Page:Speeches And Writings MKGandhi.djvu/941

 MR. GANpHl!§’jy¤E_LlGION Q ".l‘he battle was fought out in childhood under his mother’s influ- ence. But since that time abstinence from all animal food has become a matter of strong conviction with him, and he preaches it zsalously. When, in these Transvaal prisons, the authorities per- sisted in cooking the crushed mealies of the prisoners in animal fat, his followers preferred to starve rather than touch it. It is also part of his creed to live simply. He believes that all luxury is wrong. He teaches that a great deal of sickness, and most of the sine of our day, may be traced to this source. To hold in the flesh with a strong hand, to orucify it, to bring the needs of his own life, Thoreau and Tolstoi-llke, within the narrowestlimits, are positive delights to him, only to be rivalled oy ahe joy of rguiding other lives into the same path. I write this in the house in which he usually lives when in Johannesburg. Yonder is the open stove——there is the rolled·up mattress on which he sleeps. It would be difficult to imagine a life less open to the assrults of pride or sloth than the life lived here. Everything that can minister to the flesh is adjured. Of all men, Mr. Gandhi reminds one oi " Purun. Doss, " of whom Kipling writes sr-" He had used his wealth and his power for what he knew both to be worth, had taken honour when it came in his way ; he had seen men and cities far and near, and men and cities had stood up and honoured him. Now he would let these things go, as a man drops the cloak he needs no longer." This is a graphic picture of our friend. He simply docs what he believes to be his duty, accepts every experience that ensues with calmness, takes honour if it comes, without pride; and then, " lets it go ss a man drops the cloak he needs no longer," should duty bring dis- honour, In the position of "Purun Bhagat," he would do easily what the Bhagat did, and no one, even now, would be surprised to see him go forth at some call which no one else can hear, his crutch under this arm, his begging bowl in his band, an antelope skin flung around him, and a smile of deep content on his lips. " That man alone is wise Who keeps the mastery of himself. " Mr, Gandhi is not a Christian in any orthodox sense. Perhaps orthodox Christianity has itself to blame for this. There is little inducement in these Colonies for an Indian to recognise the Loveli· uess of Christ under the disguise in which Christianity clothes the Lord. What interest has the Christian Church in Johannesburg shown in these thousands from India and China, who for years have been resident in our midst? Practically none. Are they encouraged to believe that they, too, are souls for whom Christ died ? By no means. Here and there individual efforts have been made, and some few Indians attend Christian places of worship, but for the most part they have been left severely alone, while the few men, who have tried to show that thre is still a heart of love in the Church of Christ, and have dared to speak a word on behalf ot