By the way, as we mention Mahatma Gandhi...

During my travels in India, I have been surprised to discover that many folks there do not respect Gandhi; some even resent him deeply for having "partitioned India." It seems that many feel the separation of Pakistan from India was a very bad thing for India and Indians, and that Gandhi had caused that, indeed preferred that outcome.

While there is room for reasoned debate about whether the drawing of political boundaries is a good thing, there can be little doubt about Gandhi's dedication to the cause of the equality of all his fellow countrymen and women, and no question at all that he worked selflessly against the influence of religious dogmas he saw dividing his fellow Indians, one from the other.

Sadly, those same dogmatic tendencies are still at play today: some Muslims do not approve of equating Rama with Allah, while some Hindus would prefer not to include that verse when singing the bhajan, because it is "too political" (a cover, in most cases, for their disdain at the suggestion that Muslims are their equals).

Hence, this bhajan remains not free of controversy, as with Gandhiji himself.