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Gandhi: An autobiography

Mahatma Gandhi,

Mahadev Desai (Translator)

4.07 · Rating details · 44,287 ratings · 1,779 reviews

Mohandas K. Gandhi is one of the most inspiring figures of our time. In his classic autobiography he recounts the story of his life and how he developed his concept of active nonviolent resistance, which propelled the Indian struggle for independence and countless other nonviolent struggles of the twentieth century.

In a new foreword, noted peace expert and teacher Sissela ...more

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Paperback, 528 pages

Published November 1st 1993 by Beacon Press (first published 1927)

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Jul 05, 2017 Sean Barrs the Bookdragon rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, 2-star-reads, biography

Gandhi has no energy whatsoever. I think the main problem with him writing his own autobiography is his complete lack of ego. He is too modest. He is too accommodating. And he is too good.

Wonderful characteristics for sure; they clearly served him well in his role as a civil rights leader, though they make him rather ill-equipped to write his own story. There is absolutely no passion within his writing, no fire, no strength and certainly no sense of long term goals or aspirations within the Gandhi has no energy whatsoever. I think the main problem with him writing his own autobiography is his complete lack of ego. He is too modest. He is too accommodating. And he is too good.

Wonderful characteristics for sure; they clearly served him well in his role as a civil rights leader, though they make him rather ill-equipped to write his own story. There is absolutely no passion within his writing, no fire, no strength and certainly no sense of long term goals or aspirations within the first few hundred pages. He begins with telling the tale of his youth, a rather non-descript and ordinary upbringing. It’s mundane, full of far too much monotony and everyday trifles to warrant any remark.

It’s almost like he is detached from his own experiences. Gandhi the leader, Gandhi the man who has inspired thousands, did not come across in much of the writing here. He is narrating his life retrospectively, from a position of success and influence, yet this Gandhi does not appear in the pages. There is no sense of an older, wiser, Gandhi looking at the actions of his youth and appraising or criticising his own actions. He does not evaluate the past, but tells it a bland impersonal manner with little emotion. All in all, I found it extremely hard to connect with on any level.

To compare this to the compelling, convincing and rather extraordinary Autobiography of Malcolm X, Gandhi’s words are unengaging. There is no rhetoric or argument to any actual effect. Certainly, he speaks of following a pure and truthful life, though after reading his words I was never convinced with the reasons he puts forth. The merits of such a life speak for themselves, but Gandhi did not convey it here. There’s also no sense of the human struggle, of a man trying to overcome his own daemons and become a better person. There is a certain lack of emotion within the entire work. It feels cold.

It is, of course, worth mentioning that I greatly admire Gandhi. His approach to life was benevolent and inspiring. Humanity has a lot to learn from him; he was an exemplifier of human values we all ought to strive for. Yet, for all his leadership skills, he couldn’t write for shit. ...more

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Feb 04, 2011 Riku Sayuj rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, india, history-imperial, history, myth-religion, philosophy, spiritual, r-r-rs, gandhi, india-history

fundamentally changed my view of the world...

Oft In My Thought

Ah, how often I have sought in my days,

To emulate the great leaders, and be gently led,

By their virtuous actions and well-laid plans.

How often I charted the best courses to take

To reach those heights of thought and action;

And thought evermore of what best will portray

Their everlasting influence on this humble self,

That will make this world to be as they always saw,

In their lofty wishes and their fanciful dreams.

But all those ...more

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Oct 07, 2007 Janet rated it really liked it

This was a fascinating read. Gandhi's writing is oddly simple, even almast naive in places. He faithfully records small personal struggles, giving them the same wieght as major political battles. Gandhi's zeal and idealism comes across powerfully, as does his lifelong concern with self-discipline and purity (bramacharya).

I was especially interested in his evolving understanding of satyagraha and his increasingly strict vegetarianism. His ascetism increased in direct proportion to his growing ...more

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Jul 23, 2011 Tyler Jones rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-violence

Excuse the ramblings of a mind coping to understand...this really is a book review...of sorts.

Yesterday, a man in Oslo set off a bomb that killed seven people then went to a kid's camp and killed eighty four young people. The world is sickened. Why do these things happen? Details are still coming out. At first I heard an Islamic militant group had claimed responsibility. Now it seems that the killer may be an extreme anti-islamic; a christian fundamentalist. What is clear is that somehow he was Excuse the ramblings of a mind coping to understand...this really is a book review...of sorts.

Yesterday, a man in Oslo set off a bomb that killed seven people then went to a kid's camp and killed eighty four young people. The world is sickened. Why do these things happen? Details are still coming out. At first I heard an Islamic militant group had claimed responsibility. Now it seems that the killer may be an extreme anti-islamic; a christian fundamentalist. What is clear is that somehow he was able to justify his actions because human life was less valuable to him than his ideals.

