Meatless Wonders: Gandhi

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Meatless Wonders: Gandhi
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He was born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi but the world came to know him as Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma means "Great Soul," and this is the title his countrymen bestowed upon this humble soul.
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"Often the title has deeply pained me; and there is not a moment I can recall when it may be said to have tickled me."
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Gandhi was born into better circumstances than most Indians. His family was of the merchant class and his father held the official post of Prime Minister in a number of Indian municipalities called Princelings. It is reported that Gandhi was a shy child who did not do exceptionally well on an academic level but was recognized by his teachers for his good character and his desire to learn the truth, a guest that stayed with him throughout his life. Following ancient Indian tradition, Gandhi's parents arranged for his marriage which took place when he and his bride, Kasturbai, were only thirteen years old. Gandhi had not yet gone through his rebellious teenage years during which he briefly experimented with smoking cigarettes and eating meat and reportedly was not the ideal husband. Nevertheless, through long separations, imprisonments, and incredible trials and tribulations, Kasturbai remained his faithful friend and helpmate until her death in 1944.
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The seeds of Gandhi's political life were probably sewn when, at the age of nineteen he left Kasturbai with their infant son and traveled to London to study law. While in law school he also studied the Baghavad Gita (the Hindu religious text), joined a vegetarian club and began to practice a frugal lifestyle.
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After graduating from law school, Gandhi traveled to South Africa to represent a business client. On this trip he experienced the most blatant prejudice against Indians he had ever known. Although he had purchased a first-class ticket for a train trip to his destination, he was told to go to the third class section of the train and when he refused, he and his baggage were thrown off. He found that in South Africa, Indians were subject to demeaning and repressive laws. They were required to carry a pass at night, banned from certain restaurants and forced to live in slums where they paid exorbitant resident fees. Gandhi organized the Indian citizens of South Africa and started a non-violent campaign to gain them equal rights, a campaign that would stretch over a twenty year period but would eventually be successful and restore their self-respect and dignity.
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Gandhi returned to India as a hero but he found that the condition of his native countrymen was at least as bad as what he had encountered in South Africa. He was urged by some of the Indian leaders to use his influence to help India gain home rule. But Gandhi felt that he did not know his country well enough to champion her needs. He and Kasturbai embarked on a two-year tour of their homeland, living and working alongside the peasants. It was during this time that Gandhi took a vow of poverty and began to dress in the homespun loincloth that came to symbolize his identification with the common people.
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It became Gandhi's intention to lead India to independence from Great Britain, but only if he could do so through non-violent means. For thirty years after his tour of India, Gandhi led his people in acts of civil disobedience which culminated in India gaining its independence in August of 1947. During this time Gandhi was arrested for sedition and imprisoned many times. Many of his associates and family members and even Kasturbai also spent time in prison. On several occasions, when the protestors swerved from the proscribed path and became violent, Gandhi would fast until he was certain that the violence had ended. He came close to death when Hindus and Moslems fought one another after predominately Moslem Pakistan split from the newly independent state of India.
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Gandhi's life and the actions in which he led his people were guided by two ideals, Satyagraha and Swaraj. Gandhi defined Satyagraha as "holding on to truth" or "truth-force." He felt that this truth-force could be used in a non-violent, loving manner to persuade others to amend their wrong ways. The concept of Swaraj involves spiritual independence, gained through "self-restraint, self-regulation and self-dependence." Gandhi's appeal for Swaraj was not only to individuals but to the Indian people as a whole. He urged them to clean up their own society by ending the age-old evils of untouchability, Hindu-Muslim conflict, and unequal distribution of wealth. Only through Swaraj and Satyagraha did Gandhi believe his people could gain spiritual and political independence and true freedom.
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Gandhi's life was a statement of the ancient Hindu concept of Ahimsa, a doctrine of nonviolence based on a belief in the sacredness of all life. In January of 1948 a civil war between Moslems and Hindus was brewing in the newly independent state of India. When an assassin's bullet ended Gandhi's life, the shared grief over the loss of their beloved Mahatma brought an end to the violence that he so abhorred. His life continued to be an inspiration throughout the 20th century as evidenced by the work of such leaders as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela and his message will undoubtedly go on encouraging all who are willing to work towards peace and justice without violence.
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This article is intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in this publication is intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical diagnosis and advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or health-care provider before starting any new diet or procedure involving your health. Prompt professional medical guidance is recommended for any health problem.