Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi aka Mahatma Gandhi is probably
the most revered person in India. Known as the apostle of peace, Mahatma
Gandhi’s fame has spread around the world. Much after his death, he has
followers in people like Martin Luther King Junior and Nelson Mandela, and fans
in people like Albert Einstein. In fact, Einstein had said about Gandhi: ”Generations
to come, it may well be, will scarce believe that such a man as this one ever
in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth.”
M. K. Gandhi was the
leading figure in India’s struggle for independence. In the whole world, every
fight against an unjust ruler has been marked by bloody uprisings. Whether the
French Revolution, the Russian Revolution or any other fight, the history of
mankind is strewn with violence. The greatness of Gandhi comes in his
leadership by non-violence. It is not as if non-violence was a new concept, but
this man not only knew it as a concept, he believed and lived it – and most
miraculously made an entire nation follow it. He led non-violent protests,
marches and non-cooperation movements – but never exhorted the millions who
followed him to take to arms. And miraculously, he achieved the goal of
Independence from British rule for India. He is the ultimate example of
simplicity in living.
The Story of My Experiments With Truth is Mahatma Gandhi’s
autobiography. He wrote this while he was leading the nation. It is important
to understand this context because in the book, Gandhi describes his failings
and struggles. For a leader who has millions watching him, hanging on to his
words, believing in him and unquestioningly following him to admit to his
failings during his own time is a feat of courage that is unparalleled. There
are frequent autobiographies and biographies of famous lives – but these are
usually after the days of glory have
passed.
The incidents that Gandhi writes about, in the current day
and in different societies, may not seem like massive struggles – but in his
day, age and society they were huge. He came from an extremely orthodox
Gujarati vegetarian family. In the book, he writes about partaking
non-vegetarian food. No big deal today. But to give this a perspective: he is
writing about it in the early 1900s. The state of Gujarat, from where he came,
is still largely vegetarian even today. In the year 2000, Pizza Hut opened an
outlet in Ahmedabad, the biggest city in that state. It was the first all
vegetarian Pizza Hut in the world!
This book is of the period in Gandhi’s life spanning from
being Mohandas in South Africa to becoming Mahatma in India. While on one hand
it describes his efforts to stay on a path of truth and courage in his personal
and public life; on the other hand, it is a blueprint about being a politician
with honesty and idealism. Politics, as Plato envisaged, was the highest form
of art and science. Like every idealistic theory, this one too has gone
completely against its grain by now – but Gandhi shows the most beautiful and sublime
aspects of politics.
Read this book to understand honesty, frailty, courage,
industry, belief and about rising above yourself driven by vision and
ideals.
Sujata Garimella