Gandhi before Mahatma: Key moments from his childhood and youth that shaped the young Mohandas
In his autobiography, Gandhi discusses several spiritual and moral questions that troubled his young mind, and ones that would ultimately come to shape the person he grew up to be.
Mahatma Gandhi. | Photo Credit: Twitter
Key Highlights
- When his brothers would tease him or playfully tug at his ears, he would run home to complain to his mother. 'Why didn't you hit him?' she would question, but Gandhi would respond, 'How can you teach me to hit people, mother?'
- Gandhi did not feel that eating meat was a sin, but he was violently against lying to his mother
- In one instance, in order to pay a debt that his brother had incurred, Gandhi stole a piece of gold. Aware that he had committed a great crime, he vowed never to steal again
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is, without doubt, one of the most influential spiritual and political figures in the history of the nation, and indeed the world. Following his return to India from South Africa in the early 1900s, Gandhi would go on to craft a political ideology centred around civil disobedience through non-violent means that would, ultimately, see the toppling of the British imperialist rule in India. Even seven decades after his death, his ideologies and virtues continue to leave deep impressions upon the greatest modern thinkers.
So it may come as a surprise to learn that as a child, and long before he was given the sobriquet, 'Mahatma,' Gandhi was no different from many his age. In fact, even the keenest of eyes may not have noticed how special the boy born on 2nd October 1869 in Porbandar would grow up to be. In his autobiography, Gandhi discusses several spiritual and moral questions that troubled his young mind, and ones that would ultimately come to shape the person he grew up to be.
An aversion to violence
Born to Karamchand Gandhi, a man known for his upstanding character and administrative ability, and Putlibai, his deeply religious and strong-willed wife, Gandhi was the youngest of six children and so naturally the favourite. Affectionately called 'Moniya' by his parents and friends, Gandhi was an energetic child who seldom liked to stay home.
When his brothers would tease him or playfully tug at his ears, he would run home to complain to his mother. 'Why didn't you hit him?' she would question, but Gandhi would respond, 'How can you teach me to hit people, mother?' - an early portent of things to come.
Disagreeing with the caste system
At primary school, the shy Gandhi did not particularly mix very well with his peers. He spent the majority of his free time at school alone reading but he did, however, have one friend – a boy named Uka. Uka was a sweeper at the school and also an untouchable.
On one occasion, when Gandhi rushed to his friend to share some sweets, the boy warned him against coming to close to him. When Gandhi asked why, Uka replied, 'I am an untouchable master.' This, of course, didn't stop Moniya from filling Uka's hands with sweets.
His mother spotted him and ordered him to return to her immediately. When she reprimanded him for going against Hindu customs, he retorted, 'I don't agree with you, mother. I find nothing wrong in touching Uka. He is not different from me, is he?' to which his mother had no reply.
Refusal to lie
After his marriage at the age of just 13, Mohandas would come to befriend one of his elder brother's peers, Sheik. Despite his bad reputation, Mohandas was impressed by Sheik's domineering stature. Sheik told Mohandas that it was meat that helped him grow as strong and tall as he was, and that if Gandhi did the same, he too would benefit.
Having heard that a movement had begun to effect change in Hindu orthodoxy, including the consumption of meat, Gandhi decided to try it himself. While he did not initially like the taste of meat, he soon developed a fondness for meat curries. But every time he ate a meat meal outside, he would need to provide an excuse to his mother. Gandhi did not feel that eating meat was a sin, but he was violently against lying to his mother. With the quandary eating away at him, Gandhi decided not to touch meat again.
Honesty and repentance
In his teenage years, Gandhi, like many children of his time, took up the bad habit of smoking along with Sheik, his brother and one of his other relatives. To buy cigarettes though, he had to pilfer small amounts of money. In one instance, in order to pay a debt that his brother had incurred, Gandhi stole a piece of gold. Aware that he had committed a great crime, he vowed never to steal again.
But he wasn't done repenting. He would write his confession on a slip of paper and present it to his father. Upon reading it, his father ripped the paper to shreds, sat back on his bed and sighed. Gandhi was distraught and left the room in tears.
Gandhi was always intimidated by his father, but from that day on he grew increasingly devoted to him and would rush back from school to wait on him. However, his father's health began deteriorating quicker and quicker, and when Gandhi was sixteen, he lost the patriarch of his family.