For Global Peace with Social Justice in a Sustainable Environment

Sumangal Prakash and Mahatma Gandhi

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Senior Gandhian Scholar, Professor, Editor and Linguist

Gandhi International Study and Research Institute, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

Contact No. – 09404955338, 09415777229

E-mail- dr.yadav.yogendra@gandhifoundation.net;

dr.yogendragandhi@gmail.com

Mailing Address- C- 29, Swaraj Nagar, Panki, Kanpur- 208020, Uttar Pradesh, India

Sumangal Prakash and Mahatma Gandhi

The newspaper report was incorrect. Only Sumangal Prakash was really ill. The members of the Anand Mandal gave him very good treatment. Others stayed on merely to take rest. There is no such thing as opening a camp for the sick. Had it been so, I would have sent for you first. I feel that it will not be long before women too plunge into the struggle. I have no doubt at all that God will fully nourish your desire to serve. 1 You should both come to Surat on Tuesday. Anyone at the station will direct you to the place of our stay. We shall all be reaching Surat late at night. 2 I have necessarily to think of you every day, because I have with me your translations of the Hindi Bhajans of the Bhajanavali; Kakasaheb had asked for them. I am translating them into English with his help. We both find your translation inaccurate at places. It is certainly hasty. Still, as a whole it can be considered satisfactory. 3

I had fully and promptly answered the letter you wrote me from your home. Have you not received it yet? I am happy to learn that you have improved health. I know you see the letters I write to Kanta, so there is little need to write to you. Yes, I have great hopes of Kanta. Let us see what happens. Her health causes some worry. 4 It is difficult for me to remember what I wrote. Was the letter long? I do remember having said that you had done no wrong in going back home. I had answered all your questions. I hope you have now fully regained your health, what work are you doing there? 5

I see nothing wrong in your having had to go home because of illness. I have not read Kropotkin’s book. My views concerning India are well known. In a general way on economics I liked Ruskin’s Unto This Last. Write to me and tell me about your present activities and whether you have fully recovered. 6 I came to know afterwards that the two of you had come to the station at Moradabad to see me. But I was then asleep. It will be good if Kanta can be admitted to Dakshinamurti. It will also be good if she studies at home and sits for the examination of the Karve Institute. 7 If you are on the way to recovery what need is there to get yourself involved in any hocus-pocus? Please write to Ramdasji that witchcraft should be shunned even if it is effective in curing illness because it weakens one’s faith in God. 8

I had been awaiting letters from both of you. I had even made inquiries about Kanta. I was surprised that I had not heard from either of you. Now of course I cannot expect any letter from Kanta. Send me news about her and about Prabhavati. When did you send the parcel of books? What were the books? During the journey many things were not delivered to me. I therefore remember nothing about it. It is a pity that you are not yet fully recovered. What disease have they diagnosed that it has not been cured so far? 9 It would have been better if efforts had not been made to have Chandrakanta given ‘A’ class. But what is done is done. Now she must give up the facilities of ‘A’ class or make the very least use of them. I do remember that when I was in England I had a letter from you but I never had any time there to spare and I hardly wrote to anyone in this country. Even if you wrote about Kanaiyalal’s death, I have completely forgotten about it. What had been the matter with him? I also remember about the scheme for the publishing house. I do not recollect that I was able to go through it. I take it that it is unnecessary now to say anything about it. I had not been given the book about Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi. You must, if necessary, follow a strict regimen and put your health in order. It is now more than two months since I gave up milk. I give up milk whenever a pretext presents itself and that is what happened this time. This has not done me any harm and so long as no harm comes from it I shall continue to eschew milk. In place of milk I take four tolas of roasted almonds ground to a paste. In addition to this I take baked bread, dates, lemon and one vegetable a day such as white gourd, brinjal, etc. I take sour lemon with soda-bi-carb. In the early morning I have honey in hot water with a little soda. That is my diet. You are not to copy this. You must have chiefly milk, curd and fresh fruit. If you still feel hungry you may take greens and chapati or bread, but this is not to be a substitute for milk and fresh fruit. It is difficult, if not impossible, to say how long my body will endure. Whatever I may say will only be guessing. I cannot claim that my life has been one of self-control from the beginning. I have indulged myself in some form or other and so I cannot take from the body as much work as I should like. Most of the others, too, are poor in health and, therefore, either do not see my physical weakness or ignore it. Be that as it may. All that I wish is that the few years that are left to me should be spent in some-work or other of service. It will be enough if I am not condemned to live the life of an invalid. The full span of a man’s life is a hundred years. For the reasons explained above I do not consider myself fit to reach that age. It is good to have the teeth scraped by a machine. Pyorrhoea must be got rid of. 10

