ABSTRACT
The third stage of Gandhi's stay in South Africa lasted twelve years, from 1903 to the beginning of the First World War in 1914. It was here that he happened upon a book, a name, a man, a master: Leon Tolstoy. The end of the century was very important for Gandhi on both the political and humanitarian fronts. In his first letter Gandhi described the situation of his countrymen and the other Asians affected by the racial laws. Between 1903 and 1909, Gandhi faced a number of trials and personal choices in his married life and family situation that affected the rest of his life. There is a fine difference between satyagraha and becoming Brahmacharya and it is not surprising that a series of events that had nothing in common, the first touching upon Gandhi's public and political life, the second his personal should occur at about the same time in 1906.
