E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi’s Pancha Mahavrat… 67sown during his spiritual interaction with Rajchandra in the lastdecade of the 19th century when he had several occasion todiscuss with him both in person as well as throughcorrespondence. Perhaps his study of the New Testamentparticularly the life of Jesus Christ might have been anothersource of inspiration. He was toying with idea for some timebefore he took a vow of brahmacharya in 1906, in the wake ofhis experience of an Indian Ambulance corps, particularlywhile nursing the Zulu rebels including their women and theirextreme suffering and utter helplessness. In the wake of thissoul-touching experience, he reached two conclusions whichstayed with him all through his life. One that only non-violentresistance could be effectively offered against the strongerparty in terms of physical prowess. Two that only those whoare pure in heart could resist the strong and for thatbrahmacharya was a necessary pre-condition. Perhaps, it wasalso a practical need for him as the kind of public activities hewas engaged could have been hardly consistent with the role offull time house holder. This is also supported by the fact that inhis major lectures on Hinduism in 1905, there was no mentionof brahmacharya as a concept or as a practice, nor had heinsisted on celibacy in his scheme of Phoenix Settlement,wherein he even encouraged its members to get married.Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that 1906 was theturning point for his thought on brahmacharya. This idea asdeveloped in Hind Swaraj (1909), wherein he asserted thatchastity was necessary for the firmness of mind as sexualindulgence bred cowardice and loss of stamina. It was duringthe last years of his stay in South Africa (1913) that hedeveloped his ideas on brahmacharya in a more matured way.It was during his serial writings on health in the Indian Opinionthat he pleaded that chastity not only promoted good health butalso led to spiritual growth. It was during this period thatbrahmacharya for him came to mean more than mere sexual