"Cleanliness" makes Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the father of the Indian independence movement, was known for his cleanliness and he also promoted abstinence. His gluttony may have been innate, and the particularly harsh action of abstinence that he promoted had to do with an unfortunate thing that had happened to him. Gandhi had been married at a very young age, and one night, when he saw that his father on the sickbed was slightly stable, he left his father and returned to his bedroom, where he indulged in unbridled entanglement with his wife. However, shortly after he left his father, the servants came to say that his father's life was in danger. After his father's death, he indulged in carnal desires, which made Gandhi feel a strong sense of guilt.

After that, Gandhi's children died three or four days after birth, which further enhanced Gandhi's guilt. Gandhi felt that this was the retribution for his sins.

In order to compensate for his inner wounds and guilt, Gandhi pursued an abstinent life more and more. He had already had this sign at a young age, and over time this quest became more and more intense, first manifested in vegetarianism and in his puritanical disposition of abandoning all false substances, which became the source of his continued strife. Later, Gandhi became a lawyer, and his never easy to compromise personality also made him constantly involved in various disputes, and he gradually became a leader in the struggle against injustice. On the other hand, the more he abandons all kinds of selfish desires, and his life becomes more simple and simple.

For example, in the beginning, he did not go to the laundromat but washed his own clothes, even with the collar of his shirt. He believes that this will not only save the cost of washing clothes, but also do not have to trouble others and rely on others. Of course, as a laundry layman, Gandhi's clothes were not very clean, and sometimes he made a lot of jokes, but he didn't mind. He also didn't let others give him a haircut, but instead cut his own hair with a clipper. It was barely okay to look in the mirror, but it was pushed deeper and shallower in the back, but Gandhi never cared about that. He also didn't let others clean the bathroom, but did it himself. At that time, the status of lawyers was very high, but Gandhi's behavior was contrary to ordinary people.

When he returned to India from South Africa, his supporters gave him a grand farewell party and gave him many valuable jewelry as farewell gifts. For the sake of the Indians of South Africa, he forcibly took half of the treasure from his ecstatic wife and kept it as a trust property. Gandhi gradually became independent of anyone and did everything himself. He began to make bread by himself, and even the wheat flour used to make bread, he did not buy it but made it himself. He bought a farm and began a self-sufficient life.

Not only was he addicted to such a life, but even his wife and family were involved. Gandhi wanted his children to grow up in the same environment as the children of poor families, so he not only did not provide special education for children, but also provided them with few basic opportunities to read and write. But he himself was highly educated and had studied in England. It has to be said that Gandhi was indeed a self-indulgent and arrogant father, forcing his wife and children to follow the beliefs he espoused.

Finally Gandhi began a life of complete abstinence. He forbade himself from drinking tea, or even eating beans and salt, even though beans are an extremely important source of protein for vegetarians. Eventually he stopped eating grain, eating only fruit (inexpensive fruit from his farm) and began a regular hunger strike.

Gandhi took only a very small amount of nutrients in order to survive, which left him with no extra flesh left, and he looked like a skin and bone.

Excerpt from "Eccentric Psychology"