Gandhi: An autobiography
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- Author：Mahatma Gandhi
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Summary
Mohandas K。 Gandhi is one of the most inspiring figures of our time。 In his classic autobiography he recounts the story of his life and how he developed his concept of active nonviolent resistance， which propelled the Indian struggle for independence and countless other nonviolent struggles of the twentieth century。
In a new foreword， noted peace expert and teacher Sissela Bok urges us to adopt Gandhi's "attitude of experimenting， of testing what will and will not bear close scrutiny， what can and cannot be adapted to new circumstances，" in order to bring about change in our own lives and communities。
All royalties earned on this book are paid to the Navajivan Trust， founded by Gandhi， for use in carrying on his work。
In a new foreword， noted peace expert and teacher Sissela Bok urges us to adopt Gandhi's "attitude of experimenting， of testing what will and will not bear close scrutiny， what can and cannot be adapted to new circumstances，" in order to bring about change in our own lives and communities。
All royalties earned on this book are paid to the Navajivan Trust， founded by Gandhi， for use in carrying on his work。
Reviews
Tara Hridaya
，
Some of the expertiments in dealing with situations and people， with insistence on truth are thought inducing。 Rather than taking a black and white approach of right and wrong， appropriate and inappropriate， the way Gandhiji based and justified his decisions on the basis of his own conscience is immensely positive。 It takes away the burden of doing as per the world's view in order to be right or to be a 'leader'。 The book， however， gets a little boring to read in some of the chapters。 And motiva Some of the expertiments in dealing with situations and people， with insistence on truth are thought inducing。 Rather than taking a black and white approach of right and wrong， appropriate and inappropriate， the way Gandhiji based and justified his decisions on the basis of his own conscience is immensely positive。 It takes away the burden of doing as per the world's view in order to be right or to be a 'leader'。 The book， however， gets a little boring to read in some of the chapters。 And motivation to turn the page has to be gathered from the greatness of the author rather than what is actually on the page。 。。。more
Kwame Ayipe
，
Very eye opening， a great book for activist。
Lay Shah
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The book was hard at first， but I gradually like this book！Yes， it took me a long time to read this book but this book has something to inspire you。 Even if you are 'Gandhian' or not few thoughts of him about fighting against the black plague in South Africa， the commitment of not eating nonveg food， first the urge of traveling in India and see the country through your own eyes and more to it travel in the third class compartment motivates you in your life。 For me， particularly the London storie The book was hard at first， but I gradually like this book！Yes， it took me a long time to read this book but this book has something to inspire you。 Even if you are 'Gandhian' or not few thoughts of him about fighting against the black plague in South Africa， the commitment of not eating nonveg food， first the urge of traveling in India and see the country through your own eyes and more to it travel in the third class compartment motivates you in your life。 For me， particularly the London stories are very inspiring！ As a student coming out from a small town adjusting to the new shining， big world is very hard。 The shyness， the homesickness but the stubborn belief of doing something， in these chapters， I can relate to so much。 The last and final reason that drove me to read this book is its core values truth and non-violence。 He said in the Introduction only that no one will regard the advice interspersed in the following chapters as authoritative but you can learn many things from this book and apply them in your life！Happy reading！ 。。。more
Jenny
，
I'm nearly halfway through the book， but I can't continue。 As much as I admire Gandhi， his writing is a bit dry and repetitive （at least the translation of it）。 I appreciate his causes， but I think I'll need to get Cliffs notes or read Wikipedia for an overview。 I enjoy biography and philosophy immensely， yet it's just too slow。 Maybe it picks up， but life goes on and I can only read so many books。 I'm nearly halfway through the book， but I can't continue。 As much as I admire Gandhi， his writing is a bit dry and repetitive （at least the translation of it）。 I appreciate his causes， but I think I'll need to get Cliffs notes or read Wikipedia for an overview。 I enjoy biography and philosophy immensely， yet it's just too slow。 Maybe it picks up， but life goes on and I can only read so many books。 。。。more
Sidharth Sabat