Societies sometimes justify violence (war, torture, capital punishment...) by saying they are protecting certain ideals. When violence is justified on such large levels, it can not be too surprising when an individual finds ways to justify violence as well. It could be a single man in Oslo. It could be a million men who beat their wives and children.

Violence is violence. In its most extreme and violent manifestations, we can plainly see that it is senseless, but in its more commonplace variations it can be tolerated or ignored. It seems that to many of us there is some line between acceptable and unacceptable violence and maybe this is part of the problem; we can compartmentalize and label the violence we do not like as the work of the evil or insane.

Back in university I read this book by Gandhi. Those who think that they cannot defend or promote ideals without the use of violence are either ignorant or (more likely) lazy, because the non-violent path is much, much harder to walk than the violent one. Violence is easy. Revenge is natural. But Gandhi was able to lead an entire nation to freedom without bombing police stations. The writing of Gandhi is all about the individual having dignity and independence - that self respect comes from respecting others. Gandhi's writing is a roadmap to a better world. I think that those who have not read Gandhi have an overly simplified vision of the man; that he was simply a pacifist or an unrealistic dreamer. I know that's what I used to think. But he was primarily concerned with erasing social injustice; non-violence was simply the best means to his ends. The best and most difficult.

It is time for us to reject "by any means necessary" and revenge seeking and punishing and all the eye-for-an-eye bullshit. All this generally condoned social violence just seeps into individuals where it collects as pure hate.
...more

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Apr 04, 2009 Jeff Lanter rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history

After seeing the movie biopic, I knew I needed to find out more about Gandhi so I picked this up. Don't let the width of the book fool you, it isn't a thousand pages like it appears. The translation of the book is actually pretty good and it reads easily. For the most part, Gandhi spends time talking about the little details in his life before he became famous. That is sort of the opposite of what you would expect in an autobiography, but as he says, his life was well known by then. This may ...more

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Aug 07, 2019 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, philosophy, political, culture, non-fiction, india, 20th-century, memoir, history

Satyanā Prayogo Athavā ātmakathā = The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Mahatma Gandhi
The Story of My Experiments with Truth is the autobiography of Mohandas K. Gandhi, covering his life from early childhood through to 1921. It was written in weekly installments and published in his journal Navjivan from 1925 to 1929. Its English translation also appeared in installments in his other journal Young India. It was initiated at the insistence of Swami Anand and other close co-workers of Gandhi, ‏Satyanā Prayogo Athavā ātmakathā = The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Mahatma Gandhi
The Story of My Experiments with Truth is the autobiography of Mohandas K. Gandhi, covering his life from early childhood through to 1921. It was written in weekly installments and published in his journal Navjivan from 1925 to 1929. Its English translation also appeared in installments in his other journal Young India. It was initiated at the insistence of Swami Anand and other close co-workers of Gandhi, who encouraged him to explain the background of his public campaigns. In 1999, the book was designated as one of the "100 Best Spiritual Books of the 20th Century" by a committee of global spiritual and religious authorities.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال 1976 میلادی
عنوان: سرگذشت من؛ نویسنده: مهاتما (ماهاتما) گاندی؛ مترجم: مسعود برزین؛ تهران، بهجت، 1335، در شانزده و 520 ص؛ چاپ دوم 1354؛ چاپ سوم 1355؛ چاپ پنجم: 1363؛ چاپ ششم 1366؛ موضوع: سرگذشتنامه و زیستنامه مهاتما (ماهتما) گاندی از سال 1869 میلادی تا سال 1948 میلادی از نویسندگان هندی - سده 20 م
عنوان: گاندی؛ نویسنده: مهاتما (ماهاتما) گاندی؛ مترجم: مسعود برزین؛ تهران، ثالث، 1393؛ در 533 ص؛ شابک: 9789643808549؛
مهانداس کارامچاند گاندی (زادهٔ روز دوم ماه اکتبر سال 1869 میلادی - درگذشتهٔ ماه ژانویهٔ سال 1948 میلادی) رهبر سیاسی و معنوی هندی‌ها بودند که ملت هند را در راه آزادی از استعمار امپراتوری بریتانیا رهبری کردند. ایشان در طول زندگی‌ خویش استفاده از هر نوع ترور و خشونت برای رسیدن به خواسته را رد می‌کردند. فلسفهٔ بی‌خشونتی «گاندی» که خود نام «ساتیاگراها» (در زبان سانسکریت: تلاش و کوشش برای رسیدن به حقیقت) روی بسیاری از جنبش‌های مقاومت بدون خشونت در سراسر جهان و تا امروز تأثیرگذار بوده‌ است. ا. شربیانی ...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Fiya rated it it was ok

Intended for a very limited audience

My copy of the book had torn spine, small print, dog-eared cover and the quality of paper so inferior, that it set a new precedent for me -- but I shouldn't complain because a friend of mine had lent it to me.

