Tweets will be posted, tributes paid and visits to Raj Ghat made today (October 2) to celebrate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. One of the favourite bhajans of the Mahatma was Vaishnava Jana To..,. which defines an ideal follower of Mahavishnu. How does the Prime Minister, the so-called Hindu Hriday Samrat of modern times, stack up against the ideals the timeless Gujarati poem lists? A translation of the bhajan and some real-life instances follow

September 2021 | The PM’s birthday  saw frenzied cult-making that rivalled such precedents in tin-pot regimes

Call those people Vaishnav who feel the pain of others
Help those who are in misery
But never let self-conceit enter their mind

December 2019 | The PM suggested anti-CAA protesters can be identified by their clothes. Critics compared the statement to a foghorn, not merely a dog whistle

They respect the entire world
Do not disparage anyone
Keep their words, actions and thoughts pure
The mother of such a soul is blessed

March 2021 | On Bengal campaign trail, the PM repeatedly cried out “Didi, O Didi” and was accused of uncouth behaviour

They see all equally, renounce craving
Respect other women as their own mother
Their tongue never utters false words
Their hands never touch the wealth of others

 May 2015 | Very worldly, Matrix-style at the Terracotta Warriors Museum in China

They do not succumb to worldly attachments
They are firmly detached from the mundane
They are enticed by the name of Ram
All places of pilgrimage are embodied in them

June 2020 | Four days after the deadly Galwan Valley clash, the PM said China had “not intruded into our border”. The eastern Ladakh standoff continues even now

They have forsaken greed and deceit
They stay afar from desire and anger
Narsi says: I’d be grateful to meet such a soul/ Whose virtue liberates their entire lineage