This is the third part of a series about Gandhi’s development of Tolstoy Farm in South Africa. Part one examined its founding in 1910, and part two looked at how vegetarianism and walking became important parts of the community.
The community continued to serve as a pillar of support for his satyagraha campaign, and Gandhi began other experiments with his own life. Living on Tolstoy Farm with his close friend Hermann Kallenbach inspired many discussions about life and self-improvement. The pair swore off milk, and Gandhi tried a pure fruit diet.
Around this time, Gandhi also began experimenting with fasting. As a rule, he wrote in his autobiography, Hindus allow themselves milk and fruit on a fasting day. Since he was only eating fruit anyway, there was no real sacrifice involved in observing the many fasts on the Hindu calendar. Therefore, he challenged himself to observe “complete fasting,” only drinking water.
Not long after, he says, a Hindu holy month and the Muslim month of Ramadan coincided. This began on August 13, 1912, a fact which only takes up a few characters on the screen but required a half hour of research to determine precisely when they aligned. Neat! Anyway, Gandhi decided that he would observe the old tradition of fasting until evening for the Hindu month. The handful of Muslim children at Tolstoy Farm were observing Ramadan, and Gandhi “asked the Hindu, Parsi, and Christian youngsters to join” him in the daily fasts.
I explained to them that it was always a good thing to join with others in any manner of self-denial. … Thus an atmosphere of self-restraint naturally sprang up on the Farm. All the Farm inmates now began to join us in keeping partial and compete fasts, which, I am sure, was entirely to the good. I cannot definitely say how far this self-denial touched their hearts.… For my part, however, I am convinced that I greatly benefited by it both physically and morally.
The Muslims did not take water during their Ramadan fasting, which is why I’m a little amused by Gandhi’s descriptions of “partial and complete fasts.” If a complete fast included drinking water, what would he call the Muslim’s observances, extra-complete fasts?
Although his first call for a national day of fasting in India was still a few years away, the roots of that effort can be seen in his experience here. He recognized the power of group fasts in building a new community. The tradition continues with the monthly fast for peace, coming up in a few days on July 15. This month also served to whet Gandhi’s appetite for more experiments with fasting, which I will write about tomorrow.
Is it better to “join with others in any manner of self-denial” or to join in any manner of self-improvement i.e. adopting positive behaviors?