This is a letter of thanks to one of the most honored ambassadors of peace the world has had the privilege of knowing. Now I am not alone in my admiration and gratitude for the man who has led so many to the search for harmony and equality.

Dear Gandhi,

Of course there is no way for you to know me. I was born long after your death on that fateful day in January when you were about to head to a prayer meeting. I live thousands of miles from where you defended your movement for freedom. But I heard about you and ever since I’ve been in awe of what you’ve accomplished and how you accomplished it.

Mahatma Gandhi, thank you for being such a courageous ambassador of peace that, even decades after your death, the legacy you left behind continues to leave an indelible mark on people who listen to your story, like me.

You are my hero of peace. You were one of the earliest and best known promoters of the resolution for non-violence. You displayed a single-minded passion for the sanctity and preservation of human life and demonstrated that the success of a person or a cause is not always achieved through physical brutality or force.

You are my freedom hero. The Indian independence movement you helped shape inspired so many other freedom movements around the world. But it is not only freedom from political slavery that you defended, but also from all the things that limit us, such as our fears and insecurities, in our struggle to achieve and recognize our true potential. And for that, I send you this letter of thanks.

You are my champion of human rights. In a time of inequality in almost all social contexts, you fought for the rights of women, the poor, the religiously oppressed and the physically abused. And their actions have instilled in me a greater understanding of equality and its importance.

Mahatma Gandhi, please accept my letter of thanks. You may not know me, but you have changed me and the way I see the world. You have made me appreciate the freedom that I am experiencing and you have taught me that this is something that I must always cherish and safeguard. You have made me recognize the value of peace and truth. But above all, you have taught me selflessness and the ideal of creating something that is bigger than me and that will not only affect me but also others. I will never achieve the greatness that you have, but because of your life story, every day I try to do what I can to help others and appreciate what I have.

Respectfully yours,

raffy-chan