autobiography of mahatma gandhi

8/3/2019 Autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi

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Mahatma Gandhi, his own story, ed. by C.F. Andrews, with an

introd. by John Haynes Holmes.

Gandhi, Mahatma, 1869-1948.New York, The Macmillan company, 1930.

http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b4302436

Public Domain, Google-digitized

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ND H I H I O W N T OR Y


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N D H I

es

N C O MP A N Y


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L A N C OM PA N Y .

noparto f thisbook

ormwithout

thepublishers.

Published eptember,1930.

0.

NT D T A T S O FA M R IC A


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O F TH I A U T O B I OG RA P H Y ,

sca lled The toryofMy

th, w asf irstdictatedbyhiminhis

eofhisfellowpolitical prisoners

tinthe years1922-24.Itwas

erialform,as afeatureofhis

Navajivan, andtranslatedinto

ends,MahadevDesaiand

thesametime hisowncareful

o isk nowninMr. Gandhi s

soassistedinshapingitsf ina l ng-

of shortchaptershasnowbeen

nPressatA hmedabadintwo

overtwelvehundredoctavo

vealsobeenprintedseriallyin

a y ne s H o l m es p a pe r , U n it y .

mportancehasbeenused,

describespersonallyhisown

A f rica . Thevolumeisca lled S atyag-

outhA f rica , andthetranslation

GovindjiDesai.Thisbookhas

merica.ItsIndianpublisheris

ne,Madras,India.Inusing

andmakingabbreviations,I

e pressmyadmirationfor

piritoftheauthorhas beenkept

volumesandtry togainthe

sestimateofhumanconduct,it

hreecardinalvirtues,recurrent


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N D H I H I O W N T OR Y

reTruth, oving-kindness,and

oftheseformtogetherthe

uland denoteitsinfiniteyearning

e istencewithouttransgressing

avoidedthe ultimatespiritual

lifedemandstheharmonyof

odif f icult isthemusictomaster,

unciationrequired,thatsuccess

gha bodyandsoulkeptclean

hereforetheconstantrefrain

allhiswritings,whereinat

minantnote,andat anothertime

enselythatonlythepure inheart

vesaveryconcreteandplain-spoken

tymeans.In hisownperson,it

entofthemarriedlife forone

a llse ua lre lations. H ow farhe

hersintheir searchforGod

nwords.

ography,MahatmaGandhi

uallysoughtthe guidanceof

asw ritten. Hehasfe ltassured,

ncehasbeengrantedin due

attempt,sosearchinglykeen,to

an thehiddensecretsofhis

intothelight anythingevil

at seemstometomakethese

c.

e cleartothereaderbefore

meistakenin hand.

dintricateof allhispassive

hmacharya.


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rtakenintheTransvaal,hasbeen

hisbook.Thecompletenarra-

ndensed,andthereforeafter

t outwithaviewto later

ofthelife-storyisnot, however,

havegivenat somelengththe

resistancewhich wasthecrown

n outhA f rica .

nedwithfasting,wasone

hMr.Gandhi triedtoapproach

greatdealhasbeenwritten

,however,hisdescriptionofthese

ptoomuch space,Ihavebeen

here againithasbeena regret

on,becausehise perimentstend

outlookonlife isaltogether

hatadaringe plorerhehas

itsownpeculiarwayis ofthat

eedsfromhypothesistorigid

ordertosif toutTruth.

ition oftheA utobiography

bothin uropeandA merica . Dr.

dedto fulfilthislaboroflove.

dhi scharactermadehimpecu-

.B uthewassummonedaway

ne,atacritical moment,andit

timemy owndutiescalledme

oredecidedthat Ishouldbe

,onhispart,undertooktowrite

sappreciationwillbe readwith

whorecognisethathewasthe

e ofGandhiknownandloved


19/390

D H I H I O W N T OR Y

mainR o llandhasdonein urope,

edinthe NewWorld.

