What’s worth noting here is that even at this early stage of his pre-Mahatma-hood, Gandhi has no qualms about first admitting his flaws—even the most glaring ones—and then, seriously going about eliminating them, and even mastering them. No matter how “ashamed” Gandhi may have felt about his religious illiteracy, he would never give up but start anew. He was determined to turn his “shame” into a strong incentive to read, reflect, and study not only the Gita (short for Bhagavad Gita), but other major world scriptures—the Qur’an, the Zoroastra, the Old and the New Testaments, The Life of Mohammed, and Edwin Arnold’s Light of Asia.
A Comparative Study of the Bhagavad Gita
and the Bible
While reading the Gita along with his theosophist friends, Gandhi said (GATB, 90) that what made a deep impression on him were these verses from the Samkhya Yoga (Gita, Ch. 2: 62–63): “If one ponders on the objects of the senses, there springs attraction; from attraction grows desire; desire flames to fierce passion, passion breeds recklessness, and then the memory—all betrayed.” This particular stanza appealed to Gandhi as both logically and psychologically sound. This description of a chain-like human reaction starting with the sense attraction, growing into desire, escalating to passion and from passion to heedlessness, and resulting ultimately in loss of discretion and memory—made such a powerful impact on his mind, said Gandhi, “that the verses still ring in my ears” (GATB, Ibid.).
The new religious enthusiast now began to read the Bible—both the Old and the New Testaments—and he started making his own reflections and comparisons. “I disliked the Old Testament,” said Gandhi, “but the New Testament left a positive impression on me, especially the Sermon on the Mount went straight to my heart.” He was particularly moved by these words of Christ:
But I say unto you, that you resist not evil; But whosoever shall smite thee on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak too (GATB, 92).
Gandhi’s impressionable mind began to draw parallels and to unify the teachings of the Gita, The Light of Asia, and the Sermon on the Mount. To him, “renunciation” stood out as the principal message of the Gita—which much later, he would translate into Gujarati, as the Anasaktiyoga (“ana” meaning not or non, and “asakti” meaning attachment), or “The Yoga of Non-attachment.” He was also profoundly moved by Jesus’s sermon of kindness, even to one’s offender or enemy, and his preaching as well as practice of nonviolence and forgiveness in the face of violence and hostility. What Jesus preached, Gandhi compared to his own Gujarati saint poet Shamal Bhatt’s verse: “For a bowl of water, give a goodly meal.” He also remembered another Gujarati saint-poet’s “chhapa” (pithy, effective verse), which translated in English would mean “who is more virtuous? One who does good in return of good, or one who does good to all—even to those who hurt, speak ill or take away?” (Majmudar, 2005, 86).
Until now, Mohandas Gandhi, by his own admission, was not only a religious ignoramus, but almost “on the brink of atheism, not because of lack of faith, but because his faith was not yet nourished by convincing moral meaning” (Ibid., 87). I would like to add one more reason: Gandhi’s religious skepticism then was not due to religious ignorance alone, but it was for not having encountered any living exemplars of faith. At this point of his doubt or disbelief, Gandhi met Annie Besant and read her book Why I Became a Theosophist! Besant told the story of her own transformation from atheism to theism, which, said Gandhi, “helped me cross the Sahara of atheism” (GATB, 92). Just as Henry Salt’s book convinced Gandhi of the virtues of vegetarianism, Besant’s book not only removed Gandhi’s religious skepticism, but it also kindled his interest in learning more and more about his own as well as other religions.
Once Gandhi tasted a piece of the delicious “religious pie,” he could not stop. Developing a voracious appetite, he kept consuming books after books, especially about the lives of saints and religious teachers who not only preached but practiced religion in their lives—like Jesus Christ on the Cross, and Mohammed—the Muslim prophet—whose life of piety, bravery, and austerity also made a profound impact on Gandhi.
Besides the vegetarians and theosophists, Gandhi had also befriended some of the deeply pious Christians, Quakers, Puritans, and ethicists who greatly contributed to his intellectual, moral, and religious growth during his stay in London. They helped wipe out his earlier negative memories of the proselytizing Christian missionaries he had met during his boyhood in India. From his first positive experience of Christianity from such devout Christian friends in England, Gandhi would remain in touch with most of them through the end.
How Gandhi Became a Barrister-at-law
Interestingly, Gandhi seems to have not applied to his legal studies until late 1890. He decided to first take the London matriculation examination in order to have mastery over both the spoken and written language; he also took Latin for the same purpose, which stood him in good stead later, while practicing as a lawyer in South Africa. Still, he must not have found it easy, because it took him two attempts to finally pass the matric exam in June 1890. Now feeling more confident and well-equipped language-wise, Gandhi applied himself to his legal studies to become a barrister. He is said to have “enrolled” himself (the use of the word “enrolled” is objected to by some Gandhi writers and scholars for not being in vogue at that time, but we shall use it nevertheless) to mean that he had “registered” himself in the Inner Temple—considered to be the best among all the four courts—the other three being the Middle Temple, Lincoln’s Inn, and Gray’s Inn.
Gandhi found the curriculum to be easy. Though students had to pass exams in both the Roman Law and Common Law, Gandhi found the papers easy and examiners generous. Besides passing the exams, the students were required to “keeping terms”—which meant “eating one’s terms”—as Gandhi puts it jokingly. He found it very funny that the barristers were “humourously” (I’ve retained the original spelling as used by Gandhi) known as the “dinner barristers” (GATB, 104)! It was not even “partaking of the dinner,” says Gandhi, but “reporting oneself at the fixed hours and remaining present throughout the dinner” (Ibid.). Not interested in drinking or eating meat, Gandhi survived these dinners with a profuse amount of bread, boiled potatoes, and cabbage; no wonder he was the most sought-out companion for all carnivores! Summing up his London stay, he said, “I passed my examinations, was called to the bar on the tenth of June 1891, and enrolled in the High Court on the 11th. On the 12th I sailed for home” (GATB, 105).
Special Significance of
Gandhi’s London Experience
Most biographers and critics of Gandhi, from Louis Fischer (1950), and B. R. Nanda (1965) to even Erik Erikson (1969), have dismissed Gandhi’s London experience as “a waste of time” or as “unimpressive,” giving no clue or even a hint of the “Mahatma-to-be.” Notwithstanding their rather presumptuous and unfair judgments, I see this period as a precursor of the future Mahatma. It is in London that the once shy and inhibited young Gandhi learns to shed his narrow provincial identity to explore, experiment, and expand his intellectual, moral, and religious horizons. London for Gandhi was “The time of all first exposures”—to everything unfamiliar—from the British language, foods, culture, and religion to the kind of nonconformists and trailblazing personalities he encountered. As much as each experience challenged him and embarrassed him, it also helped him learn, grow, gain confidence, take charge, and develop new incentives. What could be more meaningful to the future “Mahatma” than to be first acquainted to his own as well as other religions of the world? Even though not yet deep, this first intellectual- religious exposure was crucially important to Gandhi; as he said, “it whetted my appetite” (GATB,