Baba said, "Those who do monumental work don't need monuments."
And he lived and died like a monument himself. Indeed no monument can ever match what he did. His actions , his thoughts and his vision surpassed all a person could dream of. Thank You Baba..For being what you were..Thank you for showing the way where others saw none..Thank you for leading when there were no leaders to follow..Thank you for being an example when all idols were shattered and there was no one to look up to. Thank you for standing for your convictions and giving one the courage to go after the things s/he believed in.
You'll be remembered always..and live in the hearts of people you touched in your special way..
"He came to be known as Baba not because he is a saint or any such thing, but because his parents addressed him by that name," - Sadhanatai Amte (Baba's wife)
BABA's words that still make me proud of ourselves....
"I haven't the arrogance to say I can carry the mighty load of His Cross, but I do try to walk in its shadow. He wants to carve your life like a crucifix. Every calamity is a crucifixion, crucifying your ambition, your lust. Each is a tiny lesson, and then the imprint of the crucifixion is on your life. What is your plan of sacrifice today? You and I, petty souls, sacrifice for our children. Christ sacrificed for tomorrow's whole world. Whenever I see slum-dwellers, with their hunger and poverty, that obscene poverty, I feel He is crucified like that. When I come across a person suffering from leprosy, foul smelling, ulcerous, I can see the imprint of His lips, His kiss. What did they not do to sufferers of leprosy in His time, yet the carpenter's son cared for them and touched them. That hand is an emblem for me, that hand which cared for the loneliest and the lost. The Christian is ... he who not only lights the darkest corner in the world but also the darkest corner in his own heart.
"Charity Destroys; Work Builds." "I believe as a society we have to evolve, through experimentation, a system which combines the principles of individual freedom and common ownership. And this is what we have tried, basically with success, in all our projects, involving leprosy patients, tribal people and the so-called 'disabled' persons.""Consider the honey-bee. Its treasure is nectar, obtained even from the chilly plant. It is not at the cost of the flower. In fact, its act of extracting honey contributes to the progress of the flowers. You need not learn from Kahlil Gibran, Marx or Gorbachev, not even from Gandhi-ji. Choose instead to learn your lesson from the honey bees as your silent partners: they will show you how to develop without destroying.
"I have never been frightened of anything. Because I fought British tommies to save the honor of an Indian lady, Gandhiji called me 'abhay sadhak', a fearless seeker of truth. When the sweepers of Warora challenged me to clean gutters, I did so. But that same person who fought goondas and British bandits quivered in fright when he saw the living corpse of TuIshiram, no fingers, no clothes, with maggots all over. That is why I took up leprosy work. Not to help anyone, but to overcome that fear in my life. That it worked out good for others was a by-product. But the fact is I did it to overcome fear.
"Joy is more infectious than leprosy."
"Our governance is by a gerontocracy. This cataract of history can only be removed by youth. In this common man's century, only the common man can change the profile of this country." .."The war-cry will no more be with Marx and Mao: the spirit of revenge cannot build a new world ... Only a revolution which leads to a higher sense of human dignity can lead to a higher and nobler way of life. Revolutions based on hatred and violence does not really change the situation. They merely transform the people who had been exploited into a new class of exploiters but hatred and exploitation remain. Therefore, there is no substitute for Gandhi's way of rousing the impoverished masses to creative awareness."
"To me, the common man's society is a mask-less society. He does not carry that thick mask which the professional people, the upper classes, whereas they might look nice and beautiful. Very often they do not dare to say what they really think and feel."
On Spirituality"I'm so busy, I have no time to pray! The Lord is kind!" "Wherever God has pointed the way with his finger, he also cleared the way with His mighty palm."
And there was so much much more..
