The Story of My Experiments with Truth autobiography covers all aspects of Mahatma Gandhi’s life, right from childhood to the year 1921. It gives a peek into how Gandhi’s ideals and principles developed through his many experiences and life events.
In the introduction, M K Gandhi talks of his apprehensions about writing his autobiography, as it was a practice peculiar to the West. There was also the possibility of a shift in the mindset, of the change in the set of principles he adhered to, a revision of his future plans, which could influence those who based their conduct on his words. So, he decided to tell the story of his numerous experiments with Absolute Truth. The unusual autobiography covers his life from early childhood through to 1921. It is a window to the workings of Mahatma Gandhi’s mind, to the emotions of his heart, to understanding what drove this seemingly ordinary man to the heights of being the father of a nation – India. In 1999, the book was designated as one of the ‘100 Best Spiritual Books of the 20th Century’.
Gandhi’s autobiography is very different from other autobiographies. The autobiographies normally contain self-praise by the authors. They want to criticize their opponents and boost their own image in the people’s eyes. Gandhi’s autobiography is completely free from all this. It is marked with humility and truthfulness. He had not hidden anything. In fact, he is rather too harsh on himself. He did not want to show to the world how good he was. He only wanted to tell the people the story of his experiments with Truth, for Gandhi, was the supreme principle, which includes many other principles. Realization of the Truth is the purpose of human life. Gandhi always strove to realize the Truth. He continuously tried to remove impurities in himself. He always tried to stick to the Truth as he knew and to apply the knowledge of the Truth to everyday life. He tried to apply the spiritual principles to the practical situations. He did it in the scientific spirit. Sticking to the truth means Satyagraha. Gandhi therefore called his experiments as ‘Experiments with Truth’ or ‘Experiments in the science of Satyagraha.’ Gandhi also requested the readers to treat those experiments as illustrative and to carry out their own experiments in that light.
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