MK GANDHI, THE PERVERT "FATHER" OF HINDU NATI0N.

Date: 08 Mar 2009

Comment:

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> Ved Mehta became totally blind at the age of three. His father sent him to> best schools in the world - Oxford and Harvard - so that his son might not> end up a cane maker or a basket weaver. 
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> Mahatma Gandhi and His Apostles is Ved Mehta's ninth book, which promises to> be both more popular and controversial than his previous. 
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> Gandhi was a great political figure of the twentieth century. With his fasts> and scripture reading, his dedication to non-violence, simplicity and> celibacy, he captured the imagination of millions in India. Myths began to> develop during his life time and when he died a martyrs' death there were> those who compared him to Christ. His human weaknesses have been obscured by
> mythologizers fearful of debasing and sensationalizing their martyred hero. 
> 
> In Mahatma Gandhi and His Apostles, Mehta has sought to separate facts from> myths without denying the Mahatma his greatness. Mehta interviewed many of> Gandhi's disciples and relatives and studied his biographies, speeches and
> writings to discover the real man. 
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> The book offers descriptions of Gandhi's childhood, his student days in> England, his struggle for Indian rights in South Africa and his leadership> of the national movement in India. More importantly, the book describes aspects not known to the average reader. Mehta is at pains to reveal> Gandhi's attitude toward sex, a topic that has previously been handled by> Nirmal Kumar Bose in My Days with Gandhi, Erik H. Erikson in Gandhi's Truth:
> On the Origins of Militant Nonviolence, Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre> in Freedom at Midnight and Gandhi himself in occasional public utterances. 
> 
> Gandhi became a brahamachari (celibate) when he was thirty-six. As a> brahamachari, he would normally have been expected to eschew all contact> with women, but instead he took naked women to bed with him. Amongst those> who slept with him were Sushila Nayar, Sucheta Kriplani, Abha and Manu.
> Gandhi viewed the practice as an experiment in brahamacharya. For him this> was a sure way to test his mastery of celibacy. He believed that if he could> succeed in his brahamacharya experiment, he would be able to vanquish> Muhammad Ali Jinnah with his spiritual power and foil his plan for India's
> partition. 
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> During his Noakhali tour of 1946, Gandhi used to sleep with the
> nineteen-year-old Manu. When Nirmal Bose, his Bengali interpreter, saw this> he protested, asserting that the experiments must be having bad> psychological effects on the girl. In his Book My Days with Gandhi,> published in 1953 with great difficulty and at his own expense, he offers a
> Freudian interpretation to Gandhi's experiments. 
> 
> It is generally believed that Gandhi started sleeping with women toward the> close of his life. According to Sushila Nayar, he started much earlier.> However, at the time he called it 'nature cure.' She told Mehta, 'long> before Manu came into the picture I used to sleep with him just as I would> with my mother. He might say my back aches. Put some pressure on it. So I
> might put some pressure on it or lie down on his back and he might just go> to sleep. In the early days there was no question of calling this a> brahamacharya experiment. It was just part of nature cure. Later on, when> people started asking questions about his physical contact with women, the> idea of brahamacharya experiments was developed. Don't ask me any more> questions about brahamacharya experiments. There is nothing to say, unless
> you have a dirty mind like Bose.' 
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> No doubt Gandhi's interest in women, whether he called it 'experiments in> brahamacharya' or 'nature cure,' was directed at a conscious suppression of> his own sexual feelings. The same is confirmed by his close political> associate C. Rajagopalachari who told Mehta, 'it is now said that he was> born so holy that he had a natural bent for brahamacharya, but actually he> was highly sexed.' 
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> Like many, Gandhi was convinced that sex diffuses human energy, which should> be conserved and sublimated. He imposed celibacy on all those who lived in> his ashram (retreat). J.B. Kriplani and Sucheta Kriplani married against his wishes, but they remained brahamacharyas after their marriage. The> imposition of celibacy did not work in all cases. According to Raihana> Tyabji, a devout disciple of Gandhi, 'the more they tried to restrain
> themselves and repress their sexual impulses . . . the more oversexed and> sex-conscious they became.' 
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> Gandhi's ideas on sex are certainly outdated. He believed that a woman's> interest in sex is submissive and self-sacrificing. He assumed that women> derived no pleasure from such activity. When his son failed to live what he> considered a moral life, Gandhi felt guilty for what he viewed as the sexual> excesses of his married life. When his first child died soon after birth, he
> felt he was justly punished for his sexual sins. These sins were twofold -> he had intercourse with his pregnant wife and he had withdrawn from his> ailing father's side to sleep with his wife (his father had died a few> minutes later). The guilt haunted Gandhi in his later years until he vowed> to lead a brahamacharya life. 
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> Though Gandhi did not lack moral education, he certainly lacked sex> education. 
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> There is, however, no reason interpret his relationship with women beyond> what Mehta has done. Gandhi never concealed the true reasons for his> actions. He did everything publicly and spoke uninhibitedly. Even Bose> admitted that there was no question of impropriety in the relationships and> 'there was something saintly and almost supernatural about him.' 
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> All great men have weaknesses. Gandhi had his. He was no doubt a Mahatma> whose greatness must not be minimized. He created a political awakening> among the masses of India and led them through the doors of freedom. He> became one with the poor by living a simple and austere life. He identified> with the Untouchables by doing their work with his own hands. He practiced
> what he preached. He sacrificed the career of his children to his concept of> moral education by denying them an academic education, which in his view> 'perpetuated slavery.' His eldest son, Hira Lal, never forgave him for that> and did exactly the opposite of what his noble father preached. He became a> meat eater, an alcoholic, a gambler and a philanderer, but this did not
> deter Gandhi from the moral path he had chosen. Albert Einstein once said of> him, 'Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as> this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.' 
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> Ved Mehta laments the fact that with Gandhi's death his disciples have> withdrawn from the great tasks he had undertaken. According to Mehta, only> three genuine Gandhians are left in the field to do battle for his ideas and> ideals. They are Vinoba Bhave, Satish Chandra Das Gupta and Abdul Ghaffar> Khan. 
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> It is, however, surprising that Mehta did not interview two other devout> Gandhians: Jaya Prakash (J.P.) Narayan and Morarji Desai. J.P.'s name does> not figure at all in the book though his wife Prabhavati Devi spent seven> years in Gandhi's ashram when J.P. was in the United States. When J.P. returned to India, the poor fellow found his wife vowed to celibacy. There
> is only one line in the whole book about Morarji Desai, who, with his rigid> faith in prohibition and urine therapy, is at times more Gandhian than> Gandhi himself. 
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> Mahatma Gandhi and His Apostles is an extremely well-written book. Mehta has> made it highly readable with his subtle expression and suave sarcasm,> particularly when he reproduces his conversations with Gandhians. He has> shown courage in unraveling some of the myths woven around Gandhi by his
> blind followers. The latter will certainly be dismayed by Mehta's> forthrightness. 
> 
> The book has created a tumult in the Indian Parliament. It will be a great> pity if it is banned. 
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