Gopal Krishna Gokhale on politics–a mini story:

Gopal Krishna Gokhale is known to have been political guru (mentor) of Mahatma Gandhi. He was principal of Ferguson College at Pune. He resigned from the post as he had to join active politics. He was given a farewell and while addressing the gathering, he narrated to them a story. The story was that of a fisherman who loved and relished the sea waves so much. He used to roam on the sea waves going far off even in most adverse weather conditions. He enjoyed all this feeling himself lost into the very environment with a soothing pleasure and a sort of divine thrill. One day he thought as to why he should not take his family along with him in his journey of adventure to give them a feel of what he himself was enjoying. He had a plunge. Highly turbulent waves of the sea warned him not to risk the life of himself and also his family, but he was dead set to proceed further. He continued moving onward and even beyond that. There came a stage when all of them were engulfed by the high waves and they got lost into them for ever. Politics is like that only, said Gokhale, and he was plunging into it knowing fully well that by actively joining it, he was inviting only great troubles for him and his family besides losing his career as an educationist, but his inner self was stopping him from resisting the temptation.