CHAPTER VI

A SACRIFICE TO VEGETARIANISM
S the ideals of sacrifice and simplicity
1 \ were becoming more and more realised, and the religions consciousness was becoming more and more quickened in my daily life, the passion for vegeta¬ rianism as a mission went on increasing. I have known only one way of carrying on missionary work, viz., by personal example and discussion wdtk searchers for knowledge.
There was, in Johannesburg, a vege¬ tarian restaurant conducted by a German who believed in Kuhne’s hydropathic treatment. I began visiting the restaurant myself, and helped it by taking English
A SACRIFICE TO VEGETARIANISM 33
friends there. But I saw that it could not last for any length of time as it was always in financial difficulties. I assisted it as much as I thought it deserved, and spent some money on it, but it had ultimately to be closed down.
Most Theosophists are vegetarians more or less, and an enterprising lady belonging to that Society now came upon the scene with a vegetarian restaurant on a grand scale. She was fond of art, was extravagant and knew little of accounts. Her circle of friends was fairly large. She had started in a small way, but later she decided to extend the venture by taking large rooms, and she asked me for help. I knew nothing of her finances when she thus approached me, but I took it that her estimate must be fairly accurate. And I was in a position to accommodate her. My clients used to keep large sums as deposits with me. Having received the consent of one of these clients, I lent about a thousand pounds from the amount to his credit.
34 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH
This client was most large-hearted and trusting. He had originally come to South Africa as an indentured labourer. He said : ‘ Grive away the money, if you like. I know nothing in these matters. I only know you.’ His name was Badri. He afterwards took a prominent part in Satyagraha, and suffered imprisonment as well. So I advanced the loan assuming that this consent was enough.
In two or three months’ time I came to know that the amount would not be recovered. I could ill afford to sustain such a loss. There were many other purposes to which I could have applied this amount. The loan was never repaid. But how could trusting Badri be allowed to suffer ? He had known me only. I made good the loss.
A client friend to whom I had spoken about this transaction had sweetly chid me for my folly.
‘ Bhai,’ — I had fortunately not yet become 1 Mahatma,’ nor even ‘ Bapu ’ (father), friends used to call me by the
A SACRIFICE TO VEGETARIANISM 35
loving name of 4 Bhai ’ ( brother ),— said he, 4 this was not for you to do. We depend upon you in so many things. You are not going to get back this amount. I know you will never allow Badri to come to grief, for you will pay him out of your pocket, but if you go on helping your reform schemes by operating on your clients’ money, the poor fellows will be ruined, and you will soon become a beggar. But you are our trustee, and you must know that if you become a beggar, all our public work will come to a stop.’
The friend, I am thankful to say, is still alive. I have not yet come across, in South Africa or anywhere else, a purer man than he. I have known him to apologise to people and to cleanse himself, when having happened to suspect them, he had found his suspicion to be unfounded.
And I saw that he had rightly warned me. For though I made good Badri’s loss, I should not have been able to find
36 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH
another thousand pounds for any similar loss and should have been driven to incur debt, — a thing I have never done in my life and have always abhorred. I realised that even a man’s reforming zeal ought not to make him exceed his limits. I also saw that in thus lending trust- money I had disobeyed the cardinal teaching of the Gita, viz. , the duty of a man of equipoise to act without desire for the fruit. The error became for me a beaconlight of warning.
The sacrifice offered on the altar of vegetarianism was thus neither intentional nor expected. It was a virtue of necessity.
CHAPTER YII
EXPERIMENTS IN EARTH AND WATER TREATMENT
WITH the growing simplicity of my life, my dislike for medicines steadily increased. While practising in Durban, I suffered for some time from debility and rheumatic inflammation. Dr. P. J. Mehta, who had come to see me, gave me treat¬ ment, and I got well. After that, up to the time when I returned to India, I do not remember having suffered from any ailment to speak of.
But I used to be troubled with constipation and frequent headaches, while at Johannesburg. I kept myself fit with occasional laxatives and a well- regulated diet. But I could hardly call
38 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH
myself healthy, and always wondered, when I should get free from the incubus of these laxative medicines.
About this time, I read of the forma¬ tion of a ‘ No Breakfast Association ’ in Manchester. The argument of the promoters was, that Englishmen ate too often and too much, that their doctors’ bills were heavy because they ate until midnight, and that they should at least give up breakfast, if they wanted to improve this state of affairs. Though all these things could not be said of me, I felt that the argument did partly apply in my case. I used to have three square meals daily in addition to afternoon tea. I was never a spare eater, and enjoyed as many delicacies as could be had with a vegetarian and spiceless diet. I scarcely ever got up before six or seven. I therefore argued, that if I also dropped the morning breakfast, I might become free from headaches. So I tried the experiment. For a few days it was rather hard, but the headaches entirely
EARTH AND WATER TREATMENT 39
disappeared. This led me to conclude, that I was eating more than I needed.
But the change was far from relieving me of constipation. I tried Kuhne’s hip¬ baths, which gave some relief, but did not completely cure me. In the mean¬ time, the German who had a vegetarian restaurant, or some other friend, I forget who, placed in my hands Just’s Return to Nature. In this book I read about earth treatment. The author also advocated fresh fruit and nuts as the natural diet of man. I did not at once take to the exclusive fruit diet, but immediately began experiments in earth treatment, and with wonderful results. The treat¬ ment consisted in applying to the abdomen a bandage of clean earth moistened with cold water and spread like a poultice on fine linen. This I applied at bedtime, removing it during the night or in the morning, whenever I happened to wake up. It proved a radical cure. Since then I have tried the treatment on myself and my friends, and
40 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH
have never had reason to regret it. In India I have not been able to try this treatment with equal confidence. For one thing, I have never had time to settle down in one place to conduct the experiments. But my faith in the earth and water treatment remains practically the same as before. Even today I give myself the earth treatment to a certain extent, and recommend it to my co-workers, whenever occasion arises.
Though I have had two serious ill¬ nesses in my life, I believe that man has little need to drug himself. 999 cases out of a thousand can be brought round by means of a well-regulated diet, water and earth treatment and similar household remedies. He, who runs to the doctor, vaidya or hakim for every little ailment, and swallows all kinds of vegetable and mineral drugs, not only curtails his life, but by becoming the slave of his body instead of remaining its master, loses self-control, and ceases to be a
man.
EARTH AND WATER TREATMENT 41
Let no one discount these observations, because they are being written in a sickbed. I know the reasons for my illnesses. I am fully conscious, that I alone am responsible for them, and it is because of that consciousness, that I have not lost patience. In fact I have thanked God for them as lessons, and have successfully resisted the temptation of taking numerous drugs. I know my obstinacy often tries my doctors, but they kindly bear with me and do not give me up.
However I must not digress. Before proceeding further, I should give the reader a word of warning. Those who purchase Just’s book, on the strength of this chapter, should not take everything in it to be gospel truth. A writer almost always presents one aspect of a case, whereas every case can be seen from no less than seven points of view, all of which are probably correct by themselves, but not correct at the same time and in the same circumstances. And then many
42 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH
books are written with a view to gaining customers and earning name and fame. Let those, therefore, who read such books as these, do so with discernment, and take advice of some experienced man before trying any of the experiments set forth, or let them read the books with patience, and digest them thoroughly before acting upon them.