Kanta must not be coerced into giving up the facilities she enjoys. So long as she does not herself want to give up the privileges, she should not be made to do so. To cite my example is right and not right. It is right because so long as I am engaged in public work people are bound to take me as a model, which will only create misunderstandings; because what I expect others to practise I cannot for various reasons practise me. So there is a flaw in my leadership. Citing my example might not be right because my position is very different from that of others. One reason is my physical weakness. Another reason is my title of Mahatma. A third reason is my special situation. In whatever class I may be I have to have special food, because my body and my vow demand it. This applies to some extent to all prisoners. It is a different matter that every prisoner cannot have this facility as easily as I can. I am permitted interviews once every week instead of once every three months. As for letters there is almost no restriction. I have decided in my mind that I have no intimate friend. I meet relatives, not because they are relatives but because my meeting them serves some moral purpose. My writing letters also has the same end in view. Whether deep down it gives me some kind of pleasure I do not know. There seems little likelihood because withdrawal of permission to write letters or to see visitors would not upset me. In 1930 I refused to avail myself of the facility of interviews because the Government would not accept my condition. In 1922 I had stopped writing letters. Lately I have been kept apart from others.

That also is a reason. One should not make comparisons with me on this account, but if this is not obvious I would not like to persuade anyone by arguments. There is no doubt a slight difference between one who has got ‘A’ class after some efforts from outside the jail and one who has been given ‘A’ class by the jail authorities themselves. But it is no use stressing this difference. The ideal should certainly be that there should be no classification, and where as a result of classification people have been given better classes they should give up the privileges of those classes. Very few are today acting up to this idea. Therefore one does not want to bring the least pressure to bear on a delicate girl such as Kanta. She is a thoughtful girl and on her own practises such self-control as she can. Kanaiyalal’s untimely demise is distressing. But instead of losing courage you must be doubly careful. The prayer I made on behalf of Manilal was impelled not by wisdom but by a father’s love for his son. Only one prayer is proper and that is “May God does as He wills.” Of course one may ask what meaning this prayer has. The answer is that prayer should not be given a gross meaning. It means that to free ourselves of attachments we become aware of the God dwelling in our hearts and conceiving Him as separate from us, we pray that we may not be taken where we are impelled by the mind but that we may be taken where God who is our Master takes us. Whether our good lies in our dying or in our living we do not know. Therefore we should not rejoice in life or tremble at the thought of death. We should treat the two as the same and remain untouched. This is the ideal and it may take a long time to attain to it. Indeed very few can attain to it. But this need not discourage us from pursuing it. And the more difficulties we face in the pursuit the greater should be our efforts to overcome them. If we think over the matter deeply we can conquer the palate.

We must not accept defeat. Man’s full span of life is considered to be a hundred years. It can be more but however long it may be, time is an unending stream in which a human lifetime is not even a millionth part of a drop. What can therefore attachment for it or calculation about it avails? And any calculations we may make can never be definite. We can only guess and say at the most how long a human life can be. For the rest even the healthiest children meet with untimely deaths. We cannot even say that a man given to lustful pleasures will not enjoy a long life. The most we can say is that a man who has been free from lust from the very beginning, who leads a simple life, stands a good chance of enjoying a long life span. But to seek to conquer pleasures of sense for the sake of a long life is like digging up a mountain for the sake of a mouse. We must conquer sensual pleasures for realizing the Self. If self-control leads to shortening of life rather than to prolonging it we should not care. A life free of disease and long in years is the least significant result of self-control. Being in jail Kanta naturally cannot practise hydrotherapy. Therefore the best way for her is to consult the best doctors. It is possible that if she restricts herself to a diet of milk, curd and fruit she may have some relief in the matter of her menstrual trouble and her toothache. Relief from pyorrhoea may be attained by chewing a datun for half an hour morning and evening and by massaging the gums inside and outside with a finely ground clean mixture of salt and charcoal powder. I am not writing separately to Kanta. 11

