Sister Bansy wrote:Gandhi himself decided to wear as little as not to make the poorer ones feel that if he did not have any clothes, so as they should not feel downtrodden, and they should spin their own cotton to make their own clothes.
It is an irony that the handspun cloth (
Khadi) which Gandhiji promoted as a cheap alternative to costly imported clothes has become unaffordable for an average Indian. It has become a clothing for the upper-end of the society, worn mainly by politicians (ill-famous for their corrupt image).
Once upon a time
Khadi used to be a symbol of patriotism, but because of the level to which the
khadi-clad politicians have stooped,
Khadi is increasingly seen as a clothing for corrupt politicians and hence avoided by average Indians.
It is same as some (minority) of the members of the Confluence-Aged Brahmin family, adorned in speckless white robes, extracting money from gullible followers and wielding sticks at some fellow-Brahmins and thus bringing disgrace to the white robes, which have been described as a symbol of purity by Baba in the Murlis and Avyakt Vanis.
ex-l wrote:This Gandhi ethos seems to me to be much more prevalant in Veerendra Dev Dixit, which I think is great.
I agree that Baba Virendra Dev Dixit and most PBKs follow a Gandhian way of life, marked by austerity, but if you look at the sanskars of Gandhi and Nehru, the two characters correspond to the roles of Brahma (i.e. Mother or Dada Lekhraj) and Prajapita (i.e. Father or Baba Virendra Dev Dixit). Gandhi had a soft image while Nehru had a strict image. It is believed that it is this soft nature of Gandhiji which led to the partition of India. Otherwise, India would have been a much larger country.
Similarly, ShivBaba played a soft role of mother through Dada Lekhraj while He is playing the role of a strict Father through Baba Virendra Dev Dixit presently.
The Brahma Kumari Sindhi World University sanskars, (e.g. dodgy money, status, golden thrones, property acquisition and comfortable travel) seems to have come to the fore much more than handspun loincloths, 108 patched dhotis approach and washing out your own latrine.
From his childhood to almost the late nineties, Baba Virendra Dev Dixit lead an austere life. He spent his childhood in poverty. Even after his revelation in 1976 and even after the establishment of the AIVV in 1982/83, he could be seen wearing torn clothes and old slippers till the late nineties. Even now he wears simple cotton clothes - Dhoti and Kurta - for most part of the year. Only in the winters he can be seen in sweaters.
From the mention of latrines, I am reminded of the latrines at the training center of AIVV (housed in the ancestral house of Baba Virendra Dev Dixit). They are very small and without any modern facilities. I remember an anecdote heard from senior PBKs. When Mama/some other PBK asked Baba about constructing bigger and more comfortable Latrines and bathrooms, Baba asked her/him in reply that do you want to run your household in the latrine/bathroom. He meant to say that it is no use wasting precious Yagya money on such unimportant things.
And as I have already mentioned in some of my posts in other threads, the food offered to PBKs at the mini-Madhubans is very simple (two meals a day).
Regards,
OGS,
Arjun