When Gandhi attained independence, I requested him in a letter, "Mahatma Gandhi, now you started your struggle with the Britishers, that they should go and Indians should have their independence. Now you have attained independence and Britishers have gone. Now you preach Bhagavad-gita. You have got some influence. You are known throughout the whole world a very great saintly person, and you also pose yourself that you are a great scholar of Bhagavad-gita. Why don't you take up Bhagavad-gita and preach?" There was no reply. And he was still meddling with politics, so much so that his own assistants became disgusted. And it is said that he was planned tobe killed. Just see how much intoxication of this materialistic way of life. He was considered a mahatma, a great personality, and he got his svarajya. The Britishers left India. Still, he would not give up politics. Still, he would stick — unless he was forced to give up, he was killed. Similarly, Jawaharlal Nehru also. Nobody would retire voluntarily — unless he is killed by somebody or he is killed by the laws of material nature. This is the disease. He cannot give it up. Daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya [Bg. 7.14]. The maya is so strong that even an old man advertising to be very pious man, he cannot give up politics. Because maya is so strong, he's thinking, "If I leave political field, my countrymen will suffer, and so many disaster will happen." He's thinking like that. But actually, things will go on. Many politicians came and gone. In your country there were many, many great politicians; they came and gone. But your country people are still living and they are going on. In Germany also, many Hitlers came and gone. Similarly, in India also many Gandhis came and gone. But things are going on.

(Srila Prabhupada — September 12, 1969)

Gandhi was shot dead on Jan. 30, 1948