Let me first clarify something about this book's genre. Gandhi says in the foreword that this book was a memoir of 'his experiments with truth', thus the subtitle; but he particularly says that this was not an autobiography. He gives his reasons for Intended for a very limited audience

My copy of the book had torn spine, small print, dog-eared cover and the quality of paper so inferior, that it set a new precedent for me -- but I shouldn't complain because a friend of mine had lent it to me.

Let me first clarify something about this book's genre. Gandhi says in the foreword that this book was a memoir of 'his experiments with truth', thus the subtitle; but he particularly says that this was not an autobiography. He gives his reasons for this. First, he did not like this 'Western' genre: There was a general prejudice against West during his time. Second, he thought that the idea of a man writing his own life was conceited.

So you might ask, Is it not an autobiography? It is. It is a straight-forward, old-school autobiography that begins with birth and leads up to the moment the author is writing the book.

My own dislike for the book is rooted in the fact that I am not the audience Gandhi had in mind. In the book you realize that he wants to present himself as an ideal for the kids in India, particularly the Hindus, of that era. The reason I say this is that the book was originally published in Gandhi's native language and most of the book's content is about moral teachings. Moral from his perspective. His morality is deeply rooted in Indian culture and Hindu religion.

But some of his principles are plain weird. Here's an example. He doesn't fight (out of timidity I think because he started doing this quite early); he praises good handwriting; renounces tea (apparently, doctors then had evidence against it); praises unworthy teachers. Furthermore, he never quite justifies, or may be he didn't even understand, his superstitious nature.

There is nothing wrong, per say, with this approach. But, this mode of writing becomes trite: everything has ethical overtone. Most of what he writes is judged through the prism of right and wrong. And after a point, it just sounds stupid. We are taught from childhood to follow a rigid set of rules; parents have their own ideas of ethics, teachers theirs, and if you're affiliated with any religion then it's a whole new level of rules you have to follow. But as humans, we all have individuality: we live our unique lives. But not Gandhi. He chose to follow whatever his parents, teachers, or anyone he considered worthy enough to be placed on a peddle, tells him. He followed these rules to the T.

Honestly, if you want me to judge Gandhi from this book, I'll say he is like a lonely person who lacked self-esteem; someone without an iota of individuality. That, ofcourse, is the impression from the book. Now I know that Gandhi was more than this. But he had to appear an idealist.

About the English -- It was archaic, with structures and words that I could not help laugh at! The English could have been simpler, more direct and less cumbersome. It could have used Strunk and White.

These days the autobiography genre is written as creative non-fiction, and not as a linear chronology of life, as was the case with this book. So I can't complain about it being slightly boring. You know how it is: Starting from childhood all the way upto the moment you're penning the very book.

Now I know that some people will revere this book. This may be because they're the kind of audience Gandhi was writing for. I am not one of them. So I am critiquing this book from my perspective, which is what we always do, which is what anyone can do. Selling this translated edition to the world when its intended audience was a India of a particular epoch is a mistake. ...more

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Nov 10, 2016 Francisco rated it it was amazing

One of those books that needs to be read periodically if only to remind yourself that someone out there sometime thought that transformation, liberation, hell just plain living, without violence was possible. It's not the violence that scares me personally as much as the anger. There's still some restrictions on the use of violence but anger's got the world's green light. Be angry even as you defend peace. Be angry on behalf of goodness and beauty. Be angry or you don't care. So you read about One of those books that needs to be read periodically if only to remind yourself that someone out there sometime thought that transformation, liberation, hell just plain living, without violence was possible. It's not the violence that scares me personally as much as the anger. There's still some restrictions on the use of violence but anger's got the world's green light. Be angry even as you defend peace. Be angry on behalf of goodness and beauty. Be angry or you don't care. So you read about Gandhi's spiritual journey which began with, of all things, anger at the injustice he perceived, and gradually the anger was transformed into another much more powerful energy. The energy of ahimsa, an inner force he discovered in the discipline of self denial. Ahimsa: It is not enough not to strike another person but something much, much harder- the elimination of all the hostility in your heart. A way of life, really, that encompassed all you did. And this is what the man Gandhi believed: that unless that hostility disappeared and was replaced by this other power, any social good you could achieve would not be lasting, would not even be worth it. These thoughts seem so old fashioned, don't they? Like when your mother told you that you needed to wait three hours after eating before swimming. No one believes these kind of ideas anymore. Is the truth of nonviolence that Gandhi lived, not believed but lived - is that truth not believable or livable anymore? Where do people like Gandhi and Martin Luther King and so many others get the notion that the only response to hatred is love? Look around you? Do you think this is still possible? In this world? Some biographies inspire but the good ones challenge. What would it be like for you and me to fight the biggest battle, the one Gandhi fought, the one that takes place inside of you, the one between your Self and the anger that fills you? And what would it take for you to believe that that's the one battle that will truly make this world a better place? ...more

