Page 58 - GANDHI A Biography for Children and Beginners

GANDHI – A Biography for children and beginners

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In July 1914, Gandhi and his family left the shores of South Africa to return to

India. Gandhi first went to England in the hope that Gokhale would be in

England, and he would be able to meet him. But as Gandhi's ship neared
Britain, the First World War broke out.

Gandhi was concerned about what he should do as a citizen of the British

Empire. He still believed that the Empire stood for values that would benefit
the people of India. Moreover, as long as he enjoyed the benefits of being a

citizen, he could not neglect or ignore the duties that were attached to

citizenship. Since he believed in Ahimsa, he could not take to arms. But there

were other ways in which he could serve. He, therefore, offered to raise an
Ambulance Corps and started training. But he contracted pleurisy. He was

advised that the cold of England would make recovery difficult. So he decided

to leave for India.

He was given a rousing reception when he arrived in Bombay. Gokhale himself

was at the dock to receive him. He was keen to meet Gokhale because he
wanted to learn more about conditions in India before he plunged into public

work in India. Gokhale had asked him to spend one year observing and learning.

That would help him to understand men and issues, and to feel the pulse of the

Indian nation.

Gandhi first went to Rajkot and other places in Gujarat. From there, he went to

Shantiniketan in Bengal. The great poet Rabindranath Tagore had set up

Shantiniketan to serve as the centre of his small versatile sadhana, and as an
instrument for the transmission of his vision to succeeding generations. When

Gandhi decided to leave South Africa, he had to find a new home for his

colleagues in the Phoenix Settlement and the Tolstoy Farm who had joined him
to live as members of the spiritual community and participate in his sadhana.

Though Gandhi and Tagore had never met each other, both knew each other as

kindred spirits, though following different paths of sadhana. Rabindranath was

the first leader to describe Gandhi as 'the Mahatma' — "a great saint in a

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