I meet relatives, not because they are relatives but because my meeting them serves some moral purpose. My writing letters also has the same end in view. Whether deep down it gives me some kind of pleasure I do not know. There seems little likelihood because withdrawal of permission to write letters or to see visitors would not upset me. In 1930 I refused to avail myself of the facility of interviews because the Government would not accept my condition. In 1922 I had stopped writing letters. Lately I have been kept apart from others. That also is a reason. One should not make comparisons with me on this account, but if this is not obvious I would not like to persuade anyone by arguments. There is no doubt a slight difference between one who has got ‘A’ class after some efforts from outside the jail and one who has been given ‘A’ class by the jail authorities themselves. But it is no use stressing this difference. The ideal should certainly be that there should be no classification, and where as a result of classification people have been given better classes they should give up the privileges of those classes. Very few are today acting up to this idea. Therefore one does not want to bring the least pressure to bear on a delicate girl such as Kanta. She is a thoughtful girl and on her own practises such self-control as she can. Kanaiyalal’s untimely demise is distressing. But instead of losing courage you must be doubly careful. The prayer I made on behalf of Manilal was impelled not by wisdom but by a father’s love for his son. Only one prayer is proper and that is “May God does as He wills.” Of course one may ask what meaning this prayer has.

The answer is that prayer should not be given a gross meaning. It means that to free ourselves of attachments we become aware of the God dwelling in our hearts and conceiving Him as separate from us, we pray that we may not be taken where we are impelled by the mind but that we may be taken where God who is our Master takes us. Whether our good lies in our dying or in our living we do not know. Therefore we should not rejoice in life or tremble at the thought of death. We should treat the two as the same and remain untouched. This is the ideal and it may take a long time to attain to it. Indeed very few can attain to it. But this need not discourage us from pursuing it. And the more difficulties we face in the pursuit the greater should be our efforts to overcome them. If we think over the matter deeply we can conquer the palate. We must not accept defeat. Man’s full span of life is considered to be a hundred years. It can be more but however long it may be, time is an unending stream in which a human lifetime is not even a millionth part of a drop. What can therefore attachment for it or calculation about it avails? And any calculations we may make can never be definite. We can only guess and say at the most how long a human life can be. For the rest even the healthiest children meet with untimely deaths. We cannot even say that a man given to lustful pleasures will not enjoy a long life. The most we can say is that a man who has been free from lust from the very beginning, who leads a simple life, stands a good chance of enjoying a long life span. But to seek to conquer pleasures of sense for the sake of a long life is like digging up a mountain for the sake of a mouse. We must conquer sensual pleasures for realizing the Self. If self-control leads to shortening of life rather than to prolonging it we should not care. A life free of disease and long in years is the least significant result of self-control. Being in jail Kanta naturally cannot practise hydrotherapy. Therefore the best way for her is to consult the best doctors. It is possible that if she restricts herself to a diet of milk, curd and fruit she may have some relief in the matter of her menstrual trouble and her toothache. Relief from pyorrhoea may be attained by chewing a datun for half an hour morning and evening and by massaging the gums inside and outside with a finely ground clean mixture of salt and charcoal powder. I am not writing separately to Kanta. 12

