Mahatma Gandhi's hands tell us that he was a true spiritual leader

Mahatma Gandhi Painting at Gandhidham (copyrighted to me).

Expectedly, the overall shape of Mahatma Gandhi’s hand and fingers reveals his breadth of vision and altruism. People with such dispositions are never narrow-minded. They are unselfish, so much so that they tend not to think of their own problems, and tend to dwell on those of the world and of society. It is known that Mahatma Gandhi neglected his domestic life for the sake of India and the explanation for this lies in his hand. 

Besides, the broad shape, Gandhi's hand is also large. The Mercury (little) finger is long while the Jupiter (index) finger is short. The tips of the fingers are mostly conic. The thumb is long and low-set. The knots on the back of his fingers are developed – both first and second knots. Although the first phalanges of his fingers are not exceptionally long, they are of good length and the second phalanges are long.

The head and heart lines are not particularly long, but they are more than medium length and they are connected. A line is rising from the headline to join the heartline, on his right hand. The headline starts high, at the base of the Jupiter mount, which is well developed. The Moon mount is also high, as are the Mars mounts, Lower and Upper.

It has been reported that Mahatma Gandhi was left-handed, but there is no pictorial confirmation of this. All photos of him show him writing with his right hand. It is possible that he was ambidextrous, but there is no proof of this either. It is surprising that mainstream media have propagated the view that he was left-handed, without any proof.

Humility is written large on his hand, maybe even a lack of self-esteem. But that is not why Gandhi was a humble man although he was not a simple man. He was in fact, quite a complex personality, but what matters is that he was living a life outside of himself. The Self mattered less. His inner timidity also enhanced his humble nature.

Check out a photograph of his hand here and here and here.

Mahatma Gandhi likely had an issue with self-esteem. Two other well-known aspects of his character are clearly etched on his hand. He may not have been an intellectual, but he was intelligent, quite aggressive and a strong man, a fighter, however peaceful he appeared on the outside. His hand shows ambition but as his basic nature was altruistic, and thus the ambition must have been on these lines.

However, he was controlling, and there were times when he let his emotions get the better of him. He liked to have his way and could be stubborn. Seeing another point of view was not easy for him, not once his own mind was made up. It is likely that his idealism, impressionability and compassion must have made him receptive to people who were suffering and in need. This would soften his stubbornness to some extent. His hand shows that his stubbornness decreased as he grew older.

Despite the diffidence of personality, Gandhi was mentally strong, had a quiet, undeniable pushiness, and could resist any obstacle without losing his cool. He could dig his heels in. And mostly, it was his head that ruled his heart. There was a deep desire to help others and he was open, flexible and also impulsive and generous. There is some complexity in the personality because despite being of a very cool and calm disposition outwardly, there were times when he did things because he wanted to and because he was sure he was right. He would follow his emotions.

Besides, despite his diffidence, he had a way with people and an understanding of how to lead them. He could lead without seeming to. 

No doubt that he was a genuine spiritual leader. His lack of personal ambition, mental strength, presence of strong idealism and deep compassion for human beings is the reason. Yes, he had his personality weaknesses, he was not a saint...but finally one evaluates people on the actions they take, not what they are like inside. As I had written in this post – Can Palmistry predict behavior – the hand shows personality traits, but cannot actually predict behaviour. This is because a person can control his weaknesses and exhibit his or her best potential, thus acting in ways that can surprise people.

Personally, Mahatma Gandi would have been a little difficult to get along with, but he was an intelligent man and this would have helped.

The lack of good photographs of his hands means that it is difficult to write anything more. It is known that Mahatma Gandhi believed in non-violence (Ahimsa) and I am sure this is evident on his hand somewhere, but without a better hand photo, it is not possible to say.

Check out the hand analysis of Mother Teresa or a comparison of the modern spiritual leaders with the ancient or older ones as well as a comparison of the Shirdi Sai Baba with Sathya Sai Baba or the difference between Anna Hazare and Mahatma Gandhi.

Or check out the hand reading of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 

Read about other Spiritual Leaders, like Ayatullah Khomeini of Iran, or Martin Luther King Jr. or others from different countries.

(This reading was done at the request of a reader and the photograph reproduced here has been taken by me at Gandhidham of a painting of MG)