a Yogi by spiritual leader Paramhansa Yogananda, and in the chapter “With Mahatma Gandhi at Wardha” (Chapter 44), I came across a loving tribute written by Kasturba (Kasturbai) to her husband Mahatma Gandhi. I believe it’s a piece of writing that every married person (or even anyone in a committed relationship) must read to show up as a better human and partner for the other individual. Here’s an excerpt from the book containing the tribute.
The Mahatma’s remarkable wife, Kasturbai, did not object when he failed to set aside any part of his wealth for the use of herself and their children. Married in early youth, Gandhi and his wife took the 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 lifelong 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 labor 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 that 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 a 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 that death would still find us husband and wife.
