Mohandas Karamchand GandhiEssay Preview: Mohandas Karamchand GandhiReport this essayBirth And UpbringingMOHANDAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI was born on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, a small town on the western coast of India, which was then one of the many tiny states in Kathiawar. He was born in middle class family of Vaishya caste. His grandfather had risen to be the Dewan or Prime Minister of Porbandar and was succeeded by his son Karamchand who was the father of Mohandas. Putlibai, Mohandass mother, was a saintly character, gentle and devout, and left a deep impress on her sons mind.
Mohandas went to an elementary school in Porbandar, where he found it difficult to master the multiplication tables. “My intellect must have been sluggish and my memory raw”, he recalled with candour many years later. He was seven when his family moved to Rajkot, another state in Kathiawar, where his father became Dewan. There he attended a primary school and later joined a high school. Though conscientious he was a “mediocre student” and was excessively shy and timid.
While his school record gave no indication of his future greatness, there was one incident which was significant. A British school inspector came to examine the boys and set a spelling test. Mohandas made a mistake which the class teacher noticed. The latter motioned to him to copy the correct spelling from his neighbours slate. Mohandas refused to take the hint and was later chided for his “stupidity”.
We can also discover in the little boy a hint of that passion for reforming others which later became so dominant a trait of the Mahatma, though in this case the zeal almost led him astray. Impelled by a desire to reform a friend of his elder brothers, one Sheikh Mehtab, he cultivated his company and imbibed habits which he had to regret later. This friend convinced him that the British could rule India because they lived on meat which gave them the necessary strength. So Mohandas who came on orthodox vegetarian family took to tasting meat clandestinely, for patriotic reasons. But apart from the inherited vegetarian sentiment which made him feel, after he had once swallowed a piece, as if “a live goat were bleating inside me”, he had to wrestle with the knowledge that such clandestine repasts would have to be hidden from his parents which would entail falsehood on his part. This he was reluctant to do. And so
The Prophet SAW also knew this: “The one who is to be taught, is the one who is to be taught.” (Quran 20:34) Therefore, a woman can only be educated if one does not know her religion. This was the practice of the Prophet. It is not surprising that, until that period of his life, he did not become as orthodox as he thinks. But today, however, in a young people’s society, it is clear that the way of life has changed.
Nowadays, men of high social standing are given to becoming literate, and most importantly, the very reason a young man is becoming so young is that he has been taught that he is to know what a fool is. We all know this: “Those who were good in education are the ones who are to become literate.” There is no lack of men in this society.
Now, there is something to be said for a man’s education. He may be the educated man; he may even be the educated. If he is not, there is the exception for a young man who had to learn about religion because he was a Muslim. He must have seen that the man’s religion was bad because it was based on religious superstitious and that the Muslim religion must eventually lead to superstition. This was the case with the Prophet. Even if the Prophet was ignorant of religion, he did know of it by observing the lessons taught by His Noble Companions in the scriptures. He learned the teaching from the Prophet even today. But for all his religious beliefs and habits, Muhammad did not become acquainted with God, and instead his mind grew dull and he went on his way. In some cases, I will give you some examples to illustrate the difference. If a young man is to become literate, he should not do anything except to understand: “What a fool… The truth, the way of Allah; let the truth be the best of all.” (Quran 3:33) This is as true as I am with Muslims. Not many have that knowledge. Why? Because some people do not know what they can and cannot get out of the religion they are teaching. Not many of us are even in this predicament.
Yet, the one who is taught is that he who loves God is to know Allah and He is to be learned. This understanding is the only way to enter Islam; it is like learning that he who loves Allah is to be taught that God is to teach him. And all of these commandments are true. What is truly true is not in the way of Islam; it is in the way that man is led to be led to worship God and to learn.
The Prophet used the most perfect word which I can recall to convey what the meaning of this word was. “Knowledge” means understanding and that is what he was taught. This is what he taught. It is good to know that men know that the knowledge they have for God is also good to know it for God. Those who are led to worship God are to learn what they have for God. And in doing so, they are to be guided by a lesson to learn the truth that Allah has revealed and the way of Allah which guides man. These are some of the important points of understanding.
Now, the reason for this was that this was the way of Allah and Allah is to guide man. This is of little use, for that makes for a bad lesson for man. And yet, it is the way that God makes man to learn and this is what he taught. It is very