Interpretation of Vows or Pledges

"A few observations about the interpretation of vows or pledges may not be out of place here. Interpretation of pledges has been a fruitful source of strife all the world over. No matter how explicit the pledge, people will turn and twist the text to suit their own purposes. They are to be met with among all classes of society, from the rich down to the poor, from the prince down to the peasant. Selfishness turns them blind, and by a use of the ambiguous middle they deceive themselves and seek to deceive the world and God. One golden rule is to accept the interpretation honestly put on the pledge by the party administering it. Another is to accept the interpretation of the weaker party, where there are two interpretations possible. Rejection of these two rules gives rise to strife and iniquity which are, rooted in untruthfulness. He who seeks truth alone easily follows the golden rule. He need not seek learned advice for interpretation. My mother's interpretation of meat was, according to the golden rule, the only true one for me, and not the one my wider experience or my pride of better knowledge might have taught me..."

-Excerpt from My Experiments with the truth

Gandhi had pledged his mother not to consume meat under any circumstances. Inspite of that, during his stay in England, he managed to bend the pledge by consuming eggs and fish (justifying with some theories that they are not considered as meat). Later he realized the true meaning of the pledge he made and how vows or pledges can be bent to our desire .