It was difficult for him to adapt to life when studying in London

One of the most interesting facts about Mahatma Gandhi is he found it difficult when living in London. Gandhi took his academics seriously and attempted to refresh his knowledge of Latin and English by sitting for the University of London matriculation exam. But rather than focusing on his academic goals during his three years in England, he was more preoccupied with moral and emotional matters. He found it difficult to adjust to London's sophisticated lifestyle after living in Rajkot's semi-rural environment. He felt uncomfortable as he laboriously tried to acclimate himself to Western cuisine, attire, and manners. His friends cautioned him that going vegetarian would ruin both his schoolwork and his health, and it became a constant cause of humiliation for him.

Fortunately for him, he discovered a vegetarian restaurant and a book offering a rational defense of vegetarianism. From that point on, he became a vegetarian out of conviction rather than just as a result of his Vaishnava upbringing. The young man was pitifully shy, but his missionary fervor for vegetarianism helped bring him out of his shell and gave him a new posture. He joined the London Vegetarian Society's executive committee and began attending its conferences and publishing papers in its journal.