e maindifficultythrough-

ested,has beenthelarge

rastedwiththestringent limi-

sover,whatwasfirst selected

norderto insertsomeother

ssiblybe omitted. venafter

onhadbeen made,thework

ga in. Yetacertaine perience

ndatlastI haveareasonable

carry thereaderalongwith

throughoutistomakethebook

estwithoutsacrificinganyof

tting.Itis mysincerehopethat

yalongwithitthe former

maGandhi sIdeas.

ndian publishers,M.M.

n, andalsothetranslators, Mahadev

aljiDesai,fortheuse they

oftheir work.A boveallIam

dhihimselfwhosefullpermis-

abbreviatehisownwritings.

wishtodevoteanyprofitswhich

aswell asfromtheformer

morialH ospitalat antinike-

built inmemoryofourmutual

hodiedbyarailwayaccidentin

mber,1923.Tenyearsearlier,

withmetoNatal tohelpMr.

ancestruggle,and thebondof

inedunbrokenbydeath.


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sduetothe Indianresidents

dandDutchGuiana,for the

emewhilecarryingthrough

sthat Irecentlyspentamong

soutofthescantyleisure

denquiryinthose landsthatthe

etno environmentcouldhave

mentthandailyintercoursewith

panionsinthosedistantcoun-

turedtodedicatethis volume

o metorecordwithdeep

anyfriendsinthis NewWorld.

alreadymentionedinmyformer

mesof Mr.GeorgeFoster

gueandMrs. ames, Dr. R ufus

dMissHouse, Dr. underland,

kMoore,Hari Govil,Murray

. C . C arter, . D. oshiandD.

ha lsotothank inthissamecon-

ishopofGuianaandMrs.

dadfortheire ceedingk indness.

etothe staffofthePhelps-

tsC ha irman thestaf fandstu-

tute , V irginia andPenn choo l,

w here Ihavebeenableto f inishthis

gitwas afarlongerandmore

ticipatedandwithoutconstant

nthe partoftheseandother

entionitwould havebeenim-

eit inthemidstof avery

ties.

verydeeplygratefulIhave


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United tatesandCanadaamong

e trepidationforthefirsttime.

materia lw ea lthandhade -

shardeninginfluencesuponthe

enthisdeteriorationI have

boutit.B utIhavefounda

ssurprisedme byitsgenerosity

waywithaverygratefulheart.

piledand editedtheIndian

graveindeed.A deadlockap-

d.MahatmaGandhihasagain

ell-nighuniversallyadmitted

oneof theparamountfactors

astudyof hischaracter,which

ybehindit,isa necessity,if

dGreatB ritainarenotto drift

nmyformerbookhis thoughts

inthis volumetheaimhasbeen

eadableformforW estern

ththesameobjectin view

agore s L etterstoaF riend

fhealthpermits,to complete

othervolumejustasthispres-

tureof Gandhi.Foritismy

htheeyesof thesetwomen

sttoappreciatethe ast.


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H N H A Y N S H O M S 1

O F CO MM ON I ND IA N W O RD 3 3

M 3 9

70

ON 82

9 9

NA T A L 1 1 4

1 2 ]

N C I N DU RB A N 1 48

A R 1 63

P A G U 1 71

1 8 0

R B E L L I ON I9 0

RA I N IN G 2 03

A H A I NN A T A L 2 1 3

I V E R S I T R 223

T A N D V I C T OR Y 2 36

A S T 2 3

N 2 73

2 89


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C ON F R N C , 3 02

T T A C T 31 7

T A R C O NG R S S 3 34

A D D A R M OV E M N T 34 3

6 7

ece

B A R RI T R A T D UR B A N , A B O UT

gfage340


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H Y O F M A H A T MA G A N DH I , o f

efirstorderof importanceas

helife andthoughtofaman

ofthesupremelygreatper-

wnbutofalltime. A tthis

ry ofIndia,thisautobiography

nceas the apologiafrovita

holdsinhishands, byv irtueofhis

endancyamonghispeople,the

tsrelationtothegreat mpire

release.H ereisrelatedthe

ardconvictionandoutwardcir-

ghtGandhitothe centerofthe

ateforall mankind.