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Apr 16, 2018 Iris rated it really liked it

One of the most influential people to have ever lived.
This book should be essential reading for anyone working in the legal sector, in social justice and human rights, and anyone remotely interested in contemporary history and the great men and women of our time.

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Dec 16, 2013 Bettie rated it really liked it

Shelves: autobiography-memoir, nonfiction, published-1993, dip-in-now-and-again, india, tbr-busting-2015, autumn-2015

Description: In 1999, this book was designated as one of the ''100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the Twentieth Century'' by HarperCollins Publishers.

''When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall -- think of it, always.'' -- Gandhi

A holy man to Hindus, a hero to Muslims, and a criminal to the British, Mohandas K. Gandhi was an inspiring ...more

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Apr 17, 2008 Erik Graff rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to Erik by: Kelly Fox, who introduced me to India

Shelves: biography

Having read Fischer's biography of him in high school led to reading a whole lot of Gandhi's own writing in college--until, that is, hitting his commentaries on the Gita--starting with his early autobiographical My Experiments with Truth.

My primary interest in Gandhi was his pacifism and his reasons for it. The United States' invasion of the south of Vietnam had been going on since my childhood and I had become a draft counselor in college and, ultimately, a draft resister after I'd started ...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Elliot Ratzman rated it liked it

Orwell: “Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proven innocent.” Gandhi may be a saint, but he is one fussy holy man. His autobiography only takes us to 1927, before the campaign to free India of British rule. He had become famous for leading a civil rights movement for Indians in South Africa where he lived for years before taking the “satyagraha” movement back to India. On the way, he is a young anglophile who admires the Empire, studies law in London and sides with the colonial ...more

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Jul 17, 2017 Gorab Jain rated it really liked it

Shelves: indian, hindi, non-fiction, translated, buddy-reads, auto-biography-memoir, z2017, owned-paperbacks

First thing - This rating and review is not for Gandhiji and his persona, albeit the way this autobiography is written.

Its not very easy to describe conflicting thoughts and dilemmas. And yet Gandhiji has described his concepts of life in a lucid way.
"Experiments" is the highlight, and the content does justice to the title. He has captured in details the experiments on food, treatment with mud and water, way of life, thought process on indulgence and abstinence.
Also commendable are the details ...more

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Oct 27, 2018 Sidharth Vardhan rated it liked it

Shelves: indian, non-fiction, bio-memoir, historical

A ridiculously long essay about a man I think is overrated:

Gandhi is hands down one of the most overrated people in the world. It might be true for most people tagged as 'great' but the way people in India obsesses for Gandhi either considering him really great or awesome on one hand or calling him wicked on other without being willing to see any shades of grey in him is really too much.

To be honest there are two Gandhis - one is the real Gandhi and the other is the idea of him that is attached ...more

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Dec 17, 2009 gumireddy srikanth rated it it was amazing

I owe my life to Mahatma Gandhi, This is a life-changing book. When we think of Gandhi, we think of a man who must’ve been perfect, I have learn’t about Gandhi at my school nobody discussed about this flaws , We were only taught about his extraordinary simple principles ,But in his autobiography, I learned that he had his own flaws . But his immense determination to overcome his problems , slowly and and persistently stuck me . I have learned lot of simple extra ordinary principles like Women ...more

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Dec 06, 2019 Dr Appu Sasidharan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites

Of all the books I have read so far, this one is undeniably the best.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Albert Einstein
Aung San Suu Kyi
Barack Obama
Nelson Mandela
Dalai Lama
John Lennon
Steve Jobs
Rabindranath Tagore
Pearl S Buck
Ho Chi Minh
George Bernard Shaw
And many more great personalities cited Mahatma Gandhi as their role model. There is no need to write a review for this book because almost everyone all over the world knows that this is one of the best autobiographies ever written. If unfortunately, you ...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Dimple rated it really liked it

"My experiments with truth" describes perfectly the stoic life of Gandhiji! How he developed himself through 'good company', 'good books' and 'self-will'.
This writing is an Apotheosis for showing,"Winners are not born, they are made!"

