Mahatma’s Belief on Food

There is a sense of style, a certain air of superiority in mocking the Mahatma. How can we follow a leader who was followed by the poor, the homeless, the uneducated and the un-classy masses? But although it may be difficult to digest for many, it was Mahatma Gandhi who laid the foundation of several principles and doctrines that are so diligently followed by the faddy, sophisticated and the modish generation of the times. Despite believing that they have annihilation to do with the dhoti-clad bespectacled leader who looked more like a fakir, people have been following what he taught years ago. As much as he considered of ahimsa and swadeshi, he did also in diet reformations.

His autobiography, “My Experiments with Truth” may be his most popular book, but Gandhiji has also written greatly on food and diet. His books “Diet and Diet Reforms, ‘‘The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism’ and ‘Key to Health” talk about his culinary beliefs and health experiments. In his books, Mahatma Gandhi talks about is food experiments and the visions he had during the process. His vast knowledge is amazed ahead of his times. From periodic fasting to paleo diet, Gandhiji’s experiments with food and his conclusions are overwhelming.

Mahatma Gandhi had promised his mother he would not touch meat in England. But it was turning out to be extremely difficult to him due to peer pressure and responsibility in the availability of vegetarian options till one day when he found a vegetarian restaurant that also sold books. “I noticed books for sale exhibited under glass window near the door. I saw among them Salt's Plea for Vegetarianism. I read Salt's book from cover to cover and was very much impressed by it. From the date of reading this book, I may claim to have become a vegetarian by choice,” writes Gandhiji in Diet and Diet Reforms.

Gandhiji’s experiments with food also had some other rules where he believed in the use of one grain at a time. “Chapati, rice and pulses, milk, ghee, gur and oil are used in ordinary households besides vegetables and fruit. I regard this as an unhealthy combination. An ounce or two of salads serve the purpose of eight ounces of cooked vegetables. Chapatis or bread should not be eaten with milk. To begin with, one meal may be raw vegetables and chapatis or bread, and the other cooked vegetables with milk or curds.” says the Mahatma.