From Gandhi, to Gandhiji, to 'Mahatma" and 'Bapu", Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi has traveled the distance from being the national hero to a legend. Gandhi, in life, was much more. Gandhi was a thinker, a philosopher, and also a statesman. He believed he could lead only if he was a worthy leader. To be a worthy leader he had to be morally strong. As he used to say, "A liar could not teach his pupils to speak the truth, a coward can not train young men to be brave." So to be morally strong, he believed one has to be strong in spirit. To be strong in spirit, one must live in accordance with one's beliefs, by a strict code of conduct. With such an all-encompassing vision of life, every area of human life was of interest to Gandhi. Very little escaped his attention. And a cursory glance would never do for Gandhi. He would mull over a subject, think about it during his periods of silence or incarceration, write about it, discuss it, experiment with it in his own life-- whether it was the subject of fasting, giving up salt in his food, celibacy, abstinence or the use of non-violence as a political tool. .

             II. Gandhi"s Early Life.

             Mahatma Gandhi was born on Oct 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India. His parents belonged to the Vaisya (merchant) caste of Hindu's. Gandhi was a shy and serious boy and grew up in an atmosphere of religious tolerance and acceptance of teachings of various Hindu sects. When he was 13 years old, he married Kasturibhai, a girl of the same age. The wedding was arranged according to custom by his parents. The Gandhi's had four children. At the age of 19, Gandhi traveled to England to study law. In London he began develop his philosophy of life. He also studied the great Indian religious classic the Bhagavad-Gita and also turned to the New Testament of the Bible and to the teachings of the Buddha. In 1891 Gandhi returned to India to practice law but met with little success.