I thought this book will be more about British East India and our Freedom struggle but its basically about "experiments" of Gandhiji in his journey and it's remarkable how he sticked to his beliefs!
Though many of his beliefs or rules I didn't find right(or orthodox, ...more

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May 17, 2011 Jijo Varghese rated it did not like it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Caution: This is my view about Gandhi after reading his book. During childhood(may be age also matters- I read it when I was 15) I read Malayalam version of it given by one of my friend who got this book as a gift.This review its strictly my own understanding of him, and has nothing to do with the way others understands & respects him. May be I have done terrific mistake by not understanding him the way all of you had.This is not to impose or sling anything on Mr.Gandhi and your exalted view Caution: This is my view about Gandhi after reading his book. During childhood(may be age also matters- I read it when I was 15) I read Malayalam version of it given by one of my friend who got this book as a gift.This review its strictly my own understanding of him, and has nothing to do with the way others understands & respects him. May be I have done terrific mistake by not understanding him the way all of you had.This is not to impose or sling anything on Mr.Gandhi and your exalted view of him.

It's my fault, my fault and my own fault..

06.02.15: I will not be defending my views now on by replying comment
s posted below this thread (I think I have already done it with all my might).
Happy reading folks..Cheers & GD Luck

Gandhi..called as Mahatma??? A self deceiver can be called as Mahatma?? I call him self deceiver only because of his rules and regulations which was maintained or still maintaining in his ashram..

He calls Gita his mother!!then what about Quran or Bible?? What about Buddhist scriptures?? And there are still people who goes on calling these people as Mahatmas???People like him were always against rebels..I calls him traditional..the very stupid mediocre mind of vedic period..and this so called Mahatmas have been curse of India..very own root curse..They goes on telling about simplicity..or shows simplicity..See there are millions in India whom cant even wear a dhoty Gandhi used to wear..there are millions again who cant even think about one time food..there are again thousands who eat their daily bread by cleaning toilets..but when all of this were done by a Gandhi..he is Mahatma!!

Thats why I calls them self deceivers..just giving poor people a feeling that they are doing much for them..very much so that they dont feel any inferiority complex. Just other day I read an article written buy an American saying that even beggars in India are content and happy but America is so tensed.. This has been the slogan of all leaders of India..India is spiritual so it is content and happy..This is called a mediocre mind..Beggars in India are happy because they have a hope for better future..better tomorrow and America is unhappy because they have known all things of life..money..power..fame..I met a man during my tour to Rishikesh who stays there for nearly last five years practicing Sadhana..and he says nothing fails like success..it's just a mirage for a desert traveler.But to realize that one has to taste it..then come out of it..without knowing what is success or money..or fame how you can lead a life against it.

This type of people have great visions for nourishing villages; and strange enough we Indians follow these principles and nothing happened..It's sinking deep and deep.

India can win only if people get out of the clutches of these kind of people..parasites..blood suckers..It needs a revolution both spiritual and material.. It needs a revolution which is both religious and scientific..It needs revolution of Capitalism and birth control..Capitalism in my sense is freedom for every individual out of dogmas of religion..caste..all which is oppressive and repressive.

People like Gandhi were against this type of revolutions..he is spiritual in "Indian sense" but not materialist..He is religious again "in so called Indian sense"..but not scientific..and always We Indian's have there own way of approaching things..and result was of "CONTINUOUS SLAVERYOF 2000 YEARS"..and of course we have a great name for it"HOSPITALITY"..

When India can wake from it's stupid safeties of Caste..Religion..then only it have future..or again there will be Mahatmas to dig grave for India..
...more

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May 02, 2011 Pawan rated it it was amazing

http://iandbooks.wordpress.com/

This is the first post I am writing on my blog where I want to write about the books that I have read and how they have changed my life or sometimes just given me moments of happiness in otherwise stressed life.
There cannot be a better book than “My Experiments with Truth” to start this journey. A book that helped me 20 years ago when I had read it for the first time and now again when I read it last month. The author of the book “Mahatma Gandhi” is probably one http://iandbooks.wordpress.com/