Your argument with regard to rape seems convincing. In circumstances similar to those in which you believe it right for a woman to take her life, it may be right for a trustee to take his life when somebody tries to rob the property under his care. But the woman and the trustee themselves should think that it is their dharma to do so. You or I have no right to accuse a woman of failing in her dharma if she does not kill herself to prevent herself from being raped. If, unlike her, the trustee dies while defending the property under his care, we cannot assume, either, that he has done the right thing. We can judge in either case only if we know the mental condition of the person concerned at the time. Though I say this from the point of view of justice, personally I believe that a woman, if she has courage, would be ready to die to save her honour. In discussing this matter with women, I would, therefore, certainly advise them to kill themselves in such circumstances and explain to them that it was easy to take one’s life if one wished to do so. I would do this because many women believe that, if there is no man present to protect them or if they have not learnt to use a dagger or a gun, they have no choice but to submit to the evil-doer. I would certainly tell a woman who believes so, that she need not depend upon anybody’s weapons to protect her and that her own virtue will protect her. Even if that does not happen, instead of using a dagger or any other weapon she can kill herself. She need not consider herself weak or helpless and now concerning hypothetical questions.

I had understood your purpose in asking the questions to be exactly what you explain it to be, but I would describe such questions as hypothetical. In some cases questions of this nature may be asked, but it would be better not to ask any. In any case, you should not make it a habit of asking such questions. Anybody who does that commits the same error which a student of geometry who asks his professor to solve riders does. Such a student will never learn geometry well. That will also be the fate of a person who seeks the solutions of problems arising out of a principle from other people. Apart from this, however, there is a great flaw in the very nature of questions raised on the basis of ethical principles, namely, we never come across in life an instance exactly similar to the one we had imagined. If there is ever so slight a difference between the hypothetical case and the actual one, the answers in the two cases are likely to be entirely different. That is why I have cautioned you that, if you are not confronted with a problem relating to an actual instance which you have come across, you should not make it a habit to seek from me solutions of hypothetical problems in order to be prepared for such eventualities. If you do that, my answers to hypothetical questions will, instead of helping you in an emergency, prevent you from finding the right solution. The mind of such a person becomes incapable of original thinking.

The better thing would be to grasp the basic principle thoroughly and to assimilate it, and not to mind if, in applying it in solving your problems or those of other members in your family, you make mistakes. You will learn from such mistakes, but you should not approach others, even those who understand the principle better than you do, to seek solutions of hypothetical problems in order to prepare yourself to meet them when they arise. Such a procedure destroys one’s self-confidence. The author of the Gita seems to have written verse 10 of Chapter X because he knew this from experience. Doesn’t the Lord tell us in that verse that “to these, ever in tune with me, worshipping me with affectionate devotion. I give the power of selfless action, whereby they come to me.” If you substitute “Truth” for “God” in this sentence, the meaning will be perfectly clear. I hope you now understand what I meant to say. I do not mind your hypothetical questions, but I fear that I may do you harm by encouraging you to put such questions. I am sure at any rate that I would not be helping you. Take, for instance, your question regarding rape. Though I may give a definite reply now to your question regarding a hypothetical instance, I would give quite a different reply if an instance like that actually occurred, and support it with convincing reasons. It is also very possible that I would be able to point out a difference between the hypothetical case and the actual incident. I write all this from experience about coworkers. I will stop here now. I am glad to learn that your health has improved. 13

It is only proper to utilize some time for improving your health. I keep getting news of Kanta. Saroop gives me news of her, as does Prabhavati. I have no doubt she has been putting her time to good use. If one gets food from outside after securing permission, for the sake of one’s health, one is doing nothing wrong. But it is praiseworthy if one is content with whatever food one gets inside and refrains from asking for more. But he who cannot maintain his health on the food he gets in prison, and has secured permission to obtain it from outside and can easily have it, yet does not do so and so spoils his health, is obstinate. Perhaps he could be considered a literalist. I certainly do not think there is any harm in having a shikha. It is a time-honoured custom which the reformer may not try to change and so run into trouble. You may not find a strong reason in support of every custom, yet if it is popular and there is nothing morally wrong in it, is deserves to be followed. The statement that “a few medicines are found to be effective but they are well known” is not happily phrased. The meaning can be made more explicit. Although one may not repose one’s faith in allopathy, some allopathic medicines can certainly be used. One does not have to go out and look for them. They are well-known household remedies such as castor-oil, quinine, kariata, sonamukhi. I have not come to any harm from fasting. Fasting may be resorted to in old age. Then, a fast undertaken from spiritual motives is not difficult to go through. Of course one does become emaciated because there is not enough fat in the body. You write in haste and therefore your letters are difficult to decipher. If you write a little slowly they will be easier to read. 14

