‘India needs a moral compass like Gandhi now’

On his three-year experiment of adopting Mahatma Gandhi’s principles

1 How did you first learn about Gandhi? What were your earliest impressions?

I first came to India in the 1970s. At that time, I knew nothing about Gandhi, but every city had statues of him and landmarks named after him. I knew he was the “father of the nation” so I vaguely compared him to George Washington. But Gandhi wasn’t a politician, he never held any title. So I could not wrap my mind around who this guy was. He was like a museum figure.

When I came to India in 2004, it was as a journalist working on a book on Buddhism. I saw India in a wholly different way and learnt where Gandhi fits into the country’s fabric. He was not just the face on every piece of paper currency or a statue in a square, but both a controversial and a healing figure. Even then, in some instances, Gandhi seemed irrelevant. At Mani Bhavan in Mumbai, where he had lived, I remember students reciting stories about him. This was just how we learnt about the American founding fathers. But that’s in school and you forget all that.

I was in Udaipur and used to go to this tailor. When I told him I was thinking about this book, he took me to the back of his shop and showed me an album of memorabilia about Gandhi, such as newspaper clippings. It took the journalist in me, not the spiritual expeditionary I think I am, to dig deeper. What is my feeling now? On the one hand, Gandhi is used as a political football to garner votes, but on the other, India needs a moral compass like him now more than ever.

2 You embarked on a three-year experiment to follow Gandhi’s moral compass and travel to countries where he had lived, to explore his influence. What are the changes you have seen in yourself since the experiment?

I’m more empathetic, I laugh more when I’m alone in the streets. I find humour and beauty in simplicity. I also cry more, but I’ve always been kind of sensitive. On a daily, practical level, I began walking religiously: three to four miles a day.

I’m a pescetarian and I eat oatmeal in the morning. But it’s more the process — I’m more careful about my language; I’m more respectful; I watch less violence on television, though I had to dabble a little in football because we had the Super Bowl, which is almost a spiritual event here. My mantra is: What would Gandhi think? What would he do?

The original title of my book was Being Gandhi, but halfway into my research, I knew I could never “be” Gandhi. He was too complicated, and an overachiever; I could never match that. So I chose “Becoming” — the endless process is the achievement in itself. As long as you don’t give up, you can continue swimming in the infinity pool of becoming Gandhi.

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What would you have done differently, looking back on your experiment?

As a writer of books and longform magazine pieces, there are always interviews that don’t make it to the final draft. People give their time, energy, thoughts and feelings, and I feel guilty that I didn’t include them all.