This is the first post I am writing on my blog where I want to write about the books that I have read and how they have changed my life or sometimes just given me moments of happiness in otherwise stressed life.
There cannot be a better book than “My Experiments with Truth” to start this journey. A book that helped me 20 years ago when I had read it for the first time and now again when I read it last month. The author of the book “Mahatma Gandhi” is probably one person whom I have admired more than anybody else. There have been many other people whom I have admired and looked up to but then all of them have failed in my eyes at some time or other but not Mahatma Gandhi. This does not mean that he has not made mistakes in life. There are parts of his biography where I do not agree with him, where he has made mistakes. But at no point I find him going against his conviction. He is always the first to admit his mistakes. His whole character has an integrity which is flawless. He is doing what he is preaching and he is preaching only what he firmly believes in. There are no two faces to him.
The book which is his autobiography brings out this aspect in such an inspiring way that you feel wonder at his frankness.
Last time when I read his book, I was at a stage in life where my confidence was at all time low. I was shy, introvert, could not speak in groups. I used to feel that all my friends are much ahead of me in life and I have lost all hope in life and I will never be able to catch up with them in the race of life and I was 16 years old. I guess lot of people at that stage suffer from this. The life when it is just starting looks as ending already. This book brought in me that confidence and faith which I needed at that time. The fact that the person who being a lawyer could not speak facing a judge could move 30 crore Indians with his speach later in life told me that life is not over for me. What is important is to follow your convictions and desires and the results will come out some day. I have seen this change happenning in me over the years. I have found that in the end it is my faith and conviction which has seen me through the darkest times.
I know there are lot of people out there who do not agree for what he has written in this book and in fact criticize him for his experiments on education, medicine, celibacy, religion, freedom struggle. But he still did those experiments with courage that is unparallel. He was the biggest scientist in that sense doing his experiments. Many of his experiments did not give results. But who says that a person has to be right all the time. Yes, he must have failed and in some cases even if he succeeded there were no followers for those results but that is what makes him a human being, a scientist. He is not saying that he is telling sacred words which have to be followed like words of God. All he is telling is about his experiments. The idea that they are experiments mean that they can be wrong or may not give results. But the fact remains Satya and Ahimsa did bear the results for India and its people.
In the end, I would say it is a great book by a great human being and I thank him for giving us this gift.
Till next time ...more

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Jul 31, 2010 James rated it it was amazing

Self-revealing and fascinating to read alongside Erik Erikson's at-a-distance psychoanalysis of the saint, Gandhi's Truth (1960). The autobiography is full of surprises: At one point in his youth, Gandhi became convinced that India was behind the times because of vegetarianism, so he vowed to convert all of his homeland to carnivorious wisdom. Perhaps the only vow he did not keep.

Would that his teachings on non-violent resistance (satyagraha) were more widely applied. Detractors argue, however, ...more

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Jul 23, 2007 Apelger is currently reading it

Recommends it for: apathetic people

I should probably wait till I actually finished the book to write a review. But I feel like writting now because I've got something to say now. I tentaivley picked up this book and that is how I am making my way through the pages. I've only just begun, Gandhi is about thirteen. But I find myself angry at him. I can't get through a page without watching his struggle with a thought, idea or truth. His life, from the very early stages, reveals his struggle towards ahimsa,non-violence, and ...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Anil Swarup rated it it was amazing

Should have read this book long ago...............having read so much about the Mahatama. Absolutely remarkable and inspiring. Experiments with truth, truthfully narrated. Clearly demonstrates the power of mental and physical discipline and public confession.

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Dec 30, 2018 Jaimita rated it it was amazing

This book made me understand why Gandhi holds the stature he does. Gandhi writes with utmost humility and simplicity. Through this book, he takes us on his journey of experiments with truth.

"If anything that I write in these pages should strike the reader as being touched with pride, then he must take it that there is something wrong with my quest, and that my glimpses are no more than a mirage. Let hundreds like me perish, but let truth prevail. Let us not reduce the standards of truth even by This book made me understand why Gandhi holds the stature he does. Gandhi writes with utmost humility and simplicity. Through this book, he takes us on his journey of experiments with truth.

"If anything that I write in these pages should strike the reader as being touched with pride, then he must take it that there is something wrong with my quest, and that my glimpses are no more than a mirage. Let hundreds like me perish, but let truth prevail. Let us not reduce the standards of truth even by a hair’s breadth for judging erring mortals like myself." -Gandhi

Let truth prevail! And when he says truth, it means so much more than just the literal definition. It means seeking truth in one's thought, word and deed. It means associating to God with Truth.

"I worship God as Truth only. I have not yet found Him, but I am seeking after Him" -Gandhi

Gandhi turns into a 'Brahmachari' because he thinks that the mortal passions that lie within him need to be curbed to get closer to the truth. And thus follow his experiments - he lives on a fruitarian diet, he restrains himself from carnal desires, he lives the most simple life in an Ashram (with intermittent failures of course).

"My purpose is to describe experiments in the science of Satyagraha, not to say how good I am. In judging myself I shall try to be as harsh as truth, as I want others also to be. Measuring myself by that standard I must exclaim with Surdas :
Where is there a wretch
So wicked and loathsome as I ?
I have forsaken my Maker,
So faithless have I been.
For it is an unbroken torture to me that I am still so far from Him, who, as I fully know, governs every breath of my life, and whose offspring I am. I know that it is the evil passions within that keep me so far from Him, and yet I cannot get away from them.
But I must close. I can only take up the actual story in the next chapter." -Gandhi

Gandhi seeks this truth in others. And he touches the lives of so many with his truth. He lead the entire Indian independence movement by "agraha" with "satya" (appeal with truth). And Gandhi is even obstinate and stubborn in seeking truth from Britishers - he fasts to make them realise that they are on the wrong or he non-cooperates with them (never violence).

