The Story of My Experiments with Truth

Background

In the early 1920s Gandhi led several civil disobedience campaigns. Despite his intention that they be peaceful, on several occasions, incidents of violence broke out. The colonial authorities charged him in 1922 with incitement, and specifically of stirring up hatred against the government, and, the result was a six-year term of imprisonment. He served only two years, being released early on the grounds of ill health. Soon after, in the winter of 1925 at 56, Gandhi began writing his autobiography, on the example set by Swami Anand. He serialized it in his own weekly Navajivan (lit. New Life). The autobiography was completed in February 1929.

Publication history

In the book's preface, Gandhi recalled that he had actually undertaken to sketch out his autobiography as early as 1921 but had to set the work aside due to his political engagements. He took on the labour, he informs us after his fellow workers had expressed a desire that he tell them something about his background and life. Initially he refused to adopt a book format, but then agreed to write it in a serialized form with individual chapters to be published weekly.

The autobiography was written and serialized over the period from 25 November 1925 to 3 February 1929 in 166 installments, which appeared in Navajivan. The corresponding English translations were printed in Young India, and reprinted in Indian Opinion in South Africa, and in the American journal Unity. The Hindi translation was published almost simultaneously in the Hindi edition of Navajivan.

The original English edition of the book consisted of two volumes, the first of which covered parts 1-3, while the second contained parts 4-5.

The original Gujarati version was published as the Satya Na Prayogo (lit. Experiments with Truth), bearing the subtitle, Atmakatha (lit. The Story of a Soul). The English version, An Autobiography, bore the subtitle, Experiments with Truth.

In the preface, Gandhi states:

It is not my purpose to attempt a real autobiography. I simply want to tell the story of my experiments with truth, and as my life consist of nothing but experiments, it is true that the story will take the shape of an autobiography. But I shall not mind if every page of it speaks only of my experiments.

Name of the translator-- { Mahadev Desai }

LANGUAGE-- { Gujarati }

K. Madhavanar, an independence activist and journalist from Kerala, translated the book to Malayalam in 1928. It was serialised in the Mathrubhumi Weekly and later on launched as a book.

Summary

Translator's preface

This section is written by Mahadev Desai who translated the book from Gujarati to English. In this preface Desai notes that the book was originally published in two volumes, the first in 1927 and second in 1929. He also mentions that the original was priced at 1 rupee and had a run of five editions by the time of the writing of his preface. 50,000 copies had been sold in Gujarati but since the English edition was expensive it prevented Indians from purchasing it. Desai notes the need to bring out a cheaper English version. He also mentions that the translation has been revised by an English scholar who did not want his name to be published. Chapters XXIX–XLIII of Part V were translated by Desai's friend and colleague Pyarelal Nayyar.

Introduction

The introduction is officially written by Gandhi himself mentioning how he has resumed writing his autobiography at the insistence of Jeramdas, a fellow prisoner in Yerwada Central Jail with him. He mulls over the question a friend asked him about writing an autobiography, deeming it a Western practice, something "nobody does in the east". Gandhi himself agrees that his thoughts might change later in life but the purpose of his story is just to narrate his experiments with truth in life. He also says that through this book he wishes to narrate his spiritual and moral experiments rather than political.

Part I

The first part narrates incidents of Gandhi's childhood, his experiments with eating meat, smoking, drinking, stealing and subsequent atonement. There are two texts that had a lasting influence on Gandhi, both of which he read in childhood. He records the profound impact of the play Harishchandra and says,"I read it with intense interest...It haunted me and I must have acted Harishchandra to myself times without number." Another text he mentions reading that deeply affected him was Shravana Pitrabhakti Nataka, a play about Shravan's devotion to his parents. Gandhi got married at the age of 13. In his words, "It is my painful duty to have to record here my marriage at the age of thirteen...I can see no moral argument in support of such a preposterously early marriage." Another important event documented in this part is the demise of Gandhi's father Karamchand Gandhi. Gandhi wrote the book to deal with his experiment for truth. His disdain for physical training at school, particularly gymnastics has also been written about in this part.

Part II

The second part of the book details Gandhi's experiences in the Cape Colony during a period of tension between the different ethnic groups in the region. The Cape Colony was dominated by British South Africans, while the neighboring Orange Free State and Transvaal Republic were established by Boers, white settlers of Dutch descent who had migrated away from the Cape Colony further north in the early 19th century and established the two independent republics. Gandhi detailed the antagonistic relationships between the two Afrikaner republics and the Cape Colony along with his experiences of being racially discriminated while in Africa. Indians had been migrating to South Africa for decades to work on coffee and sugar plantations, and while they did not experience as much discrimination as the Black population did, numerous discriminatory legislation had been put into place, effectively transforming Indian migrants into second-class citizens. Gandhi repeatedly experienced the sting of humiliation during his long African sojourn. The incident at Maritzburg, where Gandhi was thrown off the train has become famous. When Gandhi, as a matter of principle, refused to leave the first class compartment, he was thrown off the train. Later, Gandhi also had difficulty being admitted to hotels, and saw that his fellow-Indians, who were mostly manual laborers, experienced even more unjust treatment.

