XLI. GOKHALE'S
CHARITY
I have already referred to the attack of pleurisy I
had in England. Gokhale returned to London soon after.
Kallenbach and I used regularly to go to him. Our talks
were mostly about the war, and as Kallenbach had the
geography of Germany at his finger tips, and had
travelled much in Europe, he used to show him on the map
the various places in connection with the war.
When I got pleurisy this also became a topic of daily
discussion. My dietetic experiments were going on even
then. My diet consisted, among other things, of
groundnuts, ripe and unripe bananas, lemon, olive oil,
tomatoes and grapes. I completely eschewed milk, cereals,
pulses and other things.
Dr. Jivraj Mehta treated me. He pressed me hard to
resume milk and cereals, but I was obdurate. The matter
reached Gokhale's ears. He had not much regard for my
reasoning in favour of a fruitarian diet, and he wanted
me to take whatever the doctor prescribed for my health.
It was no easy thing for me not a yield to Gokhale's
pressure. When he would not take a refusal, I begged him
to give me twenty-four hours for thinking over the
question. As Kallenbach and I returned home that evening,
we discussed where my duty lay. He had been with me in my
experiment. He liked it, but I saw that he was agreeable
to my giving it up if my health demanded it. So I had to
decide for myself according to the dictates of the inner
voice.
I spent the whole night thinking over the matter. To
give up the experiment would mean renouncing all my ideas
in that direction, and yet I found no flaw in them. The
question was how far I should yield to Gokhale's loving
pressure, and how far I might modify my experiment in the
so-called interests of health. I finally decided to
adhere to the experiment in so far as the motive behind
was chiefly religious, and to yield to the doctor's
advice where the motive was mixed. Religious
considerations had been predominant in the giving up of
milk. I had before me a picture of the wicked processes
the govals in Calcutta adopted to extract the last drop
of milk from their cows and buffaloes. I also had the
feeling that, just as meat was not man's food, even so
animal's milk could not be man's food. So I got up in the
morning with the determination to adhere to my resolve to
abstain from milk. This greatly relieved me. I dreaded to
approach Gokhale, but I trusted him to respect my
decision.
In the evening Kallenbach and I called on Gokhale at
the National Liberal Club. The first question he asked me
was: 'Well, have you decided to accept the doctor's
advice?'
I gently but firmly replied: 'I am willing to yield on
all points except one about which I beg you not to press
me. I will not take milk, milk-products or meat. If not
to take these things should mean my death, I feel I had
better face it.'
'Is this your final decision?' asked Gokhlae.
'I am afraid I cannot decide otherwise,' said I. 'I
know that my decision will pain you, but I beg your
forgiveness.'
With a certain amount of pain but with deep affection,
Gokhale said: 'I do not approve of your decision. I do
not see any religion in it. But I won't press you any
more.' With these words he turned to Dr. Jivraj Mehta and
said: 'Please don't worry him any more. Prescribe
anything you like within the limit he has set for
himself.'
The doctor expressed dissent, but was helpless. He
advised me to take mung soup., with a dash of asafoetida
in it. To this I agreed. I took it for a day or two, but
it increased my pain. As I did not find it suitable, I
went back to fruits and nuts. The doctor of course went
on with his external treatment. The latter somewhat
relieved my pain, but my restrictions were to him a sore
handicap.
Meanwhile Gokhale left for home, as he could not stand
the October fogs of London.
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