I hope you are now well. Prabhavati keeps me posted with news of Kanta. I hope you get English Harijan. If you do not, I will send it. I will arrange for all the issues to be sent to you. The little booklet about health needs a lot of improvement. There has been some change in my views about vegetables. Vegetables are inferior to fruit but they are easier to digest than cereals. In our country they are a substitute for fruit. If therefore you cannot get fruit in adequate quantities, you should take in liberal quantities leafy vegetables and gourds. Of starchy vegetables you should take only a little or none at all. About salt I have no definite opinion as of now. Naturopaths differ in the matter. I do not consider the opinion of the ordinary doctors reliable. But I am sure of this, that it is necessary for everyone who wants to cultivate self-control to give up salt for five or six 1 Guide to Health, first published as a series entitled “General Knowledge about Health” months and afterwards from time to time. There is no reason to suppose that giving up salt altogether will necessarily cause harm. Fruits and vegetables contain salt. And it is always there in water. The quarrel is only about salt as a separate article. 15

(1) One cannot give reasons for everything in this world. Dharma does not lie in giving up a custom simply because no reason can be given for it. On the contrary dharma consists in respecting the customs of the society of which one is part, provided these do not go against morality. Therein lays truth and non-violence. To cause pain to anyone without reason is untruth and violence. A person who gives up a practice because he cannot see any reason for its continuance is unwise and willful.

(2) In regard to inter-dining and inter-marriage there is no contradiction between my earlier writings and present writings. When I wrote those articles I had Lakshmi with me and I was planning to have her married outside the Dhed community. I still hold that in interdining and inter-marriage some restrictions are necessary. I do not think that varnashrama comes in here. There is no loss of dharma in marrying a suitable partner outside one’s Varna. I may say that my views are now much clearer than before. But I hesitate to revise the views I have held for a long time. My present views supplement the views I have expressed earlier. However, if it appears that there is conflict between the two you should accept what I say now and reject what I have said before.

(3) I should not answer this question. I am also not competent to answer it. Everyone should be able to find the meaning of the vow he has taken. The meaning that I may give to your vow should be considered false, while the meaning you give it should be taken as valid. When one does not have confidence in oneself one may accept a witness’s interpretation. Here the witness is not in a position to give an interpretation. Therefore you should either interpret the vow yourself or ask other co-workers.

(4) that is because the address of the journal is changes. I have left out the question about smallpox. Whether the patient is a child or an adult, I know only one treatment: apply a wet pack to the stomach. Dissolve some permanganate of potash in cold water, enough to make the water rose-pink. Dip a sheet, large or small, in the water and wring it. Then spread a rug on a cot and cover the rug with this wet sheet. Then wrap the whole round the patient right up to the neck. Keep him in this position for as long as he can bear it. If the patient does not get a motion in the natural course, give him an enemy for diet only fruit juice. If the tongue is clear and the patient feels hungry, milk also may be given. Give him much water as he can drink Add few drops of lemon juice to the water if he likes that. The room should be well ventilated. I have heard that red curtains help. 16

Everyone cannot be prescribed the same diet. If health could be ensured without fruit I would never serve fruit. It seems, however, that fruit is necessary, be it in ever so small a quantity. You should therefore take whatever fruit you are given, considering it as medicine. If some particular fruit does not seem to suit you, you may give it up. Mirabehn thus takes fruit, Bhau takes it and so should you. Tell Bhau he may take five or seven tolas of leafy vegetables. He will know from experience exactly how much he should take. If it is necessary to cut down on bread you may do so. If the amount of milk, curd, etc., is increased you may not need as much bread. Here also experience will help you decide the quantity. You can have as much curd as you want. Tell Balvantsinha this. 17

