to sprout / to bud / to have a strong affection for (slang) / adorable (loanword from Japanese 萌え moe, slang describing affection for a cute character)
萌
=
艹
+
明
:
Mahatma Gandhi (m) has a strong affection for (萌) the flower buds (萌) he planted on sheets of artificial lawn (艹) in the engine's kitchen ((e)ng2). To make them grow faster he illuminates them with a huge searchlight (明).