，
Firstly， let me state the fact that this book has been in my TBR for the longest period of time。 10 years！ So it feels great to pick and complete a book that I had left unfinished back when I was still in school。The book was not what I expected it to be。 And rightly so， Gandhiji being a public figure makes most of his life known to the masses beforehand。 Hence， only those incidents were captured which were deeply personal， lesser-known， and in his words， his experiments。 His experiments in diete Firstly， let me state the fact that this book has been in my TBR for the longest period of time。 10 years！ So it feels great to pick and complete a book that I had left unfinished back when I was still in school。The book was not what I expected it to be。 And rightly so， Gandhiji being a public figure makes most of his life known to the masses beforehand。 Hence， only those incidents were captured which were deeply personal， lesser-known， and in his words， his experiments。 His experiments in dietetics， struggle with celibacy， and affinity towards public work were the major part of the book。 More than half of the book focused on his life in South Africa， his life before he became the Mahatma。 His transformation from a barrister， to a social worker to a politician， was commendable; what remained unchanged were his principles。Gandhiji， in my opinion， was a very difficult person to be with。 His obstinacy and stubbornness to adhere to his principles surely would have caused trouble to the ones around him。 But he never shied away to mention as well as admit his vices。It was a good read for someone interested in the life of a public servant。 Although not comprehensive （which would be impossible in itself for someone with a thousand tales about him） the book was a great overview into his life and his experiments with truth。 。。。more
Sheen Pandita
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I read this book way back in 2010。What i realized as a mere 16 year old was that the man is highly overrated。 Gandhi seemed like a restrictive person and believed only his version of the world is the truth。He also seemed the typical egoistic head of the family who forced his ideologies on his family。 I say this since in the book he only tells about his personal experiences， diet， life which all people around him had to also follow as mentioned in the book。Perhaps his intention of writing the boo I read this book way back in 2010。What i realized as a mere 16 year old was that the man is highly overrated。 Gandhi seemed like a restrictive person and believed only his version of the world is the truth。He also seemed the typical egoistic head of the family who forced his ideologies on his family。 I say this since in the book he only tells about his personal experiences， diet， life which all people around him had to also follow as mentioned in the book。Perhaps his intention of writing the book the way he did was to portray that he is a mere normal human trying to maneuver through the world like the rest of us and unlikely the saint put on a pedestal by the society。 。。。more
Ambarish
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The story of my experiments with truth （Autobiography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi） —Apparently this book does not primarily focus about Indian Freedom struggle。 The story ends around 1925。 It’s more about the events in Gandhiji’s life， how he reacted to them， what measures he took and experiments （or changes） he enacted in day to day life。 This book kind of opened my eyes about his character， coz there were a lot of misconceptions。 As lot of misinformation was shared to me when I was a child。 The story of my experiments with truth （Autobiography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi） —Apparently this book does not primarily focus about Indian Freedom struggle。 The story ends around 1925。 It’s more about the events in Gandhiji’s life， how he reacted to them， what measures he took and experiments （or changes） he enacted in day to day life。 This book kind of opened my eyes about his character， coz there were a lot of misconceptions。 As lot of misinformation was shared to me when I was a child。 I am so in awe of him right now， his principles， ideologies， strong mindedness and especially “satyagraha”。 Coz after a certain point it made me think that most of the revolutionaries around the world took up arms against their oppressors。 But he insisted on non-violence and its importance。 Also this book was a great way to go over Indian history lessons again， wherein I heard the names of all the great Indian freedom fighters。 Lines/Quotes to remember from “The story of my experiments with truth” — 1。 It is the reformer who is anxious for the reform， and not society， from which he should expect nothing better than opposition， abhorrence and even mortal persecution。 2。 Be the change that you wish to see in the world。3。 