Revisiting ‘My Experiments With Truth’ After Decades

By K Nehru Patnaik

It’s been decades since I first read Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, so it was time for a revisit. Reviewing “My Experiments With Truth” is a very difficult task and is akin to showing candle light to the Sun! The language is so down to earth simple and the narration very absorbing.

The book shows how adamant Gandhi was in pursuing his convictions to the hilt sans minding the repercussions they may inflict on his near and dear. It’s voluminous and covers how he evolved during different stages of childhood, learning, schools and law in London.

One has to read him to get the essence of celibacy, depth of Godliness, service to humanity, doing everything with one’s own hands including cleaning toilets, washing clothes, cooking and what-not he used to perform to the utter disgust of his wife. I however didn’t like the way he up-brought his 3 sons in South Africa, where he had started his career as a barrister to serve under the colonial British rule there.

Eventually, he was drawn into emancipation of the Indian bonded labourers by deeply involving himself in the local administration. At the same time, he kept his head high in simplicity, truthfulness and above all maintained strict integrity despite highhanded behaviour of alien rulers of the day in SA and India to which he was drawn in early 19th century. By that time, Gandhi was already famous among the elite of Indian Freedom Fighters. That was the beginning of his involvement in the independence movement, carrying his convictions of satyagraha and ahimsa. So much so that it culminated into his assassination in cold blood at point blank range by Godse, who pumped 3 bullets in his chest.

It’s hard to make up one’s mind on how and what should one write about the great book, which is a sort of Encyclopaedia of piety in its true sense that had put him on the pedestal of Mahatma!