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could not bathe due to non availability of another saree (one piece of six yards of cloth women use as dress to cover their body) to cover themselves while bathing. His long sojourns in Jail and fasting for 69 days are examples of his commitment to self suffering and Ahimsa. Thus Ahimsa became his religion and most potent weapon all through his struggle for freedom.
A good example of practice of Ahimsa during Satyagraha by both Gandhi and Jains was the Mill-strike in 1918. Sheth Ambalal and his family were Jains. Gandhi was fighting for the rights of mill workers against mill-owners whose president was Sheth Ambalal. Both sides were concerned about the pain and agony of each other, and yet Sheth Amblal, his sister Anusuyabehn and daughter Mridula were always by the side of Gandhi helping him to see that wives and children of strikers were properly taken care of. Similarly Gandhi was introspecting and wished to avoid the coercion effect of his fast on Sheth Ambalal.
So Gandhi vigorously kept his experiments of truth and Ahimsa all through his life.
Dietetic experiments based on nonviolent food /vegetarian food: He followed strict vegetarian diet that gradually excluded even cow's milk and spicy or stimulating food etc as well. He started eating less (skip breakfast). He even stopped using salt, taking tea and ate before sunset." We came across the following incidences about his dietetic experiments and adherence to the vows simultaneously:
During my visit to Dr Mehta in Rangoon: My fruitarian diet was a source of trouble to the host. But since Dr Mehta's home was as good as my own, I could control somewhat the lavishness of the menu. However I had not set any limit on the number of articles I might eat, the palate and the eyes refused to put an effective check
Gandhi & Jainism
Pg. 101