Of course Gandhi is celebrated. His thoughts and his way of living have both inspired and changed me.

"My life is my message." -Gandhi

This book is highly recommended! ...more

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Mar 17, 2017 Cassandra Kay Silva rated it it was amazing

Shelves: biography

The complexity of Mahatma Gandhi as a person astounds me. An autobiography gives the reader a chance to see really deeply into the ideas and suppositions that create the self. When we think of a person we often think of a character, like that in a story. Sometimes authors write characters that are consistent in their actions. These type of characters often have a certain personality type or ethical vantage point from which they view the world and their actions are constant and understandable The complexity of Mahatma Gandhi as a person astounds me. An autobiography gives the reader a chance to see really deeply into the ideas and suppositions that create the self. When we think of a person we often think of a character, like that in a story. Sometimes authors write characters that are consistent in their actions. These type of characters often have a certain personality type or ethical vantage point from which they view the world and their actions are constant and understandable within that framework. Other authors write characters that are complex and show multidimensional personalities and depth in the different decisions they make throughout a work.

I think that how these characters are viewed depends strongly on the reader. Does the reader believe that people are as they are deep down? Or does the reader believe that people can change? If the reader believes that a person possesses a genuine core that is unchangeable then a complex characters actions will be labeled as "not fitting with the personality type" or untrue to the nature of that character. On the other hand if the reader believes that people genuinely change then they can accept even strong opposing actions and behavior throughout a work. People who see the world in this way will often view the first type as "predictable or flat" and people who view the world through the eyes of the first type will question the believability of a character with too many facets, or with widely juxtaposed responses to similar situations.

When we look at Gandhis life through his own eyes we see the absolute complexity of him as a person despite his desire for consistency and his search for what he calls "truth". We watch a man who begins his life as a British educated lawyer and still carries with him an ego despite his constant debasement of it and we see him metamorphose into the epitome of stoicism and Buddhist acceptance through the various courses that his life takes. We watch him genuinely change as he strives for meaning and understanding of self. We watch him inconsistently make actions such as supporting the combatants in World War 1 after previously speaking strongly about approaching issues through a path of non violence. We watch him wrestle with his vegan beliefs as his wife battles against death and the doctor prescribes milk as the answer. We watch him become deified and hated by various populations. We watch him go from supporting the rule of the white British to then actively fighting against racism not only between the light and dark but also between different caste systems.

It seems then to me that Gandhi will either be seen as a man who constantly strove for his "true self" and who was fighting against his baser nature to find that deeper person within. Or he will be seen as being the one who through his own choices and actions created the self and lived a life of complexity through his strivings and through his seeking against striving until the end.

The autobiography is told from the vantage point of an ultimate truth that he is consistently seeking. A truth that he believes transcends self and transcends religion but we are not told if he feels that he has found this in the end.

Its impossible to read without feeling that he had hit upon something very strongly throughout his life and that it grew with him as each of his life's choices further shaped him as a person. Though whether that person already lived within him or whether that person was of his own creating it can not be known. Thinking of his assassination and jailings and his hardships when he gave so much to humanity is beyond heartbreaking. May you rest in peace Gandhi traveler you inspire us all both through your journey and path. May you have found your truth. ...more

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Nov 08, 2009 Mike Moore rated it it was amazing

I had trouble deciding whether to give this four stars or five. This book poses major problems for a contemporary western audience. It frequently alludes to another volume (Satyagraha in South Africa) which I have been unable to procure as a necessary companion volume. The final part (of five) assumes a more thorough knowledge of the birth of India as an independent nation and the events and persons that were involved in it than I possess. It becomes clear in this section that Gandhi was writing I had trouble deciding whether to give this four stars or five. This book poses major problems for a contemporary western audience. It frequently alludes to another volume (Satyagraha in South Africa) which I have been unable to procure as a necessary companion volume. The final part (of five) assumes a more thorough knowledge of the birth of India as an independent nation and the events and persons that were involved in it than I possess. It becomes clear in this section that Gandhi was writing for the benefit of the people in his own day, and so assumes that they are already intimately acquainted with things that were distant and obscure to me.

However, I'm going to let my admiration for Gandhi and my appreciation for what has been accomplished in this work override my sense of its shortcomings. This is a wonderful book, detailing as it does the progression of a man from a youth of uncertainty and insecurity to a maturity of discipline, rigor and tremendous emotional strength. Whether one agrees with Gandhi's views is beside the point when considering the power and accomplishment of self-creation that is Gandhi's life. An honest autobiography by such a person is a treasure of literature.

