Mahatma Gandhi 2. (H, 19-10-1947, p. 374), Those marriages which are undertaken for the sake of joint service carry their own blessings. (ibid, p. 83), Sexual intercourse for the purpose of carnal satisfaction is reversion to animality, and it should, therefore, be man’s endeavour to rise above it. I hold that husband and wife merge in each other. Gandhi: You are right to be angry. The ideal is to look upon marriage as a sacrament, and therefore, to lead a life of self-restraint in the married estate. When Mahatma Gandhiji was 13 years old, he was married to Kasturba Manakji, the daughter of a businessman, under the practice of child marriage. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also known as Mahatma Gandhi, was a Hindu thinker, lawyer, and politician, born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India. Innumerable persons eat in order to satisfy the palate, but such indulgence does not, therefore, became one’s duty. He tried very hard to swallow the meat, but he just couldn't do it. It seemed to him as though a goat was bleating inside his stomach. Marriage for the satisfaction of sexual appetite is no marriage. Mahatma Gandhi in a picture taken with Jawaharlal Nehru while they joke during a meeting of the All India Congress in Mumbai on July 6, 1946 (Max Desfor / Wikimedia / Public Domain) Mahatma Gandhi Facts. Mahatma Gandhi Marriage Life (Mahatma Gandhi Biography) In May 1883, at the age of 13, and according to the custom of the region at that time Mohandas was married to 14-year-old Kasturbai Makhanji Kapadia in an arranged marriage. asked Hari with some surprise. The life story of Mahatma Gandhi . Mahatma Gandhi is revered the world over as one of history’s most transformative and inspirational figures.Throughout his life in South Africa and India, Gandhi was a fearless campaigner for the rights and dignity of all people, whose constant and unwavering promotion of non-violence as a tool to win over hearts and minds has forever left its mark on the world. Of course, innumerable marriages take place in the natural course of events and such will continue. It is meant also to serve humanity. Mahatma Gandhi, Mohandas Gandhi, Ronald Duncan (2005). AHMEDABAD: Mahatma Gandhi was married to Kasturba in 1883 when he was just 13 years old. But Mahatma Gandhi admitted himself that Kasturba Gandhi was the power behind his force. Let not either of you regard another as the object of his or her lust . The ideal is to look upon marriage as a sacrament, and therefore, to lead a life of self-restraint in the married estate. "Well, perhaps he thought that these quarrels and differences were necessary in love. You know, Hari, it is forbidden by religion to eat meat. In May 1883, at the age of 13, Mohandas had an arranged marriage with the 14-years-old Kasturbai Makhanji Kapadia (shortened to “Kasturba” and affectionately to “Ba”). Kasturba ji was also a very calm and gentle lady. For me, the married state is as much a state of discipline as any other. Gandhi Ji was born in Porbandar (Gujarat), on 2 Oct 1869. For the time being, Mohandas was very happy, for he knew that he would get nice new clothes to wear and a new companion to play with. It is uyabhichara-concupiscence. He was born on October 2, 1869 at Porbandar. So meat was never bought or cooked in Mohandas's house. His friend knew this and he also knew that Mohandas was anxious that he should become strong and brave. Although married, Mohandas did not stop going to school. Just because they eat meat they are able to rule over us Indians, who are so weak and sickly.' He was the son of Karamchand Gandhi (father) and Putlibai Gandhi (mother). My story is different. When one partner breaks the law of discipline, the right accrues to the other of breaking the bond. He was also famous from other names as Mahatma, Gandhi ji, Bapu. No wonder he understood why the practice of child … How could he then eat meat ? Little is known of Kasturba's early life. The poor boy got sick and left his friend's house. If a reference to my own married life is not considered irrelevant, I may say that my wife and I tasted the real bliss o married life when we renounced sexual contact, and that in the heyday of youth. And if ever, by mistake, someone thought that he was telling a lie, he felt hurt and cried for hours. Indira's father was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi.However, the fact that Indira ended up with the same last … Through a prearranged marriage, Gandhi was wed at age 13; his wife, Kasturbai Makhanji Kapadia, was one year