The difference between Anna Hazare and Mahatma Gandhi

Anna Hazare, the social activist who has been in the news lately because of the Lokpal Bill, has been compared to Mahatma Gandhi. This post explains the similarities and differences between the two men by comparing their hands. But before I begin, it needs to be said that these two men couldn't be more different!

The major characteristics of Hazare’s hand are his strong mount of Moon, the deep and dark lines on his rather rectangular palm, the development of the lower part of the hand, and slightly short conic fingers accompanied by a long thumb. Mahatma Gandhi, on the other hand, has a squarer palm with a better balance of the mounts, a larger hand and longer fingers, telling us that he is quite different from Anna Hazare, although they could share
some common traits.

Idealism and impressionability are the qualities they share, but Mahatma Gandhi’s thumb shows formidable willpower, and stubbornness to the point of unreasonableness, as well as strong mental resistance. Whether this was a great quality or not is not the question here. What this stubbornness did for Gandhi was that it helped him balance his impressionability and made him impervious to influence. He would stick to his guns no matter what.

Check out a hand photograph of his here and here and Mahatma Gandhi's here.

Anna Hazare's fingertips are conic, particularly the tip of the Jupiter (index) finger although the first phalange of this finger is short. The first phalanges of his fingers are average, overall, and the third phalanges quite developed. The thumb is long, a little high-set, and conic-tipped as well, with a strong first phalange. The Mercury (little) finger is long and the Apollo (ring) and the Jupiter (index) finger are balanced with each other in length. The Lower Mars mount is high as is the Moon mount. The life and head lines are joined considerably.

His hand features tell us that he is a little diffident and cautious and also something of a dreamer, with an inner timidity. Gandhi too was a dreamer (though to a lesser extent) and was a little timid as well, but Gandhi was less timid than Hazare is and he had a broader world-view. Hazare’s humble persona is something he shares with Gandhi but Mahatma Gandhi was more humble (but less timid); humble to the point of lacking sufficient self-esteem. But Gandhi’s other qualities, like his stubborn will and strong mental resistance, helped override his weakness.

Both Hazare and Gandhi's hands show the kind of aggression required to push through their agenda and both possess willpower but Hazare's hand does not show true leadership qualities. His thinking can be limited, and in fact strategic thinking is missing entirely. He may a doer, but may not be able to see the larger purpose. He does have the willingness to listen and accept others’ points of view. This is a great quality by itself, but when combined with idealism, and impressionability, as Anna Hazare's hand shows, it can become a stumbling block. Besides, Hazare hand shows that he lacks inner mental resistance, the kind of stubbornness to drive him to overcome all obstacles, however formidable they are. It makes him vulnerable to the influence of others. In such a case the person would require the ability to evaluate people well. Although Hazare does have the ability to understand people, the ability is far less as compared to Gandhi. He is also less shrewd and cunning as compared to Gandhi.

Anna Hazare is more of a doer than Gandhi ever was. Mahatma Gandhi was more of an intellectual. Both are capable and effective men, in their own way. Hazare is more likely to actually do things himself, act quickly and achieve much. But to the credit of Gandhi, he had a broader perspective which enabled him to see issues as a whole and a better ability to judge their impact. Hazare would be dependent on others to show him the way. His hand shows that he lacks the ability to be a true leader like Gandhi was and one of the reasons is that his perspective can be narrow.

Hazare's integrity and honesty (like Mahatma Gandhi’s) is high, but he can be used by others. His straightforwardness, almost like innocence, the ability to listen, humility and simplicity, timidity, idealism, and lack of cunning are his vulnerabilities. 

Related Reading: Read about eminent personalities in India's history like Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan or find out about what Mahatma Gandhi's hand says.

Or read about the difference between Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher.

Related Readings of some veteran and some modern Indian Politicians like Sonia Gandhi or Lal Krishna Advani or Mamata Banerjee or Narendra Modi or P. Chidambaram or Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or Mayawati or Nitin Gadkari, or Nitish Kumar or Kiran Bedi.

Or check out the hand reading of other Spiritual Leaders from all over the world.

Or read about other Indian Politicians and also international names by checking out all readings filed under the label "Politicians."