If the tomatoes are good, please wash them first in a solution of potassium permanganate and then in clear water. If you feel like taking milk you should do so. The milk should be taken unboiled. No need now to add hot water. Milk, tomatoes and an orange this should constitute the diet for today. Tamarind water as and when required. 18 Do you feel heaviness in the stomach? Even then you should take only milk and fruit in the morning. At noon a little bread, a little curd, and raw crushed vegetable, tamarind and jaggery. How did you like crushed vegetable yesterday? If you like whole leaves you may take them or you may take them crushed. Take only bhakhari. Are you used to taking rice for the evening bhakhari and vegetable and tomatoes if they are available. Increase the quantity slowly. Let not your stomach get out of order. 19 I have not revised it. If there is anything you want to ask me you may. You make the corrections in the language on this itself. I shall then see it and a copy can be made out. If you find any looseness of thought you should make a note of it. It will be convenient for both of us. 20

Do not spend so much money. With fresh milk and curd you do not need so many oranges. Tamarind can be a substitute for oranges. Tamarind, raw vegetables, papaya and tomatoes are enough. 21 The idea behind giving you tamarind today is to make vegetable palatable. In the end you must find the leaves tasty as Mirabehn does and as many I think do. Although I have consulted physicians regarding tamarind, people take me to task for it. My experience is that I can take four large spoonfuls of it. So far no adverse effect has been seen. But it is yet too early to say anything. Bhau is none too well. Tamarind could be the cause. 22

You took neem leaves pounded into pulp. That may have made you feel hot. Pounded leaves are not the same thing as the juice of the leaves. They are as different as polished rice is from unpolished rice. The leaves should not be strained. I used to strain the vegetables a little when I was taking vegetable juice. That way you will not get the feeling of heat. You may take as much tamarind as you may find necessary. If you want to take a little more you may do so. Milk will satisfy the hunger. The quantity of the milk cannot be increased too soon. If green vegetable is palatable you may take five tolas to begin with. Once you are able to digest it you may increase the quantity by five tolas at times, going up to 20 tolas. This should be taken thrice. You do get goat’s milk at 10.30 and fresh cow’s milk in the morning and evening. 23 How could you help it if questions arose in your mind? It was proper that you told me. I am giving my attention to Ramakrishna. I have not done anything more. I am watching. If anything comes to your notice unsought do let me know. 24

Take fruit and milk now. Wrap your head with a piece of cloth. I used to do that. I am teaching you true poverty. There is in fact no poverty here. In a poor man’s home there is one charkha for all. Each charkha should be worked for at least twelve hours. Here it is not worked even for half an hour. That is why I told you to spin on my charkha. This promotes the feeling of oneness. It teaches humility. There is no feeling of mine and thine. Whatever there is belongs to all. This apparently small matter has far-reaching implications. 25 I know what value to place on the sentiments it contains. I know how permanent they are. Remain quiet for a couple of months. Improve your health. Eat sparingly. Find pleasure in what is good. If what pleases is not good, give it up. Do not worry about the future. Take good care of the present. 26 It is good you went to your mother. May the peace you have found endure? May you gain in self-control? May you have excellent health? I read Trine’s In Tune with the Infinite many years ago. I remember I enjoyed it. Rabindranath’s Sadhana certainly merits being read again and again. Remember one thing: pondering is better than reading, even if you read just a little, but digest it well, it is good. 27

I have gone through the diary. I have pointed out the remedy. The diagnosis is accurate. If possible refrain from thinking too much and take up some work of service. It could be the service of your mother or of the children of Rajgarh. I am surprised at whatever Prabhavati wrote to you about Kanta. You did well to stop her and to have restrained your own curiosity. You must cling to Ramanama. 28 If for the sake of your parents you must earn money and go out for the purpose or take to writing you should do so. Maybe in so doing you will find greater peace. Do not feel yourself bound by any past commitments. That alone is binding which brings us peace and promotes dharma. Dharma means dharma for the moment. 29 I destroy them after reading. I do not see any need to give you any advice at the moment. Do what you consider best. “None who works for self-redemption meets with an evil destiny.” 30

