According to Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs, people are essentially good but there are parts of their lives that hold them back from reaching their full potential which Maslow called self-actualization. He defined self actualization as maximizing your potential, living life to the fullest, and being true to your "inner nature." The people of pre-revolutionary India under the British were desperate and starving, stuck at Maslow's Level 1, from Maslow's Theory of Personality. Gandhi, who meets Maslow's criteria for a self-actualized person, showed the Indians their need for independence and helped them achieve a just and nonviolent revolution through example.

When Gandhi returned to India from South Africa, he was shocked by the poverty that surrounded him. Maslow would have said that the majority of the population in India was stuck on level 1, meaning that they are desperate for basic needs such as food.

Gandhi saw that there were Indian...