ntsinIndia,andof Mahatma

events, oneturnstothepagesof

eelingakinto awe.Theyhave

naive,afranknessthatisfre-

itythatis alwayssublime.They

rm,aspublishedseriallyin

medabad)inIndia , andin Unity

fullness ofdetailthatwas

ndpointofgeneralinterest

edfromthepeculiarcircum-

dlife. Forpublicationoutside

thebookmustbedrastically

this delicateanddifficulttask

nemanmostcompetenttoper-

ws,theeditorofthisvolume,

aslivedmorethantwenty-si


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M A G A ND H IH I O W N T ORY

dhi smosttrustedandbeloved

his owncountrymen.He knows

personale periencethevaried

aracter,andheshares through

of hisideals.W hatisessential

man,he haspreservedinthis

raphy onlyw hatisincidenta land

d. Initspresentformthis S tory

autobiographicalliteraturein

C enturyMagazine, Ide-

dhiis tobeunderstoodbythe

rstof allbeseenas theimme-

olstoyinthatunbrokenline of

kethe stitchesofagolden

dpatternofhumanaffairs,who

eGod,is spirit,andcanachieve

ifeonlyby usingthespiritual

hi,inother words,likeTolstoy,

ncis, esus, Isa iah, isa non-

accuratew ord, since ite -

qualityofrefusingto meetevil

ence,injurywithretaliation

manfinds itsodifficultto

ndcowardice. " Non-resistance,

ectsaltogetherthatsuperbly

quality,whichGandhihasdefined

rase, S oul- force , andw hich

hi s i mm o rt a l in j un c ti o n " L o ve y o ur

urseyou,dogood tothemthat

resistantshouldbeknownasone


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herabovetheplaneof brute

rehehadhisorigin, tothatloftier

rit, wherehehashisproper

humanitybeginnowtolive that

ctivegood-will,creativelove

,whichdistinguishesthehuman

fe istheonethingw hichcan

onearth,todisplacethese in-

erodandswordwhichhave

nd nowthreatentodestroyhim

non-resistance, e pressesnotat

iveimplicationsof therepudia-

utitis theonegenerallyaccepted

ethe groupofmenwhomI

se,therefore,thatwemustuse

classification.

yoneamongmanynon-re-

eis uniqueamongthemall

eniusona scaleandwitha

venattemptedbefore.Thenon-

ayshad itspureandheroic

hasbeenadoptedandpractised

khobors,asa basisofcom-

romtheencompassingsocietyof

hbycertainorganizedreligious

andtheQ uakers,asaguiding

a worldwhere ignorant

B utnevertil lGandhicamealong

dandusedby awholepeople1

shiptothe greatendofpoliticalI

gnin outhA f rica(1894-1914)


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ve,notonlyas thefirstbut

mpleoftheuseofnon-resistanceby

ortheredress ofgrievances.

chwas asold,andasnew,as

therepressionofadespisedminor-

,cruelandall-powerfulma-

fGandhi sfellow-countrymen,

atodothemenia llaborof the

ustice,torturedbydiscrimina-

ndspatuponby aso-calledsu-

dwith miseryandthreatened

tionthedowntroddeninother

nduredanddied,or elsehave

erishedorescapedamidthe

ghter.Gandhi,determined

nshouldnotbow likedumb,

theyokeofoppression,wasequally

ldnotplungethemselvesand

oniesof violenceanddeath.

wndevotedandhighlydis-

betterway.With askill,

l-nighune ampled,hetook

nt,untrainedindenturedlaborers,

land,and,bysheerpowerof

edthemintoasinglebody,and

revoltwhichbroughtthem,after

omtheysought.Gandhi s

ollowerstohaveno partin

deniedthemtheelementary

ration). H isne tstepw astd

o noviolenceupontheirop-

rinjury themselves, buttoreturnno


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nce).A ndhislaststep was

heroicachievementofserving

helpingthem, comingtothe irre lie f

hey fe ll intoneed( oul-force). T

ionbrokeout,Gandhiandhis

oppositioncampaign,andgave

nemies.Whenthe plagueseized

rsedthesickandburiedthe dead

henwarengulfedthecountry,

fieldsof nglishmen,toserve

rthefirst timeinhistory,a

sconductedonthe principleof

i l , butovercomeev ilwithgood. - -

antin theuniverseandinthe

lf,asit alwayswillinthelong

andhisfollowersthereward

d,whenmendoubttheefficacy

avethe iransw erin outhA f rica .