older. Kasturbai was weary of these little tyrannies, and the more Mohandas tried to control her, the more she resisted them. He was Hindu by religion. They were married 62 years. (Yi, 21-10-1926, p.365), My ideal of a wife is Sita and of a husband Rama. Mahatma Gandhi's marriage and children - Mahatma Gandhi Marriage and Family. That satisfaction is a denial of true friendship. ", "Why, then, I think I should also take to reciting Ramanama15, for I too am afraid of going in the dark. There is in it no room for sexual satisfaction. Surprisingly, the Mahatma never adopted same approach about the Hindu-Muslim marriages with others. One day she casually said to him that if he should ever feel afraid in the dark, or should find 'himself in trouble, he should start praying and repeating the sacred name of Rama.14 She assured him that would drive all his fear. For in Kathiawad there are two distinct rites - betrothal and marriage. Kasturba born the daughter of Gokuladas Kapadia and Vrajkunwerba Kapadia. The wife or the husband separates but to serve the end for which they have united. (H, 9-3-1940, p. 30), It is wholly wrong of parents to force marriage on their daughters. (ibid), The wife is not the husband’s bondslave, but his companion and his help-mate, and an equal partner in all his joys and sorrows- as free as the husband to choose her own path. His birth name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. (YI, 21-5-1931, p. 115), Absolute renunciation, absolute brahmacharya, is the ideal state. Very often they quarreled and would not talk to each other. ". In 1926 Gandhi wrote, “For me married state is as much a state of discipline as any other. life is duty, a probation. And if ever, by mistake, someone thought that he was telling a lie, he felt hurt and cried for hours. He would return home quite late after he began eating meat and each time he would have to make some excuse or other to his people. Mahatma Gandhi on Sex and Marriage. Mahatma Gandhi real name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The death of the boy entails no widowhood on the girl. One was Humayun Kabir, a Muslim, marrying a Hindu Bengali girl. "Well, Mohandas had given up telling lies; but he longed to get strong and to cast off all fear. Millions in this world eat for the satisfaction of their palate; similarly, millions of the husbands and wives indulge in the sexual act for their carnal satisfaction and will continue to do so and also pay the inexorable penalty in the shape of numberless ills with which nature visits all violations of its order. Those entered upon for self-satisfaction are wholly unworthy of any. This, however, I do know – that Hinduism leaves the individual absolutely free to do what he or she likes for the sake of self-realization for which and which alone he or she is born. No father has a right to turn a daughter out on to the streets for refusal to marry. Mahatma Gandhi statue unveiled in Parliament Square. Rama is ever considerate to Sita. (H, 5-6-1937, p. 134), Marriage is a natural thing in life, and to consider it derogatory in any sense is wholly wrong….. (H, 5-6-1937, p. 134), Undefiled love between husband and wife takes one nearer God than any other love. He always wished that everyone should think of him as an honest and truthful boy. He was killed on January 30, 1948, known mainly for vindicating and leading India’s independence through non-violent methods. Afterwards he tried to take meat several times, but he never liked it. life is duty, a probation. Gandhi: The laws relating to marriage in most countries permit a man to marry a young girl. So one day, he said to him, 'Look, Mohan, there is only one way of becoming strong and that is by eating meat. Owing to his poor health, Gandhi was released from prison in 1925. Mahatma Gandhi has a unique impact on our lives. By the way, Hari, there was one thing about Mohandas which I forgot to tell you. Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of India’s non-violent independence movement against British rule and in South Africa who advocated for the civil rights of Indians. (H, 15-9-1946, p.311-12), I do not believe in them (civil marriage), but I welcome the institution of civil marriage as a much–needed reform. I know of English marriages undertaken for the sake of companionship and mutual service. Hinduism regards each as absolute equal of the other. His father, Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi (1822–1885), served as the diwan (chief minister) of Porbandar state. Over the following years, he worked hard to preserve Hindu-Muslim relations, and in 1924 he observed, from his prison cell, a 21-day fast when Hindu-Muslim riots broke out at Kohat, a military barracks on the Northwest Frontier. (H, 16-31947, p. 68). Mahatma Gandhi - Mahatma Gandhi - Place in history: The British attitude toward Gandhi was one of mingled admiration, amusement, bewilderment, suspicion, and resentment. So we need to know some important facts about the life of mahatma Gandhi. But failure to do so as between husband and wife cannot be regarded as a sin or a matter of obloquy. Although married, Mohandas did not stop going to school. One of Mahatma Gandhi's most outspoken political critics was Winston Churchill. ", "But why did Mohandas behave in this manner, mother?". Millie: Yes, I know the laws do, but custom is against it. He was a very very timid boy, and would not enter a dark room. Every now and then, folks on the left who regard Mahatma Gandhi as a hero and a kind of saint, stumble on to his writings about sexual morality and marriage. He always wished that everyone should think of him as an honest and truthful boy. She knew how afraid Mohan was of the dark. You will hold her body and your soul as sacred as I trust she will hold her body and your soul. THE ideal that marriage aims at is that of spiritual union through the physical. he gets services mainly Porbandar and Rajkot. Mohandas, in his innocence, believed this and he agreed to start taking meat. Hence, if there be no sex consciousness and sexual contact, it is a question whether there is an occasion for marriage. Recalling the day of their marriage, her husband once said, "As we … Married life is intended to promote mutual good, both here and here after. Child marriage was common at the time, but Gandhi later came to oppose child marriage. They are one in two or two in one. It is meant also to serve humanity. The father of Mahatma Gandhi became the deewaans of the state. It precludes divorce. (ibid, p. 364), You will guard your wife's honour and be not her master, but her true friend. ", "Yes, my child, there is great virtue in prayer, and God always comes to the rescue of those who call on Him in their hour of need. He was Indian by natinoanliy. ... beneath the sugary surface is a tart exposé of the marriage market in Georgian England. Gandhi married aged 13 to Kasturbai aged 14. This year the day marks the 151st birth anniversary. Life is duty, a … It was then that our companionship blossomed and both of us were enabled to render real service to India and humanity in general…… Indeed, this self-denial was born out of our great desire for service. It should also be meant for nobler and pious an institution. In 1887, Mohandas Gandhi passed matriculation from the Ahmedabad center. He was first called ‘Mahatma’ by Rabindranath Tagore in 1915. Now the India will celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of the Mahatma Gandhi on the 2nd October 2019. ", And did he really get rid of his fear by praying to Rama, mother ? Even though Gandhiji had an early marriage, he was extremely critical of the phenomenon. "But then how did he come to be so brave and fearless?" The physical side of married life is given pre-eminence in these. He became a lawyer and returned to India at the age of 21 in 1891, a few months after his mother, Putlibai Gandhi, died in January. by Robert P. George 9 . “Gandhi: Selected Writings”, p.119, Courier Corporation Love is the strongest force the world possesses and yet it is the humblest imaginable. Mohandas was not even fourteen when his parents married him to a girl from Porbandar, named Kasturbai. In May 1883, 14-year-old Kasturba was married to 13-year-old Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in a marriage arrangedby their parents, in the traditional Indian manner. On the appointed day, Mohandas reached his friend's house and sat down to dinner along with others. Her marriage wasn't widely supported. But we have many other evils crept into it. They were married for a total of sixty-two years. In fact, he was considered to be one of the brightest boys in the class when he reached the upper standards. Then, he said, he would be able to take meat without his parents knowing any thing about it. In 1888, Gandhi Ji goes to London and follows the Anglicised approach. (H, 22-3-1942, p. 38) Marriage for the satisfaction of sexual appetite is no marriage. He returned home, but all night long he had a most restless and miserable time. And what is God but the Law? “Mahatma” was an epithet meaning ‘great-souled one’ that was added to his name.