An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind。4。 Children inherit the qualities of the parents， no less than their physical features。 Environment does play an important part， but the original capital on which a child starts in life is inherited from its ancestors。 I have also seen children successfully surmounting the effects of an evil inheritance。 That is due to purity being an inherent attribute of the soul。5。 When every hope is gone， 'when helpers fail and comforts flee，' I find that help arrives somehow， from I know not where。 Supplication， worship， prayer are no superstition; they are acts more real than the acts of eating， drinking， sitting or walking。 It is no exaggeration to say that they alone are real， all else is unreal。”6。 The seeker after truth should be humbler then the dust。 The world crushes the dust under its feet， but the seeker after truth should so humble himself that even the dust could crush him。 Only then， and not till then， will he have a glimpse of truth。7。 Men often become what they believe themselves to be。If I believe I cannot do something， it makes me incapable of doing it。 But when I believe I can ， then I acquire the ability to do it even If I didn't have it in the beginning8。 Truth has drawn me into the field of politics; and I can say without the slightest hesitation， and yet in all humility， that those who say that religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion means。9。 It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow beings。”10。 Hate the sin and not the sinner is a precept which， though easy enough to understand， is rarely practiced， and that is why the poison of hatred spreads in the world。。。 It is quite proper to resist and attack a system， but to resist and attack its author is tantamount to resisting and attacking oneself。 for we are all tarred with the same brush， and are children of one and the same Creator， and as such the divine powers within us are infinite。 To slight a single human being is to slight those divine powers， and thus to harm not only that being but with him the whole world。”11。 Service without humility is selfishness and egotism。12。 Our duty is very simple and plain。 We want to serve the community， and in our own humble way to serve the Empire。 We believe in the righteousness of the cause， which it is our privilege to espouse。 We have an abiding faith in the mercy of the Almighty God， and we have firm faith in the British Constitution。 That being so， we should fail in our duty if we wrote anything with a view to hurt。”13。 No reform is possible unless some of the educated and the rich voluntarily accept the status of the poor， travel third， refuse to enjoy the amenities denied to the poor， and instead of taking avoidable hardships， discourtesies， and injustice as a matter of course， fight for their removal。 。。。more
Mark Watlington
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Too much of this book is about Gandhi's obsession with fruits and nuts Too much of this book is about Gandhi's obsession with fruits and nuts 。。。more
Connor
，
Great insight into Gandhi’s mindset！ Interesting to see how he approached difficulties he encountered。 Unfortunately， his humility impairs his ability to narrate the impact he had on the world。
Shanthan Kasula
，
The so called "Mahatma Gandi" from Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi became possible for him by only reading lots and lots of books and applying them in his life。 If you want to get an insight into a journey of great soul then you have to read this book。 whether you like M。K。Gandhi or not but you have to know about his life because it will provide you the solutions of many problems at different levels， personal or collective。 An eager bookworm still miss so much apart from this book because the book en The so called "Mahatma Gandi" from Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi became possible for him by only reading lots and lots of books and applying them in his life。 If you want to get an insight into a journey of great soul then you have to read this book。 whether you like M。K。Gandhi or not but you have to know about his life because it will provide you the solutions of many problems at different levels， personal or collective。 An eager bookworm still miss so much apart from this book because the book ends abruptly after 1915。。 i。e。， he lives until 1948。 。。。more
Amit
，
