Page:Gandhi The Man and His Message.djvu/5

 She was a very jealous and affectionate mother and took a religiously absorbing interest in the bringing up of her children. Mr. Gandhi, the favorite “Mohan” of his parents, was the center of all the cares and discipline of his loving relatives. He inherits in his person the determination of purpose and the tenacity of a powerful will from his father and the sense of religious and moral purity of life and conduct from his mother. After graduation from a native school in his home town, he was sent to England to finish his education there. He qualified himself for the Bar at the University of London, and on his return home was admitted as an advocate of the High Court of Bombay. While still in London, Mr. Gandhi had the misfortune to hear of the death of his mother. This was no simple loss, nor any slight shock, even for a Mohandass Gandhi. His companions and classmates can well recall to this day the picture of the young “stricken” Gandhi, passing his days of intense sorrow in solitary confinement, in voluntary seclusion, punctuated at irregular intervals by the sweet, melancholy tunes of his favorite violin. From the boisterous life of a rich London student he could find an escape only when he sat alone by his window, violin in his lap, and the dear departed mother in his mind. A product of the early favorable circumstances and all the advanced education, Mr. Gandhi is thus a highly cultured gentleman with finished and polished manners. He possesses a pleasant temperament with but a tinge of melancholy pervading throughout his life and conduct.

As a patriot and a leader of an oppressed people struggling for freedom, Mr. Gandhi belongs to the category of the world’s great liberators such as Washington, Lincoln and Mazinni. As a saintly person who has dedicated his whole life to preaching the gospel of love and truth, who has literally lived up to his preachings, he ranks among the world’s great sages like Buddha, Jesus and Socrates. But as a unique combination of a political agitator and a saint (with the motto, “I believe in loving my enemies”), an untiring and unresting promoter of a huge