The Story of My Experiments With Truth: Mahatma Gandhi: An Autobiography

By Mahatma Gandhi

This unusual autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, is a window to the workings of Mahatma Gandhi' s mind, a window to the emotions of his heart, a window to understanding what drove this seemingly ordinary man to the heights of being the father of a nation— India. Starting with his days as a boy, Gandhi takes one through his trials and turmoils and situations that moulded his philosophy of life: going through child marriage, his studies in England, practicing Law in South Africa— and his Satyagraha there— to the early beginnings of the Independence movement in India. He did not aim to write an autobiography but rather share the experience of his various experiments with truth to arrive at what he perceived as Absolute Truth— the ideal of his struggle against racism, violence and colonialism.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fingerprint Publishing
• Release date: Sep 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9789358563986

Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) was an Indian lawyer, nationalist, and civil rights activist. Born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, he was first given the honorary title of Mahatma—Sanskrit for “great-souled”—in 1914 while living in South Africa. Raised in Gujarat in a prominent Hindu family, he travelled to London and studied law at the Inner Temple. Called to the Bar in 1891, Gandhi returned to India for a brief time before settling in South Africa. There, he started a family while perfecting his style of nonviolent resistance grounded in civil disobedience. In 1915, he returned to his native country to join the fight against British rule, organizing peasants across India to take a stand against taxation, racism, and other forms of colonial oppression. He became the leader of the Indian National Congress in 1921 and increased his involvement with the movements for women’s rights, religious and ethnic equality, and the elimination of India’s caste system, which unjustly effected Dalits deemed untouchable from birth. His central cause, however, was Swaraj, which can be translated as self-governance or democracy. As his popularity increased, he simplified his lifestyle in solidarity with the Indian poor, wearing traditional clothing, eating vegetarian food, and fasting as a matter of personal hygiene and protest. In 1930, he led the twenty-five day Dandi Salt March or Salt Satyagraha, in response to a British salt tax, inspiring millions of Indians to take direct action against British rule. A proponent of religious pluralism, he lamented the interfaith violence between Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims that broke out following independence and the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. At 78 years old, he was assassinated by a Hindu nationalist for his outreach to the Muslim community.

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Reviews for The Story of My Experiments With Truth

[gottfried_leibniz-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Finally, I read Gandhi's work.

Admirable, Inspiring life journey of Gandhi.

Reading this gives a glimpse of Gandhi's life.

Mahadev Desai, Gandhi's Personal Secretary has done excellent work.

He's translated, written it concisely. It's easy for readers to follow paragraphs.

Chapters, Paragraphs neatly organized, concise.

Why?

A Tamil reader had posted a copy from another book, I peaked at it:
-No spaces
-Entire Page filled with one paragraph
-A Blob of Text


I thought, "Orae Vai la full plate sapadu sapdamudiyuma?", "Oru Vai Sapadu at a time."

[Can't eat entire rice in a plate, eat step by step]

As I lived abroad, I could deeply connect with Gandhi's stories.

Maybe, if I had read this 15 years ago, I would not have understood his life story much.

My Favorite Part, Gandhi's reaction, impression with Tolstoy's writings.

"Truth" is my sole objective.

I'd recommend this for everyone.

Deus Vult,
Gottfried

[scottjpearson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Gandhi’s name sticks out in bold in twentieth-century history. Words associated with this great include India, non-violence, independence, integrity, and freedom. Yet those (like me) who have been schooled in a different religious tradition (for me, Protestant Christianity) might not be aware of the depth of Gandhi’s greatness because of differing idioms. That’s why I originally picked up this book, and that’s why I suggest that your reading of this book is important, too.Gandhi is by no means perfect in my eyes. He writes about his exposure to Christianity while in England and why he saw no need to convert to it from the Hinduism of his upbringing. Further, he describes why he spent much of his life as an adamant vegetarian and refused even taking milk for the sake of his health. Finally, Gandhi’s family life seems arranged around patriarchy, and Gandhi never seems to wrestle with this inequality. While still disagreeing in reading this work, I found evident respect for his reasons as to why.Even more, I found respect for how he overcame discrimination in South Africa and in India under the British Empire. He did so with an optimistic view of the law – that the law, at its best, is a chronicle of humans struggling with each other. He holds an unwavering faith in the eventual triumph of justice in human affairs on earth, and it seems that this faith is rooted in the very nature of the universe’s life as being sustained by God.This autobiography describes Gandhi’s life from its earliest days (including an arranged marriage at age 13!), to his youth as a student, and to his adult years as a lawyer in South Africa and India. It covers his role in Indian independence and ceases with the assumption of his public role. Like most memoirs (and this book could certainly be categorized as a memoir), this work elucidates the formative events in his life and describes these events from the inside out.Any reader will have to grow comfortable with the mixing of words from many languages. Many non-English words, when pertaining to specific concepts rooted in culture, are not translated in this edition. This can serve as a good introduction to the subcontinent, however, and as a pericope into the linguistic challenges present in Indian life. These challenges persist today.Gandhi does not come off as a self-absorbed narcissist. Rather, as the subtitle implies, Gandhi sees this story as “experiments with truth,” as a scientific, objective approach to human affairs. Although readers will be struck by Gandhi’s high view of justice, he does not seem particularly hung up on his ego needs. Rather, he seems genuinely concerned with speaking up with integrity for his fellow humans – particularly those who are not from a privileged background. That ethical excellence, combined with wide-ranging experience, is why this work is a classic and should continue to be read as a treasure by all.