As I mentioned before, the work is divided into five parts, each of which presents a remarkably contained statement of a stage on Gandhi's way, especially given the rather loose chronological treatment. To wit, the first part deals with Gandhi's personal origins and weaknesses. The second with the formative experiences that would define his social and political worldview. The third finds him defining himself as a part of this society, injecting discipline and rigor into a life that becomes centered on his duty. In the fourth, Gandhi is a leader in the struggles of South African Indians and is actively changing the social and political orders which he has embraced so thoroughly. Part five details his attempts to generalize the lessons of the South Africa experience in India.

The first four sections are quick and engaging reads (though the fourth was frustrating given the lack of the aforementioned companion volume). However, the fifth section was hard going. This was due in part to my lack of contextual familiarity, but I think the section also suffers from an uncertainty in how the story ends, as if Gandhi felt that Part 5 was being written prematurely because the fruits of the struggle had not been realized. Many of his attempts at Satyagraha in India are unsuccessful or unsatisfying to him, and there's an underlying uncertainty of how the masses can be taught to be "firm in truth" without sacrificing non-violence. As such, part five adheres closely to the subtitle of the book: these could almost be the lab notes of a social experimenter.

However, all complaints that I might level are dwarfed by the pleasure and satisfaction I have in getting to know Gandhi better through his autobiography. He was a great man, and this work is a wonderfully candid account of what a great man works on, struggles with and thinks about. ...more

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May 27, 2010 Michael Scott rated it it was ok

Shelves: classics, thought, memoir, bio, politics

Gandhi's autobiography is one of those books that you just have to read, a story of developing oneself and raising the conscience of a people. The Mahatma (Great Soul, name apparently first used in relation with Gandhi by the great Indian poet Tagore) presents with a great deal of detail his life and development of beliefs such as vegetarianism (then fruitarianism), simplicity, brahmacharya (abstinence), non-violence, and pursuit of truth; there are also slight mentions of swaraj (right of self ...more

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Apr 12, 2012 woodshadows rated it really liked it

This is not what I expected from a book entitled "My experiments with truth", written by Gandhi himself. A better title might perhaps be "I am really obsessed with nutrition and weirdo fad diets and enjoy privation as a means of feeling in control, including my strange aversion - but huge (did I mention huge?) huge, passion for - sex!" I was expecting lots of satyagraha, lots of moral wisdom, lots of practical info on how Gandhi implemented his sociological victories. Instead we are presented ...more

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May 15, 2013 Darshana Unnikrishnan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: english, translations, non-fiction, indian-authors, india-on-my-mind

to understand Gandhi through his own words was a wonderful experience. There is a kind of a picture that is painted into our minds during childhood by our elders of Gandhi as an ideal person. Reading this book changed my perception of Gandhiji. Now what I see is a person who has strong principles/belief systems and someone who admits to being a human with a weak side but strives to make it strong by relentless efforts.

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Mar 28, 2017 Shalini Sinha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: biography, favorites, kindle, history, india, philosophy, stoicism

Before writing the review, I must mention that while reading this book, I had in my mind the impression of Mahatma Gandhi - the man who led India to independence through non-violence and still, after 70 years of his death, serves as an inspiration to freedom movements across the globe.

One of the very few books that have, to some compass, changed my life and my inner self.
A wonderful treasury of Gandhi's thoughts and beliefs - some you admire, some you accept, few you distaste yet you love and ...more

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Nov 05, 2012 C rated it did not like it

Shelves: history, biography, nonfiction

Struggled through this as I found it overly obsessed with what-one-should/shouldn't-eat-when, and who gives the best advice on the matter. A way too simplistic account, considering the divine light posterity ensured to cast around this man.
What I got from Gandhi's own accounts:
1. he was in favor of never drinking milk and completely prevented his son and wife to do so despite them being in a condition of serious illness ... and yet when sickness fell upon him ...:

"I might [=could] not take

...more

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About Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi

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Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was the preeminent leader of Indian nationalism in British-ruled India. Employing non-violent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for non-violence, civil rights and freedom across the world.

The son of a senior government official, Gandhi was born and raised in a Hindu Bania community in coastal ...more

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The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas

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“Remember that all through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible. But in the end, they always fall. Always.” — 520 likes

“When every hope is gone, 'when helpers fail and comforts flee,' I find that help arrives somehow, from I know not where. Supplication, worship, prayer are no superstition; they are acts more real than the acts of eating, drinking, sitting or walking. It is no exaggeration to say that they alone are real, all else is unreal.” — 276 likes

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