The young lawyer, Murlidhar walked the path of Mahatma Gandhi, Vinobha Bhave and Rabindranath Tagore. He organized lawyers to represent jailed leaders during Quit India Movement and for this, he was thrown into prison. In his village he began to eat with his servants and dug wells for the Dalits. He gave up his law practice, his involvement with his family estates and started a working place for inter-caste living and manual labour.
One rainy night, he saw a leper with rotting mass of flesh… with holes in place of a nose, without a trace of fingers and toes with worms and sores where there had been eye sockets. The " Abhay Sadhak" (seeker of fearlessness) - a title awarded by Mahatma Gandhi (because of his fearless stand against a Britisher's attitude towards an Indian bride in a train) fled! Later, feeling ashamed he returned, picked up the leper, gave him food and took care of him until he died.
Baba Amte has devoted his life to the care and rehabilitation of leprosy patients, even allowing his body to be used for experiments to grow leprosy germs. His dream for having a place that was full of joy established 'Anandwan' – an institution, recognised and respected around the world for dispelling prejudice against leprosy victims… where patients and volunteers work together in the "Shramik Vidyapeeth" (University of service). He launched the Bharat Jodo (Unite India) movement with the mission of establishing peace and raising environmental consciousness.
Born in a family of jagirdars, Baba Amte gave up on his riches and lucrative law practice… to earn the respect and recognition all over the world, by his actions… first to dispel his own prejudices and fears … and then later those in the minds of others. His words say it so well, "I have cured the leprosy of the body, now I must cure the leprosy of the mind." Fear has to be overcome first in the mind and the way to do it is take action instead of allowing our spoken apprehensions to halt our actions.
Fear takes a grip, makes us wince and flee
"Speak through action" to set yourself free!
RegardsPravin
18 December 2006, Goa
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