[jigarpatel-6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Written in instalments from 1925 to 1929, Gandhi's autobiography charts his train of thought throughout his time in Africa and the beginnings of Satyagraha in India. Some of the ideas here about simple living, while not revolutionary to Indian culture, are admirable. His experiments with diet, medicine and education leave much to be desired. It seems at times Gandhi places so much emphasis on moral and spiritual development that science and medicine are deemed irrelevant.One still has to marvel at Gandhi's tact and ability, even if only for a while, to bring together communities across locations, languages and creeds. Gandhi takes Truth to another level: to say as you think and to do as you say. He shows how to practise such noble precepts in journalism, law and politics. A vow taken is important to fulfil just as much in order not to break one's word as for its desired purpose.For a more factual biography, and one which delves deeper into his early influences and followers, I recommend Ramachandra Guha's Gandhi Before India.

[rajivc_18 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is quaint. He has written the book in a rather simplistic style. He does give some insight into his development, and focusses a lot on his eccentricities.For some reason, he does not write much about his thoughts and feelings concerning the age of the times, and how he got to where he was.A good book, but one written by a seasoned politician.

[sajithbuvi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An Amazing life story of an amazing man. The guts shows in the work. He spares none. All aspects of his life is out there for anyone to read. If anyone writes autobiography this how it should be. Otherwise there is no point in writing an autobiography. Gandhi shows us the truth of life must be open to the world to experience the truth.

[awdhesh-16 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I must have read this book at least fifteen years ago. This is a great book written by one of the greatest leader of the modern world--Mahatma Gandhi. If you wish to know who Gandhi was, you have no other book like this.

[hadriantheblind · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Extremely interesting view of the growth and spiritual development of one of the most illuminating figures of the last century. Covers a wide variety of topics. A shame that it only ends in the 1920s (but what autobiography could ever be called complete?), but it is still a fascinating portrait of the man.

[jackbarrow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I started reading this because some one Facebook was posting a statement that Gandhi would have supported gun ownership rights in the US after the latest school shooting. I found this so outrageous that I got into a debate where the guy was posting quotes from his autobiography that meant that I couldn't adequately respond without first having read the book. I'm not sure I found the relevant quote but I'm very glad I read the book. I'm sorry to say that until I read this the only knowledge I had of Gandhi was from Richard Attenborough's 1982 bio pic. This was a great film but it leaves so much out. I had no idea how much time he had spent in both England and South Africa. The film started in South Africa but gives you the impression that this was a brief visit, however the book makes it clear that his last time in South Africa was for something like ten years. Before that he's been to South Africa on a number of occasions fighting for racial equality and he spent three years in London studying for his law degree.There is a lot in here about his development of ideas such as non violence and passive resistance as well as his thoughts on vegetarianism and health issues. You get a really good idea of him as a political campaigner both as a lawyer and running newspapers. There is also a lot about his efforts to set up various communes and communities.The only weakness of the book is that it's quite hard to follow the names of people and places as well as the non English terms. Someone has made an attempt to add clarification the text but it's simply not possible with every non English term. It is possible to look them us as you go (most of them have useful pages on Wikipedia that explain them) but after a while it's a bit difficult to keep track of.Having said that it's still a good read and very enlightening, giving a real insight into the man and his values. The book only goes up to the mid twenties and so doesn't cover the last twenty years of his life but I'd recommend it all the same.

[smith54a · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

He would have had trouble adjusting to the modern movement for women's rights!!