True to its name Gandhi experimented with truth a lot and the kind of improvements/changes he made in himself， definately benefitted whole of the India。 This book is as honest as it can get。 He accepts the vices or bad habits he had and kept working on it。 His struggles with vegeterianism and spirituality show a lot about his persona。 Gandhi was stubborn as rock and kept reflecting on the choices he made。 Refusing to eat non vegetarian food at the time when all doctors suggested him to save his True to its name Gandhi experimented with truth a lot and the kind of improvements/changes he made in himself， definately benefitted whole of the India。 This book is as honest as it can get。 He accepts the vices or bad habits he had and kept working on it。 His struggles with vegeterianism and spirituality show a lot about his persona。 Gandhi was stubborn as rock and kept reflecting on the choices he made。 Refusing to eat non vegetarian food at the time when all doctors suggested him to save his life， needs conviction。 And Gandhi didn't have shortage of conviction。 I found the descriptions of period in Africa and before are quite vivid。 Although he goes a fit fast forward for the time period of 1905- 1930。 But after reading about a personality who changed the lives and fates of billions of people of India， one can surely say， No one is born leader， but if you keep working on yourself with dedication ， the things improve and a lot can happen。 The book is a journey of a stubborn gujrati simpleton who became the Gandhi- The Baapu， the father of nation to India。 。。。more
Priyankan Datta
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It was 2005 and I was 10 years old。 I had been bullied by a guy 2 years older than me in my school bus。 They beat me and I could do nothing， I was scared。 I came home crying to my dad and told me all about what had happened that day at school。 Now what would you expect a father to do in that situation？ Console me or maybe give me assurance that he would talk to the bully's dad or something like that。Slap！！A tight slap on my face。 Yes， that's what I got。 Why？？ He was angry that I had come home al It was 2005 and I was 10 years old。 I had been bullied by a guy 2 years older than me in my school bus。 They beat me and I could do nothing， I was scared。 I came home crying to my dad and told me all about what had happened that day at school。 Now what would you expect a father to do in that situation？ Console me or maybe give me assurance that he would talk to the bully's dad or something like that。Slap！！A tight slap on my face。 Yes， that's what I got。 Why？？ He was angry that I had come home all beaten without even trying to give a fight back。 He had a simple motto。 Someone punches you， you punch them twice and then come home。My dad was not a violent man， I must tell you that。 But he was poor when he was child and I guess that's what he had to do when he was kid to survive the neighborhood he was living back in his childhood days。 Times were different in my case but my father's slap had rubbed off on me in a bad way。 Revenge was my motto from there on。 The next day， I went to school gathered all my courage， took advantage of my relatively smaller height and kicked the bully hard， as hard as I could in his balls and then ran away。It gave me such a satisfaction and feeling of power that I was determined from there on。 Determined to have my revenge no matter what the situation。 As years went on， my revenge became more and more intricated and soul crushing。 Mind you， I never hurt someone on my own， I always replied but my replies were always over the top。It was in 2012 that I came across 2 books。1。 Mein Kemph by Adolf Hitler2。 My experiments with truth by Mahatma GandhiI had read all about them in history books。 Its not a surprise that I knew very well about Hitler and that he was the great villain of human history。 That said， I was no fan of the Mahatma。 I had accused him of being weak as he never took "revenge" even though the Britishers deserved all of it。 On the other hand I was a big fan of Netaji。I first read Mein Kemph。 And I knew， I had to read it wearing the shoes of a German living in Germany in the 1920s。 And man o man， what a motivator， this Hitler guy。 I can totally understand why so many Germans fell for his trap。 The whole book， he tells about how he is correct and he explains and gives reason for all his arguments。Then I moved onto My experiments。 I must remind everyone that this book was published in the 1920s when Gandhi had absolute power over all Indians。 He was the number one Indian and everyone looked up to him as their saviour。 I was expecting him to give a big lecture about how he has always practiced non violence and other preachy stuffs。 I was shocked when I read about how he had sex with his wife knowing very well that his dad was on his deathbed in a room next to his own room。 Can any world leader dare to write this kind of stuff today？？？ Even when the world leaders of today talk about their weakness， they talk about good things disguised as bad thing similar to what we do in job interviews （too honest， too much caring about perfection etc etc）。As I finished both those books， I realized that one of them was the greatest human to ever live and the other， the worst。 Read their autobiographies and you will fell vice versa。 I understood the fault in my ways， I understood revenge was not the way。 I understood that the Mahatma wasn't weak， I was weak。 It is easy to punch someone， it is far more difficult to take the high road and forgive someone who has done wrong to you。 I understood that truth and non-violence are the only way to achieve peace in this world and bring about justice。 。。。more
