Mohandas Gandhi
Mohandas Gandhi
Born into a merchant family in 1869, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was under the influence of powerful people. Members of his family had served as prime ministers of an Indian state for several generations. His parents were strong in their religion, being devout and earnest Hindus. They were a part of a Hindu sect that worshipped Vishnu and promoted non-violence.
Apparently, he was most influenced by his mother, a gentle and intelligent person. According to Hindu custom, he married at an early age and grew to love his wife greatly. Together, they had four children and adopted a fourth.
Later, in 1888, he travelled to England to become a barrister-at-law.
There were several important influences that he encountered here: the
Western material style of life, which he decided not to follow, and in the simple Russian way of living he found: the New Testament, and the
Bhagavadgita, the bible of the Hare Krishna movement. It was here that he developed a sense of the presence of God in his life and the lives of men.
Gandhi then returned to India and studied law in Bombay, but he quickly denounced it, feeling that it was immoral and could not satisfy one's conscience. Despite this, he used his schooling to help plead for
Indian settlers in South Africa that were being oppressed by the white population. His personal experiences, including being ejected from a train in Maritzburg, of not being allowed the same rights as others lead him to begin a movement to help his people.
While in South Africa, Gandhi made himself poor so that he could identify with his the peasants. He then proceeded to start a colony that consisted of abused labourers. The colony became very large and many cities were crippled by the lack of labourers. The government reacted to this by jailing Gandhi several times along with many other of his followers. The war he fought was one without weapons, already Gandhi was on his way to starting his career of non-violent campaigns.
The main
Born into a merchant family in 1869, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was under the influence of powerful people. Members of his family had served as prime ministers of an Indian state for several generations. His parents were strong in their religion, being devout and earnest Hindus. They were a part of a Hindu sect that worshipped Vishnu and promoted non-violence.
Apparently, he was most influenced by his mother, a gentle and intelligent person. According to Hindu custom, he married at an early age and grew to love his wife greatly. Together, they had four children and adopted a fourth.
Later, in 1888, he travelled to England to become a barrister-at-law.
There were several important influences that he encountered here: the
Western material style of life, which he decided not to follow, and in the simple Russian way of living he found: the New Testament, and the
Bhagavadgita, the bible of the Hare Krishna movement. It was here that he developed a sense of the presence of God in his life and the lives of men.
Gandhi then returned to India and studied law in Bombay, but he quickly denounced it, feeling that it was immoral and could not satisfy one's conscience. Despite this, he used his schooling to help plead for
Indian settlers in South Africa that were being oppressed by the white population. His personal experiences, including being ejected from a train in Maritzburg, of not being allowed the same rights as others lead him to begin a movement to help his people.
While in South Africa, Gandhi made himself poor so that he could identify with his the peasants. He then proceeded to start a colony that consisted of abused labourers. The colony became very large and many cities were crippled by the lack of labourers. The government reacted to this by jailing Gandhi several times along with many other of his followers. The war he fought was one without weapons, already Gandhi was on his way to starting his career of non-violent campaigns.
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