The Sabarmati Ashram later became an asserted place after the detention of many freedom fighters. Later some local citizens decided to preserve it. On March 12, 1930, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi pledged that he would not return to the Ashram until India won Independence. India won freedom on August 15 1947, and Gandhiji was assassinated in January 1948. Today, the Sabarmati Ashram receives about seven lakh visitors every year. It has photocopies of about 34,000 letters written by Gandhi. It has 8000 photographs and 165 films. Hriday Kunj, the house where Gandhiji resided with Kasturba from 1918 to 1930, is a very special attraction.
The Sabarmati Ashram collects, processes, preserves and displays archival materials, which include writings, photographs, paintings, films, voice-records, personal clothes etc. The Ashram preserves a “charkha” used by Gandhiji to weave Khadi. It also preserves the writing table where Gandhiji wrote letters. Some other priceless items are also stored here. The Ashram is engaged in microfilming, lamination and preservation of negatives of photographs. It arranges exhibitions on various aspects of Gandhiji’s life and activities. The exhibitions also display Gandhiji’s literary talents. The Ashram is responsible for the publication of the “Mahadevbhani Diary”, which chronicles the entire history of the Indian freedom struggle.
The Ashram Trust sponsors activities that include education for the visitor, routine maintenance of the museum and its surrounding grounds and the upkeep of the community. The Ashram tries to keep contact with Gandhian thoughts and activities. It helps and undertakes study and research in Gandhian thoughts. It publishes the results of such study and research for the benefit of the people. It also publishes allied literature. The Sabarmati Ashram today follows an observance in a suitable manner of occasions connected with Gandhi’s life. It maintains contact with the youth and student community and provides facilities to them for the study of Gandhian thought.
As a homage to Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru had said, “Wherever he trod became hallowed land, wherever he sat became temples.” No statement could have been truer. Wherever Gandhiji stopped has become a place of pilgrimage and wherever he walked has become an auspicious place. This is so very true for the Sabarmati Ashram. Although, it no longer serves as a working ashram, it functions as a museum and an institution whose objective is to propagate and preserve the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. More than half a million visitors, irrespective of their nationalities, arrive at Sabarmati with feelings of devotion and curiosity, every year. They leave feeling enlightened and inspired.
I have just joined Indusladies. Sabarmati is my favorite place too and it reminds me of Gandhiji and the freedom struggle. I didn't expect to find something on Sabarmati in this forum!
The Sabarmati Ashram is indeed a source of inspiration for the present generation. Hopefully, it will serve as such for generations to come, too. Gandhi’s ideals can serve as a beacon of light for all generations. The Sabarmati Ashram has witnessed many important and significant historic events. These events had been responsible in shaping Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi into the “Mahatma” and the “Father of the Nation”. My recent visit to the Sabarmati Ashram mesmerized me because of the Light and Sound Show. It started at 5 pm and covered the life of Mahatma Gandhi. It cost me Rs.40 only. The show was held in the open garden of the ashram.
The Sabarmati Ashram has had a set of rules. The object of the Ashram is that “its members should qualify themselves for, and make a constant endeavour towards, the service of the country, not inconsistent with universal good”. The first rule of the Sabarmati Ashram concerns Truth. The rule states, “Truth is not fulfilled by mere abstinence from telling or practicing an untruth in ordinary relations with fellow men. But Truth is God, the one and only Reality. All other observances take their rise from the quest for, and the worship of, Truth. Worshippers of Truth must not resort to untruth, even for what they may believe to be the food of the country, and they may be required, like Prahlad, civilly to disobey the orders even of parents and elders in virtue of their paramount loyalty to Truth.”
I loved your post. The second rule of Sabarmati Ashram is Non-Violence. Mere abstinence from killing animals is not sufficient for this observance. The law of Love needs equal consideration for all life from the tiniest insect to the highest man. One who practices this rule must not lose his temper even with the doer of the greatest imaginable wrong, but must love him, serve him and wish him well. While he must love the wrong doer, he must never submit to the wrong or injustice, but must oppose those with all his might and must suffer all the hardships patiently and without resentment to which the wrong doer may subject him in punishment for his opposition.
The third rule of the Sabarmati Ashram concerns chastity or “Brahmacharya”. Observance of this principle is impossible without the observance of celibacy. It not only means the abstinence from lustful glances on any woman or man. It also means control and even exclusion of animal passion. If married, one must not have a carnal attitude towards one’s spouse. The spouse should be considered as a lifelong friend and a relationship of absolute purity should be established. A sinful gesture, word or touch is a direct violation of this principle. The fourth rule comes from the third. It concerns control of the palate.
Control of the palate is important, as observance of Brahmacharya is extremely difficult till one acquires mastery over taste. Control of the palate has thus been placed as a rule by itself. Eating is required only for self-sustenance. It is necessary for keeping the body as a fit instrument for service. Eating must never be practiced for self-indulgence. Food, like medicine, must be taken under proper restraint. Exciting ingredients like spices and condiments must be avoided, in pursuance of this principle. Tobacco, liquor, “bhaang”, meat, etc are banned from the Ashram. This rule requires abstinence from dinners or feasts, which have pleasure as their object.
