A lady reached Mahatma Gandhi with her 10 yr. old son. She told Gandhi, " Sir, my son has a bad habit of eating a lot of jaggery ( a special kind of Indian sweets ). I have been telling him to reduce eating jaggery but he does not listen to me. Mahatma ji, the whole nation listens to you and you are a revered personality. I am sure my son too will heed to your advice. Please tell him not to eat too much of jaggery."

Mahatma Gandhi thought for a while and asked the lady to bring her son again after a week.

After a week , the lady again took her son to Mahatma. Mahatma Gandhi put his hand on the head of the boy and told him, "My dear child, don't eat jaggery too much. It can be harmful".

The conversation ended.

The bewildered lady asked the Mahatma, "Sir, this was simple. You could have told him the same thing last week itself !! Why you made us come again after a week ?"

Mahatma told the lady," I myself used to take jaggery till last week. I needed a weeks' time to quit eating jaggery so that I could counsel your son with conviction".

The lady bowed in reverence to Mahatma Gandhi and took leave of him.