I think there is much to admire in the Mahatma, and much to learn from.
The fact that he was open enough to try eating meat, bold enough to lay with young girls knowing it would be a tough test (knowing he would likely fail, and did), shows me that he wasn't simply following dogma blindly. He was experiencing Truth.
Temptation is true. Discipline is true. Testing is true. He wasn't locked away from the world and protected from the trials and temptations. He put himself there to test him dedication.
Ghandiji was human as the rest of us. A Divine manifestation. The One manifested into a one, a part. Just as you are. We are all the same. Some are able to be clear channels and show the right way, others try their best, and some give up hope of being able to match other's examples. Ghandiji never, in my knowledge, claimed to be a guru, one to be worshipped, a vaishnava. I think, still, he is a good example of a bold leader, and a an amazing human being.
We all have our own paths in life. We are not all made to live austerities, not all to make a family, not all to search. Some are content to follow writings. All of this is valid.
In all traditions, the truth is said: Be still, and know that I am with you.
In the atma, the paraatma is. In the part, there is the whole. Do not look to an outside source for truth, for direction. The outside is good to remind us that which we are and that which we are capable of. The truth resides within. Be still, listen to the anahata, and know that the truth of one moment may not look like the truth of another moment.
Know that you are already saved.