In London, often hungry, he managed to find and sign up with the Vegetarian Society. As a teenager, he’d eaten meat for a year on the sly, wishing he could one day do so “freely and openly". Until he went to London, Gandhi was a reluctant vegetarian, kept to the path only by the dictates of his father and vows extracted by his mother. The rebirth of Gandhi as the researcher of multiple diets Later, his obsession with vegetarianism, purity and the rather harsh language with which he describes meat-eating earned him bitter critics. “From the date of reading this book, I may claim to have become a vegetarian by choice," wrote Gandhi in his autobiography. He also spent his time with Christian friends, understanding their books, and reading on Islam, exposure to all of which led to a syncretic way of thought.Īn unenthusiastic vegetarian finds his vegetarianism bibleĮarly in his London years, Gandhi came across Henry Stephens Salt’s A Plea for Vegetarianism in one of the few vegetarian restaurants in the city (he’d been subsisting on bread). He later met Madame Blavatsky and Annie Besant, who inspired him to read more on Hinduism. His faith had largely been prescribed by custom-until he read Sir Edwin Arnold’s translation of the Gita, The Song Celestial. Oddly reminiscent of NRIs today, Gandhi rediscovered Hinduism abroad, in London. He moved to cheaper lodgings, began cooking for himself, and kept careful account of expenses, a habit that would continue all his life even when lakhs passed through his hands as part of the freedom movement.įinding religion again, in a foreign land After his initial indulgences in efforts to “be an English gentleman", he buckled down and started counting pennies, feeling the guilt of having to ask his brother for money. Money is always short for a student abroad, and it was no different for Gandhi. Life hack for the overseas student is simple: live the simple life He tried French, dancing and violin lessons, worked on his English and etiquette, attended meetings on Christianity, and started his experiments with truth, diet, religion and value-based living. This was a period of exposure not just to bad weather and worse food, but also to ideas and people who would influence his personality. In 1888, Gandhi moved to London to study law, convincing his mother and brother that his religious values would not be compromised. London calling, and the experience of life on a broader canvas
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