mptedandachievedin outh

scomparedwithallpreviousun-

nksintoinsignificancein the

ntnon-co-operationcampaignin

erialisminIndiain 1919-1922.

leaderofa greatpeople,num-

ndredmillionsof menand

ationalautonomy.H etook

ruce,Washington,Garibaldi,

e supremepatriotsofhuman

artfrom andabovethesemen,

drawtheswordastheneces-

loneamongnationalleaders

heir people,hesoughta


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thissearch, heworkedouta

twhichstandsasa supreme

esmanship.Inthisprogramof

sitwascalled, Gandhishowedhim-

ellasbravestof men.Inhis

astpopulationtoitsperformance,

entpersonalforcetheworld

demonstratedtheefficacyof

winlibertyagainstodds that

ome.If,at thecriticalmoment,

,itwasbecause,inthe intensity

omentousnessoftheissue,

whathehadhimself taught

thenon- resistantmethodmusthave

heswordmaywinorlose every-

nt.Thesoulmusthaveyears,

itsslowbut perfectway.This

cecanwinonlywhentrusted

n, establishedfora llt imeby

tconflict in outhA f rica , Gandhi

ustas esusv iolatedit inhis

torywouldbeimmediate.This

pectationandeffortonthepart

sultedin thecollapseofthe

wninwardmomentum.Gandhi,

yon themassesagreater

erepreparedall atonce,even

ear. B utinIndia , asin outh

proved.Gandhi,nomore than

failurethatshallyetbe retrieved

elfdiscoveredandproclaimed.

ory,andthesurest evidenceof


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himselfsawthereasonof

toundertakethestupendous

erstandingcameto himinthe

nmentatYeravada,afterhis

nd inthelong,quiet hours

hisrelease.(H ehadachieveda

ndia. H ehaddonewhathad

thadbeensaid couldnotbe

nitedthew holenationinonegreatand

ntagainstimperialisminitstyran-

ntsonearlysuccessfulthatit shook

itsfoundations. Gandhi sw asthe

ntinw orldhistory , sa id irGeorge

vernorofB ombay , anditcame

ing. B utthestra inw astoo

peoplebroke.Nowtheworkmust

hathadbeendonein outh

hemustnow doinIndiaona

ntheI ndianpeoplefortheir

e.H emustmaketheminwardly

d,andthusspiritually capable

ingit. Hemustcleanse Indiaof its

endforeverthepolitical,racialand

idethenationand makeitim-

asseseverywheretoself-depend-

iticalandeconomic,inwardly

tual, life.H emustteach

wof love,and,bymaking

it themtobeat lastthemasters

is longconvalescence,un-

ofthe spiritualregeneration


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entereduponthegreatest

bandoned,now,thepolitical

en.H iswasnolongerthe task

es,presidingatpolitical con-

sticpoliticalcampaigns. This

indeed, mustgoon B uta lw ays

igher taskofreachingthe

s henceforwardwashistask.

ntests,orstandards,ofspirit-

e metasaconditionof the

oslemsandHindusmustend

togetheras brethreninacom-

blesmustbedeliveredfromthe

eintowhichthey hadbeencast,

andsympathytothecommonN

stberaisedupto aplaneof

cialequalitywithmen.The

herebeprohibited.Thehome-

ngofclothwornbypatriotic

rywherethenationalcustom,

eofinwardpurityandoutward

musteverymaneschewviolence,

ut hisheart,andseekde-

lenemy(B ritain)bytrans-

ghthealchemyoflove,into

adGandhibegunthisw ork inhis

dorganizediton amodestscale

shram)andfraternalcommunity

sentforththechallengethrough-

of alltheland,andset himself

hetaskof itsfulfilment.

