Page:Masani - Gandhi's story.pdf/20

16 to tell them. He was too simple and honest to cheat or to understand why somebody wanted him to cheat. The other boys did, however, and they received good marks while Mohan alone had mistakes.

When Mohan was still a young child he found a book telling the story of Shravana and his great love for his parents. The story of Shravana is well known in India and all children are told this story for it teaches them to love their mother and father—to serve them unselfishly. Both Shravana's parents were blind and he devoted his whole life to looking after them. Someone showed Mohan a picture of Shravana carrying his blind parents and he could not forget it. He decided to try and be like Shravana and serve his own parents unselfishly. His father gave him a harmonium, which is an instrument very like an organ, and Mohan soon learned to play the sad tunes telling Shravana's story.

Another legend that Mohan liked very much was the story of Raja Harishchandra. Harishchandra never told a lie and always kept a promise. He became known as a great saint of truthfulness. The gods wished to test him and did in many ways, and every time he proved his saintliness. They then had to accept his worthiness and the Lord Indra, the King of the Gods, came down to earth and carried him, his wife and child to Paradise.

Mohan got permission from his father to see a play