Stratos Kirtsios
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Interesting but tiring and slow read
अभय कुमार
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This is not merely a book。 While reading this you can feel the processes， which may change your life and thoughts。 Everyone should read this book， it doesn't matter you are a hater， critic or follower to Mr。 Gandhi。 This is not merely a book。 While reading this you can feel the processes， which may change your life and thoughts。 Everyone should read this book， it doesn't matter you are a hater， critic or follower to Mr。 Gandhi。 。。。more
Nitesh Kanthaliya
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Loved the way it is written- 5 parts and multiple chapters to describe an event or anecdote。 Provides insight into his life， the sacrifices that he made along with the wrong decisions he made in life。 Does not describe his relationship with his children in much detail。 Was lost in multiple names and events。 Had to refer wiki and history books to understand the context of the event。
Tanni D。 Awa
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A great readFull of a lot of life lessons to engulf。 Gandhi for life
Krishna Kanth
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Truth is my God， Bapu is my guru。 He inspired me like no one has ever done before。 Using soul force in place of brute force has inspired me。 His autobiography is his experiments with life to realise the Truth Do read friends
Akshar Thakkar
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This book was one of my subjects in my 10th grade 。 Believe me I didn't scored so well because of the half perspective he showed here。 This book was one of my subjects in my 10th grade 。 Believe me I didn't scored so well because of the half perspective he showed here。 。。。more
Rick Sam
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Finally， I read Gandhi's work。 Admirable， Inspiring life journey of Gandhi。 Reading this gives a glimpse of Gandhi's life。Mahadev Desai， Gandhi's Personal Secretary has done excellent work。 He's translated， written it concisely。 It's easy for readers to follow paragraphs。 Chapters， Paragraphs neatly organized， concise。 Why？ A Tamil reader had posted a copy from another book， I peaked at it:-No spaces-Entire Page filled with one paragraph-A Blob of Text I thought， "Orae Vai la full plate sap Finally， I read Gandhi's work。 Admirable， Inspiring life journey of Gandhi。 Reading this gives a glimpse of Gandhi's life。Mahadev Desai， Gandhi's Personal Secretary has done excellent work。 He's translated， written it concisely。 It's easy for readers to follow paragraphs。 Chapters， Paragraphs neatly organized， concise。 Why？ A Tamil reader had posted a copy from another book， I peaked at it:-No spaces-Entire Page filled with one paragraph-A Blob of Text I thought， "Orae Vai la full plate sapadu sapdamudiyuma？"， "Oru Vai Sapadu at a time。" [Can't eat entire rice in a plate， eat step by step] As I lived abroad， I could deeply connect with Gandhi's stories。 Maybe， if I had read this 15 years ago， I would not have understood his life story much。 My Favorite Part， Gandhi's reaction， impression with Tolstoy's writings。 "Truth" is my sole objective。 I'd recommend this for everyone。 Deus Vult， Gottfried 。。。more
Michael Davenport
，
Good book。 Gandhi makes it apparent that he does not like to write about himself which explain why this book is short。Gandhi believes that everyone should always be honest。 He never believed in one God， or one religion， but he believed in truth。 He expressed how we should be honest in all things。 Before I read this book I knew him as the man that proclaimed nonviolence， but after reading his biography I feel like he should be remembered as a man that wants people to be there best and to be truth Good book。 Gandhi makes it apparent that he does not like to write about himself which explain why this book is short。Gandhi believes that everyone should always be honest。 He never believed in one God， or one religion， but he believed in truth。 He expressed how we should be honest in all things。 Before I read this book I knew him as the man that proclaimed nonviolence， but after reading his biography I feel like he should be remembered as a man that wants people to be there best and to be truthful。 。。。more
Krishna Agarwal
，
I had so many misconceptions about Gandhiji。 My respect for him as a person & leader has grown by infinite bounds。I think I understand the statement "My life is my message。" better now。 I had so many misconceptions about Gandhiji。 My respect for him as a person & leader has grown by infinite bounds。I think I understand the statement "My life is my message。" better now。 。。。more
