The making of a Mahatma

Whenever we admire great people, we often wonder how they must have been as children. Biographies of famous personalities reveal that some traits of greatness, achieved later in their lives, were prominent in their childhood. This is true of Mahatma Gandhi as well. A few incidents from his life show how his strong principles and ideas actually had their roots from early on.

Belief in peace

Even as a young boy, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi did not believe in retaliating with violence. Once, when his brother hit him, he complained to his mother. Busy with household chores, she suggested the easiest way out: of hitting him back. He retorted, “Why don’t you ask him not to hit me in the first place, instead?” He wanted to nip the quarrel in the bud, peacefully.

Gandhiji (right) with his eldest brother Laxmidas. | Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Back then, the evil of a rigid caste system prevailed and people who cleaned toilets were considered to be untouchables. Even as a child, Gandhiji thought this ridiculous and touched the boy who came to wash the toilets in his house. As an adult too, he strongly condemned the practice of untouchability.

Young Mohandas. | Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

To eat meat or not

In the pre-independence era, Gandhiji heard his classmates discussing the possibility of a war to oust the British from India. They also expressed their fears of not matching up to the strength of the Englishmen, as most Indians were vegetarians. Since he came from a strictly vegetarian family, Gandhiji secretly started eating meat to gain strength. He wanted to be physically fit to fight for his nation, if the chance ever came. But he did not feel right about doing something that had to be hidden from his parents and soon gave it up. In course of time, he realised the futility of eating meat for strength and resorting to bloodshed to fight for something that was rightfully ours.

The seeds of ideologies such as nonviolence, truthfulness, patriotism and a strong belief in peace and equality of all mankind, and standing up for what is right —sown in early childhood —grew forth into sturdy trees that not only gave Indians their freedom in a peaceful manner, but also gave the world the philosophy of ‘live and let live.