A GREAT SOUL The man who would one day become known as the Mahatma or great soul and be compared to Buddha and Jesus Christ did not begin life in a very promising promising way A fearful child and a mediocre student he suffered from extreme shyness and depression Raised in a vegetarian vegetarian family he ate meat in secret and once stole a statue from a temple Yet Mohandas Gandhi would eventually transform himself himself into a formidable spiritual and political leader His devotion devotion to truth and his capacity for self-sacrifice earned him the respect of his opponents and helped gain India its independence independence from British rule As early as 1919 the British scholar Gilbert Murray warned those in power they should be very careful how they deal with a man who cares nothing for riches nothing for comfort or praise or promotion but is simply determined to do what he believes to be right 4
Underestimated by many Mohandas Gandhi became an effective and inspiring leader He would challenge the power of the mighty British Empire 5
The Timid Child Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar Porbandar India on October 2 1869 His father was the diwan or political leader of that coastal city The Gandhi family belonged to the Vaishya caste and observed traditions from both the Hindu religion and Jainism Jainism His mother’s deep religious devotion made a strong impression on Mohandas The youngest child in a large family Mohan as he was called was a timid boy Snakes thieves and ghosts all frightened him and he had a terror of the dark Mohan was also painfully shy He spent much of his time reading and studying though he was just an average student Like many adolescents he went through a rebellious period during which he broke rules Hindu families traditionally arranged marriages for their children At age thirteen Mohan married a girl named Kasturba a young bride his parents had chosen for him Eventually the couple would have four sons together 6
This is the earliest known photo of Mohandas Gandhi dating from about 1876 He is seven in the photo According to Hindu tradition his forehead is marked with a red dot called a bindi 7
