Assignment : Paper 2

              Topic : The Story of My Experiments with Truth

              Name : Patel payal G.

              Roll no : 32

              M.A.part:1 (sem-1)

              Batch: 2010-11

              Submitted to: Mr. Devarshi Mehta

                         Department of English

                         Bhavnagar University.                                                                                      

The Story of My Experiments with Truth             

-M.K.Gandhi                                                      

“An Autobiography”    

 by Mahatma Gandhi was first written in Gujarati and later on translated into English by ‘Mahadevbhai Desai’. It recounts in detail the events and circumstances of his life from birth to the Non Cooperation Movement in India in 1920. Gandhiji does not seem to attach much value to his political experiments but he seems to attach much value to the spiritual field. In Introduction to the autobiography, he writes;

        “But I should certainly like to narrate my experiments in the spiritual field which are known to myself, and from which I have derived such power as I posses for working in the political field.”

                                    As a boy Gandhiji was extremely shy but was an ardent advocate of truth. He was an average student. His mother’s religious nature left an indelible influence on his memory. He was greatly influenced by two plays ‘Harishchandra’ and ‘Shravana’ Pitribhakti’. These plays strengthened his love for truth and his obedience for his parents. The religious atmosphere at home ignited his passion to read; ‘Ramayana’, ‘Mahabharata’ and ‘Bhagvat Geeta’.

                                     He does not hide anything about his experiences as well as experiments in the spiritual field. So first we should praise him for his follies and faults in personal as well as in professional life. Though he himself knows that the path of Truth is strait and narrow and sharp as the razor’s edge, he follows it strictly and this is his greatness.

                                     Gandhiji’s inability to understand his teacher’s intention behind signaling him to copy from his classmate’s slate indicates his innocence. He could not understand that his teacher had told him to copy the answer. Yet he had no disrespect for his teacher, because by nature he was very obedient to his elders whether his elders were at fault or not.

                                     During his childhood he had much temptation but his strong will has kept him away from such things. In his very childhood he had one great quality of his honesty with himself.

                                     In order to study law, Gandhiji sailed to England. While leaving for England, he vowed to keep himself away from women, wine and meat. Then he returned to India after passing the exam.

                                         Then, he sailed for South Africa. Here for the first time he became the victim of color discrimination; he was humiliated, beaten and kicked out of the train and the hotel. He founded ‘Natal Indian Congress’ to give the suppressed Indians right political and spiritual and moral leadership.

                                       On his return to India, he had became a known figure; came in close contact with Sir Pherozeshah, Lokmanya Tilak and Gokhale. Gokhale became his political mentor.

                                        His second visit to South Africa brought remarkable change in Gandhiji; He realized that true devotion to God consisted in the service of humanity. So he gave up luxuries and comforts, and recognized himself as a poor man with the poor Indians there. He started ‘brahmcharya’ with the consent of his wife. About his vow he writes;

    “ The elimination of carnal relationship with one’s wife seemed then a strange thing. But I launched forth with faith in the sustaining power of God.”

Gradually, he realized that ‘bramcharya’ was not a process of hard penance; but it was a matter of consolation and joy. In ‘brahmcharya’ lies the protection of body, mind and the soul.

                                        After serving sick and wounded soldiers in the Boer War, he returned to India. He was shocked seeing castism, untouchability prevailing everywhere. He felt pain to see the prominence of English, misuse of resources, and waste of time in worthless work and discussion.

                                        In 1904, ‘Indian Opinion’ , a journal was launched and it served as Gandhiji’s mouthpiece. In order to put principles into practice, he organized Phoenix settlement near Durban. The most important stage in the development of Gandhiji was his first Satyagraha at Johannesburg. In 1908, he published a pamphlet ‘Hind- Swaraj’ the best among Gandhiji’s writings. In these pamphlets Gandhiji covered subjects such as civilization, Swaraj, Hindu- Muslim unity, law and medicine, education, violence and Ahimsa and the doctrine and practice of Satyagraha.

                                      In India in 1915, he founded Sabarmati Ashram on the model of Phoenix Ashram. Untouchables were admitted in the Ashram and were called ‘Harizans’. He used the weapon of Ahimsa in Champarana. Through ‘ Navjivan’ and ‘Young India’ , he freely expressed his views. His call for ‘Swadeshi’ or for total- prohibition was followed by all in India.

                                      Mahatma Gandhiji’s call for non-cooperation was followed sincerely. Students left schools and colleges, thousands of magistrates resigned; courts were boycotted. Thus, through his doctrines of Ahimsa, Swadeshi, the emancipation of untouchables, and regeneration of the condition of women, Gandhi became a moral leader, a saint and a ‘Maha- Atma,                   

Gandhiji’s Writing Style:

                                      Gandhiji’s prose style is lucid and convincing. Clarity and Simplicity are the chief attributes of his style. He used this style for various purposes, such as to appeal etc. His style reflected his frankness. He writes in Intoduction;

    “I am not going either to conceal or understate any ugly things that must be told. I hope to acquaint the reader fully with all my faults and errors. My purpose is to describe experiments in the science of Satyagraha, not to say how good I am.”

