Happy 2nd October - Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti

                       Lal Bahadur Shastri 

           (October 2, 1904 – January 11, 1966) 

Lal Bahadur Shastri served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966. 

"Power corrupts people" - is a universally known fact.

However, Lal Bahadur Shastri ji was one of the rarest politicians who held such great powers but remained humble and lived a very simple life. 

Usually, after getting power, everyone starts collecting tons of wealth - building fabulous houses for themselves and living an elegant, luxurious lifestyle. 

Whereas, Shastri ji was known for his simplicity, honesty, and simple lifestyle. 

He neither promoted his lineage or dynasty nor collected any wealth for himself or his family. 

At the time of death, his total assets were of a middle-class working man. 

During his school days, his thoughts were influenced by reading about Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, and Annie Besant. Deeply impressed and influenced by Gandhi, he left his studies and joined the Indian independence movement in the 1920s.

He worked for the betterment of the Harijans at Muzaffarpur and stopped using his caste- or surname of Srivastava. 

In the course of more than thirty years of dedicated service, he was known as a man of great integrity and competence. He was also a man of vision who led the country towards progress. 

"Hard work is equal to prayer"-  He said. 

Humble, tolerant, with great inner strength and firmness, he was a man of the people who understood their language.

Once, speaking in Parliament, Lal Bahadur Shastri said; 

"Perhaps due to my being small in size and soft tongue, people are apt to believe that I am not able to be very firm. 

Though not physically strong, I think I am internally not so weak."

Very rarely do we see such eminent - distinguished - great, but humble and simple-living leaders and rulers in history. 

Shat Shat Naman - Salutations to such great personalities.

May we also learn to be humble and simple like them. 

                          " Rajan Sachdeva "