Even as a boy, Ganhi was sensitive and patriotic. During his teenage years, a Muslim friend convinced Gandhi that the British "were able to rule India only because they ate meat and the Hindus did not."2.) In response, Gandhi decided to eat meat in spite of the ban his religion placed on it. He ate goat's meat, which disgusted him so much that he felt as if the goat was "bleating in his stomach."​2.) Though he ate meat a few times after that, he hated lying to his parents, so he confessed his sin and stopped. He thought after his parents deaths eating meet would give him the strength needed to defeat the British when he no longer needed to feel guilty about lying to them.

However, Ghandi instead relied on emotional and mental strength to defeat the British. Similar to most young people, Gandhi had some trouble figuring out how to channel his passionate energy, but from a young age, he obviously disliked violence while loving the idea of Indian independence. ​