Gandhis Teachers Rajchandra Ravjibhai Mehta

Author(s): Satish Sharma
Publisher: Gujarat Vidyapith Ahmedabad

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Gandhi's Teachers : Rajchandra Ravjibhai Mehta
that if one seriously wanted to devote life to public service, then one should rise above family orientations and not harbor desires for position, power, and wealth in the society. All these posed hindrances in public service and thus needed to be curtailed. Family loyalties particularly led to narrower orientations and without the vow of brahmacharya one could not keep service to community and humanity over and above service to the family. Gandhi, therefore, took the vow of brahmacharya, raised himself above narrow family orientations, and decided to live the life of a vanaprasthu,'' so that he could be free from the householder's responsibilities and devote more time and energy to public service. The other reason for Gandhi to take the vow of brahmacharya was his desire for soul- purification, self-realization, and pursuit of the goal of moksha. The vow of bralımacharya was initially prompted by Gandhi's own introspections and influences of Rajchandra, but later Gandhi's study of the shastras- also confirmed the suitability of this path. Keeping the vow of brahmacharya, though, did not turn out easy for Gandhi and it required much effort and vigilance on his part.?' Ultimately he did succeed and in the process also expanded the meaning and purpose of the vow of brahmacharya manifold.
Diet and Dietetic Experiments
Diet and dietetic experiments is another area where Rajchandra exercised considerable influence on Gandhi. At the time of his departure to England, Gandhi had promised his mother that he would not drink alcohol, eat meat, and have illicit relations with girls. However, he constantly ran into difficulties regarding his vow of vegetarianism. The food he got in England was boiled and without salt and condiments. It tasted insipid. Gandhi was in search a good vegetarian restaurant, where he could enjoy good food and eat to his heart's content. He eventually found one such restaurant. The Salt's Plea for Vegetarianism was displayed in the window of this restaurant. Gandhi bought the book and read it