🌼 A Prayer for the Departed and the Living By Rehan Allahwala — inspired by the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi Yesterday, in Delhi, the air trembled with sorrow. The streets that once echoed with laughter now whisper only silence. And yet, in that silence, if we listen deeply, we can still hear a truth Gandhi once spoke: “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” To the families who lost their loved ones — I bow before your grief. Your tears are sacred, your pain is the world’s inheritance. You do not mourn alone; all who believe in peace mourn with you. Let no anger rise from this wound, for as Gandhi said, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” May we be strong — strong enough to forgive, and tender enough to love even those who have forgotten love. Let this tragedy not divide us by name, nation, or faith, but remind us that we are, each of us, the light and the shadow of one another. Every drop of blood spilled upon the earth calls not for revenge, but for awakening. And in that awakening, may we remember Gandhi’s prayer: “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” So let us be gentle. Let us be kind. Let us rebuild what hatred tried to break. For the souls that left us — may they rest in the arms of eternity. For the hearts that remain — may they rise as bridges between divided shores. If God lives anywhere, He lives in the hands that lift another from despair. If peace begins anywhere, it begins in the heart that chooses to love — even today. May Delhi’s sorrow become humanity’s vow: Never again shall we let fear be stronger than compassion. “Where there is love, there is life.” — Mahatma Gandhi — Rehan Allahwala