Gandhibecamewhatines-


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hebeginning are ligiousleader.

adappearedasthesk ilfulandsuc-

socialrevolt.InIndia,in 1919-

as thepatrioticleaderofa far-

forindependence.Inboth

,Gandhiwasgreaterthanthe

.H isnon-resistantprogram,

ha scaleandtosuch ends,was

nof mightierforcesinwardly

g,inotherwords,inhis most

orm,Gandhihadbeencon-

ticaland socialaims,butwith

Moretrulythanhehimself

smoving,undertheimpulse

he religiousplane.A ndnow,

ebecamedeliberatelyinaction

tivelybeeninmotiveand idea

phetof thesoul No longerw ashetobe

iticalreformersandnational-

hhewastobereckonedwith the

esofhistory thoseha lf -dozen

hangedtheorder oftheworld.

dof Gandhi slifeis recalled

nts,whatB ritainwasdoingat

hancewasthis forreconciliation

ntwogreatpeoples TheMa-

eensopowerful.Inhis daysof

hihadbeenbeyondallcompare

enceeverknown.Onemay

in vaintofindanyman in-

steacher, militaryconqueror, po lit ica l

hasheldatonetimesovastapowerover


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beingsduring hisownlife-

Gandhihadbeensupreme.

rehissanctity thelearnedrever-

myriadcommonpeoplehailedhis

flungpopulationspeakingdif-

ledgingdifferenttraditions,wor-

dthevastmajorityof them

ehadbeeneverywhereknown,

beyed.Thispersonalinfluence

threehundredmillionsofhis

lleledinthe recordedannals

sinfluencewassuddenlydeep-

einits appeal,notsodramaticin

finiteandtangiblein itscharacter,

s faroverthesurfaceof so-

penetratedtocentralsourcesof

sweepinglikea floodthat

sa hiddenriverwhichfeeds

cape.Gandhinowheld not

ncebutalsothe spjritual-awe

sownchoice hewasremoved

sialpoliticalreform.H ewas

piritualleader,concernedwith

dtheirdedicationtogreat causes

W astherenostatesmanin

oseethisfact Isthereadoom

mpirecouldnottakeadvantage

handswithGandhiforthesal-

pire, andthew orld

pyconsummationwasunques-

nglishToriesininterpreting

rementasasignofhislossof jn-


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ndof iisactivit iesasapopular

eyargued,isabrokenreed,a

eoftheB ritishadministration

ghimhas achievedthedecisive

wersand shatteringhispower.

seand recovery,toresumethe

ople,is aconfessionoffailure

e isgone. H eno longerleadsbe-

ow.Whatwas forafewmonths,

alsources,thegreatestsingle

mpire,hasnowdwindledto

nsofanakedlittle mansur-

reformersin anobscurecorner

ingof thisman,theycontinued,

ritaincanproceedtowork out

rownadvantage,thedestinies

rita inwentahead stupidly ,

andrepeatedthatearlierrecordofar-

hichhadwroughtsuchperil at

ar.Fourthingshappenedin

epeopleof Indiaintoaneven

pairandwraththan thatwhich

operationcampaignof1919-1922.

oquotean nglish iberal,

dsthatshouldneverhavebeen

dIndiawas providedwiththe

andhiconfrontedby aB irken-

aps,thedestinyof B ritish

symbolized. uchco llocationsmay

.Theyarenotseldomthe turn-

mperialdestiny.

nofanecessaryrevisionof the0-


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ethat,if B ritaindidnotact

ewouldagainorganizeand

idenon-resistantmovementfor

dhiisfulfillingat thishour.

