Gandhis Teachers Rajchandra Ravjibhai Mehta

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

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Rajchandra's Influences on Gandhi
thoroughly. This book made a great impression on Gandhi and he mentions that earlier he was vegetarian because of the promise made to his mother, but now he became a vegetarian by choice.22 He writes:23
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"I read Salt's book from cover to cover and was very much impressed by it. From the date of reading this book, may claim to have become a vegetarian by choice... I had all along abstained from meat in the interests of truth and the vow I had taken, but had wished at the same time that every Indian should be a meat-eater, and had looked forward to being one myself freely and openly some day, and to enlisting others in the cause. The choice was now made in favor of vegetarianism, the spread of which henceforth became my mission."
Gandhi later read other books on this subject24 and found that vegetarianism was recommended on ethical, scientific, practical, and medical grounds. The ethical argument was that man belonged to the highest species and his supremacy was not meant to prey upon the lower species, but to protect them. There also had to be mutual aid between the higher and the lower species. Some writers suggested that food was not meant for enjoyment, but for survival. Other writers recommended that man should abstain not only from fleshmeat, but also from products like eggs and milk as those came from animals. Scientifically, the writers concluded that man was better off living on fruits and vegetables. According to the practical argument, the writers demonstrated that a vegetarian diet was the least expensive. Medically, they recommended that all spices and condiments should be avoided as those were harmful to health. These arguments made Gandhi think about his own diet pattern and he engaged himself in life-long dietetic experiments. Gandhi stopped taking sweets and condiments and gradually his fondness for salt and spices also wore away. Now he started enjoying boiled food, which earlier tasted so tasteless to him. The diet reform also included giving up tea and coffee and substitution of cocoa in their place. Other experiments included periodic