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On Gandhi’s Life and His Experiments With Truth

This is a big book. It is filled with details, and it very much reads like a history book or an editorial. It’s also very intimate and personal. It contains Gandhi’s thoughts on his emotional states and views. He wrote about instances when he felt ashamed, or fearful. He talked about this childhood, his parents, studying in London, working in South Africa, and doing social and political activities back in India. This is also quite deep and spiritual as he explains his vows, beliefs, and philosophies,

The book is split in five parts.

In the first part, he writes about his early childhood, his parents, being in an arranged marriage, he confesses on eating meat, feeling jealousy, lust. He also writes his experience upon his father’s death and going away to study law in England.

On the second part: he talks about going back to India, and learning of his mother’s death, starting a law practice, and feeling overwhelmed with his first cases. He gets an offer to work in South Africa, and he relates his experiences of racism in a train, and another incident in a hotel. He has more interactions with Muslims, Christians, and Protestants. He spends over twenty years in South Africa for work and being an active participant on political issues.

On the third part: he talks about returning briefly to India and back to South Africa. He brings along his wife and children. Prior to landing, he writes of in an incident when people gathered on the port barring him to land. He also talks about formally taking a vow of chastity. He also wrote about volunteering in the Boer War in the Medical Corps and tending to the wounded. After war-service, he returns to India, and continues public service work.

In the fourth part: he writes more on policy issues. He studies the Gita, and other texts more deeply. He writes of a disagreement with an elder brother, his experiments with diet, fasting, and home treatments; at one time he ate only fruits and nuts; and would refuse doctor’s prescriptions to drink milk or beef soup.
Around this time, he starts a publication called, The Indian Opinion. He intervenes for land disputes, rebellions, and strikes; plus, more incidents relating to policies, and non-cooperation protests

On the last part: he writes about another incident in a train. He talks about establishing an ashram, campaigning to end indentured servitude, initiating a whole day of strike as response to a new bill. He also wrote of events where some places still resulted to violence, and he had to mediate between police and protesters. He describes a lot of lawlessness when martial law was imposed. He writes about his time in prison

He ends with a farewell writing that while the book is in the format of an autobiography, it is really his experiments in life and with truth.

Why read The Story Of My Experiments With Truth?

You learn of Gandhi’s life and perspective from his own account. You learn of his ways of nonviolent resistance.

How can you use this information?

“Experience has taught me that civility is the most difficult part of Satyagraha.” [nonviolent resistance] “Civility does not here mean the mere outward gentleness of speech cultivated for the occasion, but an inborn gentleness and desire to do the opponent good.”

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