Topic > The life and times of Indian philosopher Mahatma Gandhi

There is not a single country in the world where the name of Mahatma Gandhi is not known. He became famous because he dedicated his entire life to serving his country and serving humanity. Today I will briefly tell you the story of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Nation, or Bapuji, as he is affectionately called. Gandhi's father Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Kaba, was a minister there in Porbandar. Kaba Gandhi was an honest, upright, stern and quick-tempered man. His wife Putalibai was an extremely religious person. He would not eat until he worshiped the sun. So sometimes, during the rainy season, he would go hungry for two or three days at a time. He was a very loving and immensely hardworking person. To these parents a son was born October 2, 1869. He was their youngest child. His name was Mohandas. He was our Gandhi. His father's strict discipline and his mother's religious bent greatly influenced Gandhi. He was deeply attached to his parents and siblings. The values ​​of truthfulness, honesty, integrity were instilled in him from the beginning. As a child he wasn't very brave. He was deathly afraid of the dark, of ghosts and spirits, but also of snakes and scorpions. At night he cried out of fear. The maid who took care of him scolded him very often. “You should be ashamed,” he said. "What will you do when you grow up?" Then he told him that whenever he was afraid he should use God's name Ramah. Gandhi followed his advice and gradually overcame his fear. Soon it was time for him to go to school. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Since his father was in Rajkot at that time, he attended school there. Being extremely shy, he did not mix with other children. Most of the time he kept to himself. At first he didn't like some of the subjects he was taught, but with the encouragement of his teachers he studied them and began to like them. From then on he took his studies very seriously. Mohan was very shy. As soon as the school bell rang, he gathered his books and ran home. Other kids chatted and stopped on the street; some to play, some to eat, but Mohan always returned straight home. He was afraid that the boys would stop him and make fun of him. One day, the school inspector, Mr. Giles, came to Mohan's school. He read five English words to the class and asked the children to write them. Mohan wrote four words correctly, but failed to write the fifth word "Kettle". Seeing Mohan's hesitation, the teacher signaled behind the inspector to copy the word from his neighbour's board. But Mohan ignored his signals. The other kids spelled all five words correctly; Mohan wrote only four. After the inspector left, the teacher scolded him. "I told you to copy your neighbor," he said angrily. “Couldn't you have done it right?” Everyone laughed. As Mohan walked home that evening, he wasn't unhappy. He knew he had done the right thing. What made him sad was that his teacher asked him to cheat. As was customary in those days, when he was about 13-14 years old, he got married. His wife's name was Kasturba (and she was as old as him). It was during this period that Gandhi fell into bad company and acquired many bad habits. It was because of these bad habits that, unbeknownst to his parents, he was once forced to sell part of his gold bracelet. However, he soon realized his mistake and greatly repented of his sinful behavior. He decided to tell his father everything, but he missed thecourage to face it. So instead, he wrote a letter to his father, mentioning all the sinful deeds he had committed. He gave the letter to his father and stood by his bed, his face lowered in shame. At that time Kaba Gandhi was seriously ill. He felt unhappy when he read the letter. Tears ran down his cheeks, but he didn't say a single word to his son. It was too much for Gandhi to bear. At that moment he decided that he would always lead a sincere and honest life, and throughout his life he maintained this decision. During his father's illness Gandhi looked after him with great devotion and care, but unfortunately his father never recovered from the illness. He died shortly afterwards. In 1887, two years after his father's death, Gandhi passed his high school exam. At that time he was 18 years old. Everyone in the family decided that he should go to England and become a lawyer, so that on his return he could become a Dewan like his father. Respecting their wishes, Gandhi sailed to England in 1888. Life was completely different in England. The style of dressing, the eating habits, everything was all new to him. He remained totally confused and disoriented for some time. However, he soon adapted to the new environment. He had promised his mother that he would not eat non-vegetarian food or drink alcohol, and he remained true to his word. Many attempts were made to get Gandhi to accept Christianity as his religion. Gandhi stood his ground. However, he studied the Bible, the Geeta and the Quran and came to the conclusion that the fundamental principles in all religions are the same. So, whether the person was Hindu, Muslim or Christian, Gandhi felt that as long as he followed the principles of the religion, he would achieve salvation. He told this to all who attempted to convert him, and remained a faithful Hindu to the end. Thereafter Gandhi concentrated on his studies and successfully passed the bar exam. He returned to India in 1891, after completing his studies. He was looking forward to meeting his mother and telling her the good news, but he would be very disappointed. While he was in England, his mother had died. The news of his death was kept from him because his brother thought he would be mentally disturbed and his studies would suffer. After qualifying as a lawyer, he opened his own law firm in Rajkot. Since he did not find much work there, he came to Bombay. Even Bombay has not had any cases. Eventually, he got a case. He prepared well, but was unable to present it satisfactorily in court. Disappointed, he felt he would never become a successful lawyer. Just then Gandhi's elder brother managed to get him a case. He was asked to represent Mr Abdulla, a wealthy businessman in South Africa. After much discussion, Gandhi agreed to take up the case. He left his homeland and sailed to Africa in 1895. Even though there were many Indians in Africa at that time, all the power was in the hands of the British people. They considered themselves superior and treated the Indians and natives in the most offensive manner. Gandhi took up Abdulla's case and handled it very well. The Indians were very impressed and wanted Gandhi to stay in Africa. In connection with his work, Gandhi traveled extensively. However, he was treated very badly by the British people. Everywhere he went, he faced insults and rudeness. Sometimes he was even physically attacked. One day, while traveling from Durban to Pretoria in the first class compartment of a train, a British man got into the compartment. Seeing Gandhi, the Englishman became angry. He called the railway official and both ordered him to get off the train. Since Gandhi had purchased a first class ticket, yeshe refused to do so. However, they paid no attention to him. Even