Very soon after his arrival, Gandhi's initial bafflement and indignation at discriminatory policies turned into a growing sense of outrage and propelled him into assuming a position as a public figure at the assembly of Transvaal Indians, where he delivered his first speech urging Indians not to accept inequality but instead to unite, work hard, learn English and observe clean living habits. Although Gandhi's legal work soon start to keep him busy, he found time to read some of Tolstoy's work, which greatly influenced his understanding of peace and justice and eventually inspired him to write to Tolstoy, setting the beginning of a prolific correspondence. Both Tolstoy and Gandhi shared a philosophy of non-violence and Tolstoy's harsh critique of human society resonated with Gandhi's outrage at racism in South Africa.

Both Tolstoy and Gandhi considered themselves followers of the Sermon on the Mount from the New Testament, in which Jesus Christ expressed the idea of complete self-denial for the sake of his fellow men. Gandhi also continued to seek moral guidance in the Bhagavad Gita, which inspired him to view his work not as self-denial at all, but as a higher form of self-fulfillment. Adopting a philosophy of selflessness even as a public man, Gandhi refused to accept any payment for his work on behalf of the Indian population, preferring to support himself with his law practice alone.

Part III

In South Africa with the Family, the Boer War, Bombay and South Africa Again.

In 1896, Gandhi made a brief return to India and returned to his wife and children. In India, he published another pamphlet, known as the Green Pamphlet, on the plight of Indians in South Africa. For the first time, Gandhi realized that Indians had come to admire his work greatly and experienced a taste of his own popularity among the people, when he visited Madras, an Indian province, where most manual laborers had originated. Although his fellow-Indians greeted him in large crowds with applause and adulation, he sailed back to South Africa with his family in December 1896.

Gandhi had become very well known in South Africa as well, to the point where a crowd of rioters awaited him at Port Natal, determined that he should not be allowed to enter. Many of them also mistakenly believed that all the dark-skinned passenger on the ship that took Gandhi to Natal were poor Indian immigrants he had decided to bring along with him, when, in reality, these passengers were mostly returning Indian residents of Natal. Fortunately, Gandhi was able to establish a friendly relationship with numerous white South Africans so the Natal port's police superintendent and his wife escorted him to safety. After this incident, local white residents began to actually regard him with greater respect.

As Gandhi resumed his work at the Natal Indian Congress, his loyalty to the British Empire guided him to assist them in the Second Boer War, which started three years later. Because Gandhi remained a passionate pacifist, he wanted to participate in the Boer War without actually engaging in violence so he organized and led an Indian Medical Corps which served with the British Army in a number of battles, including the important Battle of Spion Kop in January 1900, in which the Boers were victorious against the British.

During this period, Gandhi would remain supportive of the British Empire, and believed the British Constitution deserved the loyalty of all of Britain's subjects, including Indians. Gandhi saw discriminatory policies in the Cape Colony as a temporary aberration, and perceived British rule in India as being both beneficial and benevolent.

The armed conflict between the British and Boers raged on for over three years; despite the fact that Britain had occupied both the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic, thousands of Boers took to the hills to begin a guerilla campaign against the British in the countryside. Gandhi expected that the British victory would overturn discriminatory legislation in South Africa and present him with an opportunity to return to India. He wanted to attend the 1901 meeting of the Indian National Congress, whose mission was to provide a social and political forum for the Indian upper class. Founded in 1885 with the help of Briton Allan Octavian Hume, the Congress had no real political power and expressed pro-British positions. Gandhi wanted to attend its meeting nevertheless, as he was hoping to pass a resolution in support of the Indian population in South Africa. Before he left for Bombay, Gandhi promised the Natal Indian Congress that he would return to support their efforts, should they need his help.

Part IV

Part IV. Mahatma in the Midst of World Turmoil

Gandhi was in England when World War I started and he immediately began organizing a medical corps similar to the force he had led in the Boer War, but he had also faced health problems that caused him to return to India, where he met the applauding crowds with enthusiasm once again. Indians continued to refer to him as "Great Soul," an appellation reserved only for the holiest men of Hinduism. While Gandhi accepted the love and admiration of the crowds, he also insisted that all souls were equal and did not accept the implication of religious sacredness that his new name carried.

In order to retreat into a life of humility and restraint, as his personal principles mandated, he decided to withdraw from public life for a while spending his first year in India focusing on his personal quest for purity and healing. He also lived in a communal space with untouchables, a choice which many of his financial supporters resented, because they believed that the very presence of untouchables defiled higher-caste Indians. Gandhi even considered moving to a district in Ahmedabad inhabited entirely by the untouchables when a generous Muslim merchant donated enough money to keep up his current living space for another year. By that time, Gandhi's communal life with the untouchables had become more acceptable.

