Gandhi started going to school in Porbandar. Later when the family moved to Rajkot, he joined the Alfred High School at Rajkot. He was conscientious, but not fond of studies. He was shy. He would hardly mix with other students in school, and the moment school was over, he would run back home. He was not fond of games but liked to go for long and brisk walks. He had the highest respect for his teachers, and never wanted to do anything that would give them pain.
Yet, there were
occasions in school (and outside) when his innate loyalty to truth was put
to test. Once when he was in the class, the Inspector of Schools visited his
school. The English teacher was keen to prove that his students had been
taught well. He gave the students a dictation test in the presence of the
Inspector. Young Gandhi could not spell the world 'kettle' correctly. The
teacher saw this. He tried to prompt Gandhi to look at what the student next
to him had written and to correct himself. But Gandhi could not bring
himself to do this. He could not believe that his teacher who should have
been concerned with the truthfulness and character of his students was
himself prompting him to cheat or engage in untruth.
On another occasion
Gandhi had to experience the agony of being taken for a liar. Most students
of his school used to go home after the end of regular classes and return
for the period of gymnastics. Gandhi too used to do this. One day, by the
time Gandhi arrived for gymnastics, the period was over, and boys had gone
home. He was marked absent, and was hauled up before the Headmaster, Eduljee.
Gandhi explained that he had been nursing his ailing father. Besides, the
clouds too had misled him in judging the time. But the headmaster did not
believe Gandhi, called him a liar, accused him of lying and imposed a fine.
It was not the fine that hurt him, but the thought that he had been looked
upon as a liar. That day, Gandhi learnt the lesson that those who wanted to
be truthful, and taken as truthful, had to be vigilant and mindful of
There were other
experiences that taught Gandhi even more bitter lessons. He became friendly
with a boy who had earlier been a friend of his elder brother. Gandhi had
been warned against coming under the influence of this boy, Sheikh Mahtab.
But he persisted in the belief that he would be able to reform Mahtab. But
Mahtab's pleasant ways and persuasive tongue began to lead Gandhi astray in
one field after another.
Gandhi's family was
strictly vegetarian. But Mahtab convinced Gandhi that no one could be strong
and muscular without eating meat, and the Indians would never be able to
free themselves from the British unless they took to eating meat, which was
the secret of the strength of the British. The argument appealed to Gandhi.
Though hesitant, he agreed to try. So a day was chosen. A deserted place was
located, and Gandhi shared a non-vegetarian meal with Mahtab. At night,
however, Gandhi had strange dreams and nightmares. He felt he could hear the
goat bleating from within his belly. In spite of this first experience which
had made Gandhi restless, his companion persisted in tempting him, and
Gandhi went along. But soon it became clear that the habit was expensive.
Neither Gandhi nor his friend had any income of their own to have such
special meals at special places. Moreover, it involved lying and deceiving
his parents and other members of the family. Gandhi could not reconcile
himself to a life of deceit. So he decided to give up the experiment and
wait till he had his own income.
Mahtab introduced Gandhi
to other habits. He began to smoke. Cigarettes were hard to come by. But
once one is in the grip of a habit, one looks for ways of getting what one
wants. So Gandhi too started picking up cigarette butts thrown away by his
uncle and smoking them secretly. But this did not assure a steady supply. So
Gandhi began to pilfer small coins from the bags of his servants. When this
too became difficult or inadequate he felt frustrated. He was overcome by
deep despair. Sheikh Mahtab shared his feelings, and they both decided that
they would end their lives rather than live in agony and despair.
They had heard that
Dhatura seeds could help them in their design. So they collected these seeds
from the jungle and met at a temple to end their lives by consuming the
seeds. Gandhi even swallowed two or three seeds. But then courage failed,
and he decided that it was better to live and improve his condition rather
than to end his life.
To raise some money,
Gandhi and his elder brother made bold to clip off a tiny bit from his
brother's golden bracelet. This was too much for Gandhi's conscience. He
began to see where he was going and where he would reach if he did not turn
back. He was not only living a life of untruth but also deceiving his father
who had unquestioning faith in him. He could not continue to steal and cheat
and deceive his father. He would choke if he did. There was only one way
out. He had to confess to his father and regain a clear conscience. He
decided to write out a confession, admit his guilt, assure his father that
he would never repeat the crime and ask to be punished for what he had done.
Gandhi's father was on his sick bed when Gandhi handed over the letter to
him and sat near him waiting to be admonished, and perhaps punished.
Karamchand sat up in bed, read the letter. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and
he lay down. Gandhi too was in tears. He felt that his father's tears of
forgiveness and faith had cleansed him. He learned a lesson that he never
forgot. When one realises that one has committed a mistake, one should lose
no time in accepting or confessing one's mistake, declaring one's firm
resolve not to repeat such mistakes, relinquishing whatever one had gained,
and cheerfully suffering any punishment that the mistake calls for. It is
this lesson and Gandhi's faith in the power of confession that prompted
Gandhi to make public confessions of his shortcomings and mistakes in later