Gandhi did not move. Eventually the police were called. They pushed him out of the compartment and threw his luggage out the window. Gandhi had to spend the whole night on the platform. This was just one of the many humiliating experiences that Gandhi had to face. He had decided to return to India after completing his work in Africa, but the situation of the Indians there disturbed him greatly. He decided to stay and fight the unjust and inhuman laws that were imposed on them. Because everywhere there was discrimination. There was one set of rules for the Indians and natives, and a different set for the British people. Gandhi thought carefully about the matter. He realized that to fight against injustice it was vital for people to live united with each other. He tried with all his might to achieve this unity. He organized many meetings and informed people about the situation. In response, the people made him their leader and agreed to be led by him. Since all the power was in the hands of the English people, Gandhi realized that to fight them it was necessary to use a completely different method. It was then that he thought of the new idea of ​​'Satyagraha'. Satyagraha insistence on truth, a nonviolent protest against injustice. His movement aimed to fight the many unjust laws imposed on him, and in order for it to succeed, he was ready to face all difficulties and obstacles. It wasn't an easy task. He suffered many humiliations, faced many problems, but he did not give up. It was during this period that war broke out between the British and Dutch settlers in Africa. It was known as the Boer War. Gandhi and other Indians gave all possible help to the British. The British won the war and, taking into account the help Gandhi had given them, granted the Indians more privileges. They also decided to abolish the unjust laws that were imposed on them. Gandhi was very happy that his stay in Africa had served some useful purpose. Thinking that his work was now finished, he decided to return to his homeland. People were very reluctant to let him go back. They were very eager for him to settle in Africa itself. Gandhi finally told them that he would go to India, but would come to Africa whenever they called him. Only then did the people agree to let him go. They bid him a grand farewell and presented him with many expensive gifts. However, Gandhi did not accept anything. He donated everything to local organizations. During his long stay in Africa, Gandhi sometimes visited India, where he met many important leaders and sought their advice. Gopal Krishna Gokhale was one such leader who helped Gandhi in many ways. Gandhi admired him greatly and considered him his mentor. It was largely thanks to him that Gandhi entered the mainstream of Indian politics. When all these developments took place in Africa, it was 1914. Gandhi had spent almost 20 years in that country. He returned to India, because he had decided to fight for India's freedom. He decided that he would not miss a single opportunity that would help him serve his country and his fellow countrymen. As such he visited all over India and brought an awakening to the people living in the villages and cities. North of the Ganges, near the border of Nepal, there was a small place called Champaranya. He was known for cultivating indigo dye. Unfortunately, the British planters of Champaranya treated the local workers very cruelly. What's worse is that the government paid little attention to the cries of the workers. With the result that they were completely disgusted with their employers, Gandhi learned about this and went to Champaranya to do something for them. Nothe was able to bear their miserable situation. He started a satyagraha against the injustice done to the workers. Eventually the British were forced to put an end to the inhumane treatment of the workers. This satyagraha came to be known as "Champaranya Satyagraha". After the success of the 'Champaranya Satyagraha', Gandhi felt that he should settle down in one place. He chose a site near the banks of the Sabarmati river in Gujarat and established his Ashram there. He decided that henceforth he would devote all his time to the service of humanity and work for the oppressed. He preached what he practiced. He took up the cause of the Harijans who were treated in the most atrocious manner in the whole country. He raised his voice against the inhuman and unjust treatment meted out to them. He founded two newspapers 'Harijan' and 'Young India' and through these expressed his views and spread social awareness among the people. Meanwhile, agitations and revolts against British rule were increasing throughout India. In 1920 Lokmanya Tilak died and Gandhi became the leader of the Freedom Movement. Under his leadership, people participated in Satyagraha to fight injustice. He was arrested and imprisoned many times, but this did not dissuade him or his loyal followers. They continued their fight for freedom with even greater fervor. Gandhi was highly respected for his simple life, high thinking and courageous attitude. The British were also very impressed and called him for negotiations on the freedom of India. Since it was decided that the freedom struggle would not stop until full freedom was granted, the negotiations were to no avail. Various forms of Satyagraha and civil disobedience movements took place during that period. The "Swadeshi Movement" (for using local produce) was one of them. Gandhi advised and encouraged people to use Indian products and use Khadi (hand-spun cloth). He himself wore Khadi clothes and sat to spin on his Charkha (spinning wheel). People stopped buying British-made products. Instead, they lit fires born with these assets. The government, with the help of the police and army, tried its best to put an end to all these demonstrations and agitations, but they were unsuccessful. On the contrary, they have become more intense. The government had imposed a tax on salt and Gandhi initiated the "Salt Satyagraha". He and many other leaders were imprisoned, but the fight for freedom continued with greater intensity. While India was fighting for freedom, the Second World War had begun in Europe. The British looked to India for help, but Gandhi started the non-cooperation movement. Jawaharlal Nehru and many other Indian leaders joined the movement because they all had immense faith in Gandhi. The British government thought it would please the Indians by granting them partial freedom. Once again negotiations with Gandhi began, but Gandhi made it clear that he and his people wanted nothing less than complete freedom (Independence). To reinforce this demand, the Indian National Congress passed the Quit India resolution in 1942, demanding that the British leave India immediately. Angered by this resolution, the British again imprisoned him and his wife Kasturba. Please note: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get Custom Essay Kasturba died in prison. She always stood behind him in his freedom movements and other leaders. As a result, many secret organizations were formed that placed a number of obstacles in the way of the smooth functioning of the government. Around this time Netaji Subhashchandra Bose formed his 'Azad Hind Fauj' in Japan. Many Indians who were,.