Gandhi The Greatest Leaders Of All Time - 1450 Words

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, India, on October 2, 1869. He was also known as â€Å"Mahatma† which means great soul and he is known as one the greatest leaders of all time. Gandhi was raised in a middle class Hindu family but he lived in a multicultural community meaning he grew up around different people who practiced different faiths and beliefs. His father was a political figure in Porbandar and was the dewan of Rajkot and Bikaner which is a powerful government official. His mother was a very religious woman who practiced Vaishnavism and worshipped the Vishnu God of Hindu. She was known to go on fasts for extended periods of time throughout her life. She was also heavily influenced by Jainism which is focused heavy on†¦show more content†¦This promise would eventually lead to him to becoming a devout and strong vegetarian. Gandhi found people who were also into fasting and were vegetarians this made it easier for him to commit to the promise. As a child Gandhi always had respect for other religions and wanted to learn as much about each. He read books on western philosophy, the Bible and other religious works. All of these text had a strong influence on Gandhi s values, to be accepting of other religions as well as his own. College was his first time reading the bible and also his first time reading the Bhagavad-Gita, which is one of the greatest works of his own Hindu religion. His college days were meant to be about getting his degree and completing school which he did but there was a greater picture achieving that he dealt with his personal and moral issues with his faith rather than his studies even though he completed it in three years. He believed that religion was full of rituals he tried to get rid of the rituals as much as possible. To Gandhi religion was a human institution made by human ingenuity to solve practical affairs as well as spiritual matters. Upon completing school and getting his degree and passing th e bar to become a barrister Gandhi was eager to return home to his wife, kids and mother. The home coming wasn’t what he expected as his mother had passed away while he was in London. His family kept the news from him