More Experiments With Diet

I was anxious to observe brahmacharya in thought, word and deed, and I was equally anxious to devote the maximum of time to the Satyagraha struggle and fit myself for it by cultivating purity. I was therefore led to make further changes and to impose greater restraints upon myself in the matter of food. The motive for the previous changes had been largely hygienic, but the new experiments were made from a religious standpoint.

I was eager to practice brahmacharya in thought, word, and deed. I was equally eager to devote as much time as possible to the Satyagraha struggle and prepare myself for it by cultivating purity. So I made further changes and placed greater restrictions on what I ate. My earlier changes had been motivated largely by health, but my new experiments were guided by religious concerns.

Fasting and restriction in diet now played a more important part in my life. Passion in man is generally co-existent with a hankering after the pleasures of the palate. And so it was with me. I have encountered many difficulties in trying to control passion as well as taste, and I cannot claim even now to have brought them under complete subjection. I have considered myself to be a heavy eater. What friends have thought to be my restraint has never appeared to me in that light. If I had failed to develop restraint to the extent that I have, I should have descended lower than the beasts and met my doom long ago. However, as I had adequately realised my shortcomings, I made great efforts to get rid of them, and thanks to this endeavour I have all these years pulled on with my body and put in with it my share of work.

Fasting and limiting my diet now became more important in my life. A man’s passions generally go hand in hand with a craving for the pleasures of taste. That was true for me too. I have faced many difficulties in trying to control both passion and taste. Even now, I cannot claim to have brought them completely under control. I have considered myself a heavy eater. What friends have seen as restraint has never seemed so to me. If I had not developed as much restraint as I have, I would have sunk lower than the beasts. I would have met my doom long ago. Still, I understood my shortcomings well enough and made great efforts to overcome them. Thanks to those efforts, I have managed to carry on with my body all these years and do my share of work.

Being conscious of my weakness and unexpectedly coming in contact with congenial company, I began to take an exclusive fruit diet or to fast on the Ekadashi day, and also to observe Janmashtami and similar holidays.

I was aware of my weakness and unexpectedly found myself among like-minded people. So I began to eat only fruit or fast on Ekadashi. I also began to observe Janmashtami and similar holidays.

I began with a fruit diet, but from the standpoint of restraint I did not find much to choose between a fruit diet and a diet of food grains. I observed that the same indulgence of taste was possible with the former as with the latter, and even more, when one got accustomed to it. I therefore came to attach greater importance to fasting or having only one meal a day on holidays. And if there was some occasion for penance or the like, I gladly utilised it too for the purpose of fasting.

I began with a fruit diet, but I found little difference between fruit and grains when it came to self-restraint. I observed that one could indulge in the taste of fruit just as much as in grains. Once accustomed to fruit, one could indulge even more. I therefore came to value fasting or eating only one meal on holidays more highly. And if there was an occasion for penance or something similar, I gladly used it as a chance to fast.

But I also saw, that the body now being drained more effectively, the food yielded greater relish and the appetite grew keener. It dawned upon me that fasting could be made as powerful a weapon of indulgence as of restraint. Many similar later experiences of mine as well as of others can be adduced as evidence of this startling fact. I wanted to improve and train my body, but as my chief object now was to achieve restraint and a conquest of the palate, I selected first one food and then another, and at the same time restricted the amount. But the relish was after me, as it were. As I gave up one thing and took up another, this latter afforded me a fresher and greater relish than its predecessor.

But I also noticed that, as my body was being cleansed more effectively, I enjoyed food more and my appetite grew stronger. I began to see that fasting could be as powerful a weapon for indulgence as for restraint. Many similar experiences later in my life, and in the lives of others, can be offered as evidence of this startling fact. I wanted to improve and train my body. But my main goal now was to achieve self-restraint and conquer my taste for food. So I tried one food after another, while also limiting how much I ate. But enjoyment of food seemed to pursue me. Whenever I gave up one food and took up another, the new food gave me a fresher and greater pleasure than the one before it.

In making these experiments I had several companions, the chief of whom was Hermann Kallenbach. I have already written about this friend in the history of Satyagraha in South Africa, and will not therefore go over the same ground here. Mr. Kallenbach was always with me whether in fasting or in dietetic changes. I lived with him at his own place when the Satyagraha struggle was at its height. We discussed our changes in food and derived more pleasure from the new diet than from the old. Talk of this nature sounded quite pleasant in those days, and did not strike me as at all improper. Experience has taught me, however, that it was wrong to have dwelt upon the relish of food. One should eat not in order to please the palate but just to keep the body going. When each organ of sense subserves the body and through the body the soul, its special relish disappears, and then alone does it begin to function in the way nature intended it to do.

I had several companions in these experiments, the closest of whom was Hermann Kallenbach. I have already written about this friend in the history of Satyagraha in South Africa. So I will not repeat that account here. Mr. Kallenbach always joined me, whether I was fasting or changing my diet. I lived with him at his home when the Satyagraha struggle was at its height. We discussed the changes we made to our food and enjoyed the new diet more than the old one. Such talk seemed quite pleasant in those days, and I did not think it improper at all. Experience has taught me, however, that it was wrong to dwell on the pleasure of food. One should eat not to please the palate but only to keep the body going. When each sense serves the body, and through the body serves the soul, its particular pleasure disappears. Only then does that sense begin to function as nature intended.

Any number of experiments is too small and no sacrifice is too great for attaining this symphony with nature. But unfortunately the current is now-a-days flowing strongly in the opposite direction. We are not ashamed to sacrifice a multitude of other lives in decorating the perishable body and trying to prolong its existence for a few fleeting moments, with the result that we kill ourselves, both body and soul. In trying to cure one old disease, we give rise to a hundred new ones; in trying to enjoy the pleasures of sense, we lose in the end even our capacity for enjoyment. All this is passing before our very eyes, but there are none so blind as those who will not see.

No number of experiments is too great, and no sacrifice is too great, to achieve this harmony with nature. But unfortunately, the current is now flowing strongly in the opposite direction. We are not ashamed to sacrifice countless other lives to decorate our perishable bodies and prolong them for a few fleeting moments. As a result, we destroy ourselves, both body and soul. In trying to cure one old disease, we create a hundred new ones. In pursuing the pleasures of the senses, we ultimately lose even our ability to enjoy them. All this is happening before our eyes, but no one is so blind as those who refuse to see.

Having thus set forth their object and the train of ideas which led up to them, I now propose to describe the dietetic experiments at some length.

I have now explained the purpose of the dietary experiments and the ideas that led to them. I will now describe the experiments in some detail.