                                      His frankness is visible in the above quoted passage. In this manner also he differs from other Indo- Anglian writers like Nehru, Nirad Chaudhri etc. His powerful thoughts are clad in brief expression. Terseness is also one important characteristic of his style, and this terseness is achieved by the use of simple words. In a persuasive manner he convinced readers in the favor of truth and its importance in life. His sentences are having epigrammatically quality.

                                       Ruskin’s ‘Unto this Last’ exerted tremendous influence on his life. And the writings of Carlyle, Tolstoy, and Thoroue influenced Gandhiji.

                                       Antithetical statements is another important characteristic of his style. For example;

-        “Swaraj is for the awakened, not for the slrrpy and ignorant”

-        “Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment”.

-        “Non- Violence is the law of our species as violence is the law of the brute.”

So, contrasted ideas sometimes become more pointed in such sentences. A touch of irony can also be felt;

-        “A half- hearted operation is much more dangerous than no operation.”

                                     His style is not more figurative, but he sometimes makes use of Simile and Metaphor in presenting his thoughts effectively. For example, he called ‘Charkha’ , ‘No new invention’ but ‘re-discovery’ like ‘‘the discovery of its own mother by a strayed child.’’ He talks about the ‘white ant of untouchability’, which eat the foundation of the nation. He observes the pilgrimage to ‘Swaraj’ as a ‘ Painful Clime’.

       “It will not spring like the magician’s mango. It will grow almost unperceived like the banyan.”                                                                                                                                        

Some flashes of humor can also be found in such sentences;

                 “The woes of Mahatmas are known only to Mahatmas”  

His use of Simile can be found in such sentences;

            “Sir Pherzeshah seemed to me like the Himalaya, Lokmanya like the Ocean but Gokhale was, the Ganga”.

So, the use of Metaphor is also there in the sentences.

                                     ‘Joseph Addison’ has said that ‘Style is Man’ and this is applicable to Gandhiji. The secret behind the vitality of his style is his love for truth as he himself says;

       “There can be no room for untruth in my writings, because it is my unshakable belief that there is no religion than Truth and because I am capable of rejecting what is obtained at the cost of Truth.”

His Wife’s Contribution:

                                     Generally we glorify Gandhiji more than his wife Kasturbai. She had played an important role in Gandhiji’s life as a wife and as a mother. Gandhiji also admits this fact that she had played the role of mother for himself. Even in his spiritual experiments she supported Gandhiji. In the Dandi March she was the first woman activist and also inspired other women. So to some extent we can say that because of her contribution Gandhiji has attained success.

Gandhiji  versus  Hitler:

                                       Both these personalities have written their autobiographies- Gandhiji’s  ‘The Story of my Experiments with Truth’ and Hitler’s ‘My Story’. Gandhiji loved humanity and he was devoted whereas Hitler was highly ambitious. As we know he wanted to conquer the world. During the World War Hitler genocided, especially the Jews.

                                       The situations in which they were brought up were different and their presents were the outcome of their pasts. They had different experiences. The condition in which Hitler found himself was quitter different from the condition of Gandhiji. Both represent energy but these conditions channelized their energy. So Hitler’s energy was directed to violence. At least, Gandhiji had parents to prevent him from taking a wrong path, especially his mother’s religious nature and his father’s principles. But it was not so in the case of Hitler because his parents bitterly fought with each-other. He had no mental rest and security as a child.

                                        Gandhiji believed in democracy. Hitler believed in dictatorship. Gandhiji believed in unity and he did not believe in castism. He also believed in collective efforts and that is why he organized “Sarvodaya Abhiyan” . He believed hate the sin but love the sinner. He also sympathized with the sinners. He believed that punishing sinners is the remedy.

                                         By reading autobiography of Gandhiji and Hitler, one can highlight the contrast between the two books as well as two personalities. Another contrast is from one magazine named ‘Contemporary VIEBS’ into which Dr. Shubha Tiwari writes;

       “The method of Adolf Hitler was totally contradictory to that of Gandhiji. He believed that he had a right to kill people. He thought that he had many enemies in this world. He could not accept people who were different from himself. He made imaginary opponents and then killed them. This the basic difference between the Mahatma and Hitler.”

Conclusion:

                                  Gandhiji’s life is an open book. He had no secrets. Gandhiji’s autobiography is much simple to understand as he has used very polite diction even on unpleasant situations. It contains qualities of simplicity, plainness and directness.

             

                 

                                      The End

                                 

                                    Thank You