Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi’s life was not governed by policies, but by principles and values driven by his intense degree of personal accountability. Gandhi believed in a single standard of conduct for both his private and his public life. He rejected behavioral compartmentalization of any kind and led his political life in the same manner as his personal life, with both being based on his religious faith. Gandhi formulated two absolute values of truth and non-violence. He committed to those values whole heartedly, often demanding far more of himself than he did of others. I assert that Gandhi was the epitome of personal accountability throughout his life. Gandhi began his life as an extremely passionate young man with a fierce temper. From the beginning of his story, Gandhi is quick to realize the truths of his regretful actions, including those of jealousy and stealing. As a young boy, he wrote his father a letter in apology for stealing gold from his brother. Although he vowed in the letter never to commit this sin again, he was deeply troubled by the thought of disappointing his father. He and his father both cried silently and Gandhi realized that those “…pearl drops of love cleansed (his) heart and washed (his) sin away” (p. 14). He f . . .
He stated that “under the circumstances, (he) (believed) (himself) to be the cause of the loss of (his) son and (had), therefore learnt patiently to bear it” (p. Further, Gandhi held himself responsible for the education, and resulting lack thereof, of his wife. Because of this extreme sense of responsibility, Gandhi found himself drawn to accept all letters and pleas for assistance, between India and South Africa, despite the hardship to himself or his family. This incident further fueled his strive for accountability and he never allowed himself reprieve from his selfishness at that moment. elt that due to his “… clean confession, combined with (his) promise never to commit the sin again…(his) father (felt) absolutely safe about (him) and increased his affection for (him) beyond measure” (p. Gandhi regarded his son as a “result of his evil past…when he was in a state of infatuation” (p. Although he did not advocate indentured servitude himself, he felt a great social responsibility to abolish the practice. Perhaps his life model of supreme personal responsibility should serve as the example for a higher standard of leadership in the world today. His eldest son chose a very different and independent path toward wealth, drinking and women and would often attack his father in print. He believed that “…true sacrifice lies in deriving the greatest pleasure from the deed, no matter what the risk may be” (p. This passion later transformed and fueled his life of selfless service for others.
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