Gandhi throughout his life.
GandhiÆs childhood was unremarkable. He was never more than an average student. As was a common practice in 19th century India, he was married at the age of 13 to Kasturbai Makanji. He developed, and throughout his life would retain, a powerful interest in morality and codes of conduct. An episode that would have a powerful influence on the young Gandhi occurred when he was 15. A friend of his had incurred a debt of 25 rupees. This friend had a solid gold armband from which Gandhi had clipped a small piece in order to pay the debt.
Gandhi was plagued with guilt over his theft. He resolved never to steal again. He made up his mind to confess his crime to his father and accept any punishment that was due. Speechless with fear in the anticipation of his fatherÆs reaction, he wrote out his confession and asked for his forgiveness. His father was so impressed that all he could do was shed a tear and then forgive his son without any punishment (Gandhi 27). His fatherÆs response to his clean confession left a deep impression on the young Gandhi that would remain throughout his life. One of the remarkable facets of GandhiÆs personality was this belief in the importance of revealing oneself and telling the truth, even in adversarial situations. As was the case wi
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