During the 1930s, a young boy had become obsessed with eating a lot of sugar. His mother was very upset with this. But no matter how much she scolded him and tried to break his habit, he continued to satisfy his sweet tooth. Being totally frustrated, she decided to take her son to see Mahatma Gandhi who was the boy’s idol.
She had to walk many miles across the country, for hours under scorching sun to finally reach Gandhi’s ashram. There, she recounted her difficult journey and shared with Gandhi her unpleasant situation:
“Bapu (Father), my son eats too much sugar. It is not good for his health. Would you please advise him to stop eating it? ”
Gandhi listened to the woman carefully, thought for a while and replied: “Please come back after two weeks. I will talk to your son.”
The women looked confused. Then she took the boy by the hand and went home. She made the long journey home and in two weeks time made it once again as Gandhi requested. When they arrived, Gandhi looked directly at the boy and said: “Boy, you should stop eating sugar. It is not good for your health.”
The boy nodded and promised he would not continue this habit any longer. The boy’s mother was puzzled. She turned to Gandhi and asked,
“Bapu, Why didn’t you tell him that two weeks ago when I brought him here to see you?”
Gandhi smiled and whispered in her ears. “Mother, that time I was not qualified to advise the little one Because I too, was same like him, eating a lot of sugar myself two weeks ago.”