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Gandhi had a profound effect on history. As such, I thought reading his autobiography a must. I knew I had a lot of disagreements with what he believed, big and small, but his attitude as alluded to in his title disarmed me at first. He writes that "far from claiming finality or infallibility" truth is something he believes we seek and learn by testing. At first I found him likeable and admirable. I felt for his struggles with shyness and public speaking. But my respect for his views and my liking for him eroded over the course of his autobiography. I felt his family and especially his wife had a lot to put up with by his own account. And so much of the autobiography was taken up with frankly crackpot notions. Even he calls himself a "crank" at one point and refers to his practice of "quack medicine." That may have been meant ironically but I thought it fit. Long, dull stretches of the narrative were taken up with details of diet and hygiene. You're not going to get a complete overview of his life and thinking from this work, since he stops the account at 1921 and he lived until 1948. Too often key events would be glossed over and he'd refer the reader to other writings to fill the gap. But having seen the famous film based on his life, it was interesting to read material not covered there from his childhood in India and his time in England as a young man. I was surprised at how accepted he seemed to be studying in England--he didn't relate encountering much color prejudice there--more the opposite--and this was in the late 1880s. It was a very different story in South Africa where he gained his first experience of law practice and political activism. At one time he was literally kicked to the curb as Indians weren't allowed on the pavement. I would have liked to read more about his development of Satyagraha (active non-violent resistance), particularly his use of Civil Disobedience, especially since I know it greatly influenced Martin Luther King. It was interesting to find out Ghandi himself was greatly influenced by Tolstoy's non-violent principles in The Kingdom of God Is Within You. He even called his ashram in South Africa "Tolstoy Farm" and I can see a lot of commonality between the two men. I could wish this was annotated, or at least a glossary provided. There were a lot of Hindu/Indian terms I had to jot down to look up later: ashram, darbar, darshan, dhoti, haveli, vakils, Khilafat, Madras, Parsi, Swaraj, Vaishnavas. Maps would have been nice too. But I found there was value enough in getting a feel for the man that on the whole I found it worth the read.

[gshuk_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Very, very long and boring audio. I did not finish it. It assumes you know the political events and personalities of the day in South Africa, England & India. To much detail of areas that did not seem worth mentioning at all. On the positive side it gave detailed insights into his thought process. It showed things like his lack of confidence when young and his characteristic of sticking to his principles no matter the cost for himself and those he was responsible for. To give an example when his son was deathly sick and the doctors said to give him meat he decided against that in order to stick with his beliefs.

[jddunn_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I hate to harsh on Gandhi, but this is just interminable. 200 pages in, and most of it has been details of his dietary regimen. I guess this was all integral to the way he lived and how he managed to have the discipline and strength to do what he did, but it’s not very widely applicable or interesting to read. And he skips right over the very stuff I most wanted to learn about, like the story of the Satyagraha movement in South Africa.There is good and wise and interesting stuff interspersed, but I’m having a hard time slogging through the minutia to get to it. Of course, he would probably say the minutia is the point and that concentrating on it is the way to live well, but that doesn’t make reading the endless details of his particular case any less mind-numbing. I’ll probably keep going because it’s freaking Gandhi, but I think I would have been better off reading a biography of him by someone else.

[carolfoasia_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Story of what one man can do without violence. He was a great man, very disciplined and focused in all things. It was very interesting getting an insight into this culture too. It was a worthwhile read with some tedious parts.

[imamura6s · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Gandhi is great man. becouse he contribute india independence. Moreover he action of independence is acocomplished no violence. gandhi`s key word is NO violence NO obedience.

[ashishg_50 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Everyone must read this book irrespective of whether you agree with him or not. Not because it tells you about one of the greatest man ever lived but because it tells you what makes greatness.

[sruszala · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not riveting, but an important part of my library and education.

[rrhowell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not the world's most fascinating read, but certainly a fascinating man.

[fleurdiabolique · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Frankly, there are just points at which this book gets annoying. It is not an autobiography in a typical sense; there frequently isn't enough background information provided for the reader to understand the context of events that Gandhi narrates without referencing some other text (or multiple texts). Gandhi himself often comes across as ridiculously puritanical or irritatingly simple and trusting. Both the trustingness and puritanism are integral parts of his philosophy, and I'm not criticizing them as such necessarily, but it does get pretty annoying to read 500 pages of it at times.That said, if you're really interested in the inner workings of Gandhi's mind, this is an excellent discussion of events that influenced him and ways in which he came to think and believe the things that he did.

[jbreedlove_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A personal account of Ghandi's early years in South Africa and hos path to non-violence. A bit of an odd duck but truly sincere.

[literarysarah · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Rather long-winded and preachy - much like the man, I imagine.