Page 59 - GANDHI A Biography for Children and Beginners

GANDHI – A Biography for children and beginners

beggar's attire", and to Gandhi, Rabindranath was Gurudev, or the Great

sentinel of Shantiniketan. It was, therefore, natural for Gandhi to think that

Shantiniketan would be a good temporary home for his colleagues, till he
decided where to set up his own Ashram or permanent abode in India. Gandhi's

visit to Shantiniketan was a landmark. A new stream of consciousness flowed

from him, and even though his stay was short, Gandhi left an imprint on the

students and teachers of Shantiniketan. Gandhi's sojourn was, however,
interrupted when news came of the passing away of Gokhale.

Gandhi rushed to Poona which was the headquarters of the Servants of India
Society and Gokhale himself. Since he had looked upon Gokhale as his political

Guru, he offered to work for the Servants of India Society which Gokhale had

set up. But he knew that his ways of thinking were not identical with those of

Gokhale's main colleagues like Srinivasa Sastri. Gandhi did not want to
embarrass anyone. So, he withdrew his application for the membership of the

Society.

In the meanwhile, after much thought, Gandhi decided to set up his Ashram at
Ahmedabad, in his native province. He set up his Ashram first at Kochrab in the

town itself. Later he moved to the outskirts of Ahmedabad, and set up an

Ashram on the banks of the river, Sabarmati.

Gandhi's Ashrams were different from those of the ancient sages. He was a

seeker after Truth. To him, Truth was God. So he was a Sadhak. But he did not

believe that one had to withdraw from the world or society to seek Truth or
God. Truth could be and should be sought in all fields of human activity. He did

not believe in dividing life into 'this worldly' and 'other worldly'. There was only

one world. Whether it was the inner world of the human being or the external

world in which he lived, — society and environment. Truth ruled both the
worlds. So the path to Truth or the sadhana for truth had to be identical.

He identified this common sadhana as Satyagraha — life and action based on
Truth, a way of life that would enable one to find and cling to Truth in personal

and social life. "Such a way of life had to be based on Truth, love,

brahmacharya or total consecration of oneself to the pursuit of truth; non-

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