“What barrier is there that love cannot break?” (goodreads.com). This quote shows how Gandhi believes in peace and how anything can be overcome without resorting to violence. Mahatma Gandhi is important to history and today because of his background and contributions. Gandhi was his mother's favorite son and she had big plans for him. This fueled his ambition to become great and fulfill his mother's dreams for him. The way Gandhi grew up during his childhood helped shape him into the man he would become. Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, India (Mahatma Gandhi 1282). Mahatma was the fourth son of the prime minister of the small city-state of Porbandar. He was born into a highly respected Hindu family (Mahatma Gandhi). “His father was a senior government official named Karamchand.” His mother was called Putlibai, and she was very religious. His mother knew he would contribute to the world. Gandhi was his mother's favorite son. He had a feeling he was going to do great things. Gandhi was a small child. He was determined though. Maybe that's what his mother saw in him. There were reasons why people disagreed with his mother's thinking that he would grow up. Gandhi was a very weak and small child. He was also very shy. Even the Mahatma did not excel in school, he was average. His school also didn't have great resources to teach him. After finishing school, his family decided to send him to London to study law. The Mahatma was very excited to go to London. “In the first half of his life Mohandas Gandhi was a friend of the British Empire.” The Mahatma, however, did not study very intensively while in London (Mahatma Gandhi 1282). “During the three years he spent in England, his main concern was with hand spinning, weaving and other personal skills and……. He was also very involved in the education department. "Gandhi wrote a lot about education" ((Mahatma Gandhi on violence and peace education). He was very concerned with educating everyone. Gandhi had created a "New Education", which was part of his Constructive Programme. "Generations a come, perhaps,” said Albert Einstein, “they will hardly believe that a man like Gandhi ever walked this earth” (Mahatma Gandhi). This quote from Albert Einstein shows the impact Gandhi had on others and what an exceptional person he was Gandhi's background and contributions had a great impact on everything and everyone around him. Gandhi's mother, Putlibai, had very high expectations for him he did it. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi changed this world forever.