Gandhi

"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?

Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away." 

- One of the last notes left behind by Gandhi in 1948, expressing his deepest social thought.

"He keeps watch over us while we are asleep. He gives us strength when all strength in gone. He is that Watchfulness, that Strength" - Gandhi. ... I can imagine Eashwaramma saying the selfsame words. Gandhi's philosophy is rooted in that of the ordinary people of India