Debabrata Bera
，
Simplicity made him epic as well as his autobiography。 He was the votary of truth。 Yes you can’t find any excitement throughout the reading， only patient fully reading make you feel some eternal peace of mind if attached with this great soul。 His view of life is so simple yet so difficult to follow。
GypsyRoSes
，
I recall that I found this to be a tedious read。
Yvonne Crawford
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Touching
Kashyap prajapati
，
To know baapu all must read this book。Must read book for all not only for indians。 Each page gives learning experience in our life。Specially youth should read this。
Alejandro Vasquez Tieck
，
Really interesting teachings， principles， simplicity and be truth to one self
Purushottam Ratre
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An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind。
Tarun Ranjan
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First row seats to experience the life， ideas and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi。
Emily Kaitlyn
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I cannot， for the life of me， figure out how this man has fooled everyone into thinking he’s humble。 He did some great things， but he’s VERY well aware of it。 This autobiography is dense with minutiae which is hilarious when juxtaposed with his statement， “I had a gift for condensed writing” when he speaks about his usefulness in Congress。 Gandhi spends so much time talking about himself， none of which is in the least bit interesting and decides to wildly have a philosophical rant in the very la I cannot， for the life of me， figure out how this man has fooled everyone into thinking he’s humble。 He did some great things， but he’s VERY well aware of it。 This autobiography is dense with minutiae which is hilarious when juxtaposed with his statement， “I had a gift for condensed writing” when he speaks about his usefulness in Congress。 Gandhi spends so much time talking about himself， none of which is in the least bit interesting and decides to wildly have a philosophical rant in the very last chapter。 How this conclusion fits in with the rest of the 452 pages is beyond me。 He rarely speaks of his family， and when he does he talks of their obedience to him and why they couldn’t be educated even though he was an attorney。 He is constantly speaking of “truth” yet makes concessions for himself when convenient to whatever he needs in the moment （I。e。 doesn’t drink milk， until he’s about to die， then he makes the exception for goat milk。 Another example is when he states he’s a pacifist， but then joins the English Army so that he can stay in good favor with England）。 He also rewrites his own history to justify whatever weaknesses he previously exhibited （I。e。 he refused to wear the shikha because he was embarrassed， he also made his cousin cut his off so they wouldn’t be judged， and then justified it two sentences later stating that if a religious visual becomes more important than the religion itself than there is no use for it）。 Well， I agree， BUT that is what you’re saying to justify your weakness earlier on。 You didn’t want to be judged - it had nothing to do with the latter at the time you decided to cut it off。 Finally， he states that it was “very difficult to not be recognized” because he had to deal with the qualms of traveling on the train like a normal person。 Boohoo Gandhi。 For someone who preaches humility you think quite highly of yourself。 All in all - did Gandhi do some great things？ Yes。 But does that mean he’s not a narcissist？ No。 They are not mutually exclusive。 Needless to say， I went into this book with a completely open mind and knowing very little about Gandhi， and left this book with a slight disdain for this man’s personality。 No thanks。 。。。more
Vishal Meena
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I don't know what he said in this book is right or wrong as he write about himself but I like the way he criticise himself。 If whatever he has written is right than best if not than at least ideas are good and we can learn from them。 Sometimes it feels that his ideas are influenced by religion and patriarchal society。 But his influence in uniting Indian during freedom struggle is something for which I admire him most。 I don't know what he said in this book is right or wrong as he write about himself but I like the way he criticise himself。 If whatever he has written is right than best if not than at least ideas are good and we can learn from them。 Sometimes it feels that his ideas are influenced by religion and patriarchal society。 But his influence in uniting Indian during freedom struggle is something for which I admire him most。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Gandhi: An autobiography
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Gandhi: An autobiography&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft