Besides non-violence and truth, Mahatma Gandhi followed a few simple principles that are applicable to our lives even today. Sarvodaya is one of those principles and Dilip CS from Bengaluru believes in it strongly. Having completed his Master's in Social Work, he is currently pursuing a PhD in Disaster Management from Mysore University.
He says, "I started learning and knowing more about Gandhi when I was 18 years old. His thoughts and values influenced me so much that I chose to pursue a Master's in Social Work degree. During this phase of my college life, I learnt a lot more about the father of our nation — I learnt about his thoughts on Sarvodaya."
What he learnt turned his life around, "I joined the Sarvodaya Mitra Mandali as a volunteer and still work with the organisation. Sarvodaya means universal upliftment and I believe that we all must work towards uplifting poor and underprivileged people. That's why I joined this organisation so that I can work towards uplifting the most needy."
Not just following the principles of Sarvodaya, Dileep ensures that he teach it to other youngsters too. As a result, a lot of them have changed their perspective towards society and started working to solve societal issues. "As a part of it, we conducted weekend workshops to speak and spread awareness about Gandhian principles to youngsters. At the end of the workshop, we would provide a list of Gandhian principles or values and ask our students to write one quality they would like to adopt in their lives."
He goes on to explain how this has helped. "When they wrote different Gandhian principles, they had to explain the reason behind it and try to follow it in their daily lives. For instance, if they mentioned integrity, then they had to mention the reason behind it and how it helped in their lives," explains this 26-year-old who believes that if not all, he can change some part of the society and influence youngsters.
Besides the Sarvodaya Mitra Mandali, Dilip also works for the Karnataka State Youth Red Cross Wing as a coordinator and media incharge. "As I believe in the values of Gandhi, I have also worked as a consultant for UNICEF in Disaster Management across the state. During the 2019 floods in Karnataka, I also worked in different capacities on the ground. Recently, I was nominated in New Delhi as a member to the South-Asia Youth Network by the Indian Red Cross Society."