It would be best to stick to a diet of milk and fruit when you go anywhere. In doing so we give no trouble to the host and our purpose is also served. In the early days of the Ashram this was the rule all members had to follow. It would be even better to carry some fruit with you. If at some place milk is not available you should make do with fruit. It should be explained that the reason for this rule is not self-control but considerations of health. 31 This sort of thing is common among friends. You must tell Sumantji, in good humour and without any anger that you are a poor man and bring with you only enough food for yourself for the day and if you lose or part with some of it you have to go hungry that day. I am sure if you tell him this he will never again tamper with your food. Millions of poor people are forced to do this kind of thing. Dishonest traders often sell for flour stuff that is quite inedible. Poor people have then to go hungry. For they have no money to buy provisions with. That is what happens in jails too. And is not this world also a kind of jail? 32

My advice is that you should give-up your vows about food. You should eat in the mess like everybody and be content with whatever is served. Once you have eaten, you should forget about food. Maybe in this way you will develop self-control automatically. Today the palate pulls you in one direction, the mind in another. This is regrettable. However, if my analysis is wrong my advice may be discarded. 33 I have been keeping myself informed about you. What can I write? I shall not give up hope of you. Some day your mind will become steady. Please note that should you wish to lead a married life there would be nothing wrong in it. No one can transgress the bounds of his nature. 34 You may as well take it that the time when I could have people staying with me is past. Even Mahadev is not staying with me. It is impossible to have you staying at Segaon. What will you gain by staying at Maganwadi? In any case I am more and more drawn to crafts. It is my feeling that for getting rid of your illness you should give up writing as a literary activity. Wherever you may be, I would like to make a labourer of you. But you do not find this to your taste. It is also my feeling that you should get married and practice what self-control you can while leading a married life. Your nature being what it is I see no other course. You have been partial to me and you have felt drawn to me. But this is attachment. It seems to me that your ideal is somewhat different from mine. Therefore even if you come to Wardha you will again become restless. The best thing for you would be to forget me. If you cannot do so, keep yourself away and digest what you can. Even loha bhasma can be taken only in prescribed doses, which are different for different people. The same may be said of a teacher. All teaching cannot be assimilated by all in the same quantity. Very few people have gained anything by staying near me. 35

Your condition is pathetic. I have no grouse against your literary pursuits but they should be secondary to physical labour. Tolstoy says that his mind became pure only after he started doing eight hours of physical work every day and only then did his writing become pure. Your case is the reverse of this. You appear to have no interest at all in doing physical labour. That is why I have been dissuading you from joining me. You do not need to fast. You must be at a place where there is some activity or other going on. Only when you have worked hard and have tired yourself out physically should you pursue literary activity if at all. Please consider this and write to me. If in the end we decide to have you here, the work here will be regarding the charkha, No salary. 36 The question is not of your being paid a salary here. The food is indifferent. The accommodation is short. It rains a great deal. Milk can be had in plenty and it is pure. Getting fruit is uncertain. You should bring with you a thali, a lota, two bowls, a tumbler, a spoon, a knife, a mattress, a durries, a pillow, a blanket, an umbrella and a lantern. You will certainly have an hour every day for pursuit of literature. If you feel like it you may go and visit your parents before coming here. The rains end in September, but there is no hitch from my side. 37

Do write what you feel you must. It is not as if you had to follow my advice. You must follow the dictates of your inner voice. It is good you decided to get married. I have no girl in view. Only your own endeavour can bear fruit. 38 Would you like to marry Maitri, the daughter of Dal Bahadur Giri? She is a good girl. Prabha knows her. You have also seen her. 39 I am glad your marriage has been according to your wishes. May you both be happy and serve the country. 40

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