Although Gandhi had withdrawn from public life, he briefly met with the British Governor of Bombay (and future Viceroy of India), Lord Willington, whom Gandhi promised to consult before he launched any political campaigns. Gandhi also felt the impact of another event, the passing of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who had become his supporter and political mentor. He stayed away from the political trend of Indian nationalism, which many of the members of the Indian National Congress embraced. Instead, he stayed busy resettling his family and the inhabitants of the Phoenix Settlement in South Africa, as well as the Tolstoy Settlement he had founded near Johannesburg. For this purpose, on 25 May 1915, he created a new settlement, which came to be known as the Satyagraha ashram (derived from the Sanskrit word "Satya" meaning "truth") near the town of Ahmedabad and close to his place of birth in the western Indian province of Gujarat. All the inhabitants of the ashram, which included one family of untouchables, swore to poverty and chastity.

After a while, Gandhi became influenced by the idea of Indian independence from the British, but he dreaded the possibility that a westernized Indian elite would replace the British colonial government. He developed a strong conviction that Indian independence should take place as a large-scale sociopolitical reform, which would remove the old plagues of extreme poverty and caste restrictions. In fact, he believed that Indians could not become worthy of self-government unless they all shared a concern for the poor.

Part V

The British colonial authorities placed Gandhi on trial for sedition and sentenced him to six years in prison, marking the first time that he faced prosecution in India. Because of Gandhi's fame, the judge, C.N. Broomfield, hesitated to impose a harsher punishment. He considered Gandhi clearly guilty as charged, given the fact that Gandhi admitted his guilt of supporting non-violent, open civil disobedience and even went as far as requesting the heaviest possible sentence. Such willingness to accept imprisonment conformed to his philosophy of satyagraha, so Gandhi felt that his time in prison only furthered his commitment and goals. The authorities allowed him to use a spinning wheel and receive reading materials while in prison, so he felt content. He also wrote most of his autobiography while serving his sentence.

However, in Gandhi's absence, Indians returned to the jobs they had previously spurned and their every day routines. Even worse, the unity between Muslims and Hindus, which Gandhi advocated so passionately, had already begun to fall apart to the point where the threat of violence loomed large over many communities with mixed population. The campaign for Indian independence could not continue while Indians themselves suffered disunity and conflict, all the more difficult to overcome in a huge country like India, which had always suffered religious divisions, as well as divisions by language, and even caste.

Gandhi realized that the British government of the time, had lost the will and power to maintain their empire, but he always acknowledged that Indians could not rely simply on the weakening of Britain in order to achieve independence. He believed that Indians had to become morally ready for independence. He planned to contribute to such readiness through his speeches and writing, advocating humility, restraint, good sanitation, as well as an end to child marriages.

After his imprisonment ended, he resumed his personal quest for purification and truth. He ends his autobiography by admitting that he continues to experience and fight with "the dormant passion" that lie within his own soul. He felt ready to continue the long and difficult path of taming those passions and putting himself last among his fellow human beings, the only way to achieve salvation, according to him.

"That is why the worlds' praise fails to move me; indeed it very often stings me. To conquer the subtle passions is far harder than the physical conquest of the world by the force of arms,"

Reception

The autobiography is noted for its lucid, simple and idiomatic language and its transparently honest narration. The autobiography itself has become a key document for interpreting Gandhi's life and ideas.

In his essay "Reflections on Gandhi" (1949), George Orwell argued that the autobiography made clear Gandhi's "natural physical courage", which he saw as later confirmed by the circumstances of his assassination; his lack of feelings of envy, inferiority, or suspiciousness, the last of which Orwell thought was common to Indian people; and his lack of racial prejudice. Noting the circumstances of the book's serialisation, Orwell argues it "is not a literary masterpiece, but it is the more impressive because of the commonplaceness of much of its material." Orwell found the book to indicate that Gandhi "was a very shrewd, able person who could, if he had chosen, have been a brilliant success as a lawyer, an administrator or perhaps even a businessman."

In a 1998 interview, Gujarati writer Harivallabh Bhayani mentioned this work as the most important work, together with Govardhanram Tripathi's Saraswatichandra, to have emerged in Gujarat in the last 50 years.

Influences

Gandhi wrote in his autobiography that the three most important modern influences in his life were Leo Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894), John Ruskin's Unto This Last (essays 1860, book 1862), and the poet Shrimad Rajchandra (Raychandbhai).

Editions in print

India – ISBN 81-7229-008-X

United States – authorized edition with foreword by Sissela Bok, Beacon Press 1993 reprint: ISBN 0-8070-5909-9

Dover Publications 1983 reprint of 1948 Public Affairs Press edition: ISBN 0-486-24593-4