Page:Masani - Gandhi's story.pdf/39

Rh. To save time he wrote out some of the verses from the Bhagvad Gita, one of the famous books of the Hindu religion, on a piece of paper and pasted this paper on the wall in front of his wash basin. In the morning while he was washing and dressing he would learn these verses by heart. He soon memorized a great part of the book in this way.

It may surprise you to know that, although Gandhiji fought for the rights of Indians in South Africa, he remained loyal to the British who ruled there as in India. When the Dutch settlers in South Africa fought a war against the British, Gandhiji and his followers joined on the side of the British. Another time, when the Zulus, an African tribe, rebelled, Gandhiji helped the British and nursed those who had been wounded.

The Indians of South Africa now decided to have a paper of their own. They called it Indian Opinion and asked Gandhiji to be the editor. He thought it would be fine to have the offices of the paper on a farm where everyone who worked on the paper would also help with the farm. The idea was tried and worked so well that a friend gave Gandhiji a present of another farm very much larger. He named this “Tolstoy Farm” after the great Russian writer of those days who also believed in a simple and natural life.

The life on the farm was very, very simple. The people who lived there did all their own work. There were