andthisnew organizationof

ampaignagainstthe mpire,

iationoftheMahatma sconvic-

mustlearntomasterthem-

akethemasteryoftheirgovern-

rationmustprecedeatta inment. B ut

anuarydemonstratedthatprepara-

HavenotGandhi sspiritua llaborsa lready

ow otherw isee pla inthatsub-

ine,patience,forbearance,forti-

cialsufferingonthepartof

whichisto-daywriting inIndia

story Furthermore,theIndian

havecometoa newrevelation

H eseesatlastthatstruggle isitse lf

theverysuf feringincidenttothebattle

eand perfectpreparationfor

epresentcampaign,saidGandhi,

er,YoungIndia,is designed

ndence,buttoarm thepeoplewith

emustdeliberatelyseekwounds,

owdeclares,that bythedis-

conquer ourenemiesandat

sfor emancipationfromtheir

hi aGandhimoreprofound,

lethanbefore.H ehasatlast


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sseekingto doforIndiaandfor

ow w hat esusw asasasa int,

edtodo, asasavior,wehave

astothisgreatestmanin the

Gandhi,wemust beholdthe

eracehasthepowerof thespirit

nglenessofe pressionasinthis

toe plainthematchlesschar-

spersonisstripped asnakedof

es.H isphysicalpresenceiscom-

ntellectualcapacity,ascom-

meagre. Unlik e esus, hecom-

UnlikeMohammed,hehasno

peramentandwill.A mongre-

earerto t.Francis,perhaps,

venherehelacks thatlovely

tiveinstinctofpoetryand

suchimmortalfragranceinthe

eF low ers. A f rail, puny, utterlyun-

heMahatma.B utinthistrivial

burnsa lightthat neverw as

deepandlustrouseyes, hislove ly

mind,hisgentlenessandpeace

theserevea latoncethe inner

hi spersonalityineveryother

eand thusmakeplainhisessen-

encanbee pla inedbygif ts

ersonality,orintellect,or

neofthesethings.Clothedupon

ffleshlyincarnationever

ksamongusaspurespirit.


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soformidableMahatma

politicalleadership.Theinherent-

coupledwith hiscontrolof

undamentalhumanrelation-

f overwhelmingimportancein

world.If theyhadbeenwise,

orswouldhavewelcomedhisnew

ership,anduseditas aconstruc-

orisitnow too late It isnever

gneedful.Forit isGandhi,and

a lways, toquoteC. F . A ndrews,

e inIndianpo lit ica ll if e , w hohas

thee istingsituation.Failing

accord ofallgoodmen,India

eeksubmission,butflameinto

metheworld.Gandhi hasfor

ankind, thew ayof lif e . Will

asthey refuseditoncebefore

es .


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O F C OM MO N I ND I A N W O R D

spect

g Great oul

ng R evered

. Dasmeaning

T ilak meaning

le

entto squire

Mahatma

ad

Rabindranath

Mahatma

war

stance

e

-force

and-spinningMovement

Terms

Muhammad


43/390

N DH I

k s

ymnsof India

sophy

e g en d s

igiousduty

ReligionofCaste

odo Hindure ligion

n o r th od o H i n du

aste(knowledge)

Caste(rule)

ste(trade,agriculture)

aste(labour)

es

ststageofthe religiouslife

ge ofthereligiouslife

stage ofthereligiouslife

ageofthereligiouslife

na l picw here in rishna isthe


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gavadGita is

orthIndiaw here in

o

n, one sow n

sandfivehundred

nhundredand


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ND H I H I O W N T OR Y


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eB aniacaste andseem

ailtraders.B utforthreegen-

meMinistersin several athia-

ndGandhi,calledOtaGandhi,my

eenamanofprinciples. tate

leavePorbandar,wherehewas

n unagadh.Therehesaluted

d. omeonenoticingtheap-

orane planationwhichwas

ndis alreadypledgedtoPor-

ndtime,having losthis

nsby hisfirstwifeand two

childhoodIdonot thinkIever

s ofOtaGandhiwerenotall

thof thesesi brotherswas

ow asca lled abaGandhi the

hi. B oththesebrothersw erePrime

afterthe other. abaGandhi

rsometime thePrimeMinister

nk aner. Hew asapensionerof

edied.

urtimesin succession,having

death.H ehadtwodaughters

b-divisionofthe V aishyaCaste.Itsoriginaloccupation

ulture . ee MahatmaGandhi sIdeas, page28.

allpeninsulaonthee tremew estof India . It isdiv idedinto

tateswhichhavetheircentreat Rajkot.Thechief

alledDiwan.


49/390


rriages.H islastwife,Putlibai,

ree sons,ofwhomIwasthe

sclan,truthful,braveand

ered.Toacertaine tenthemay

rnalpleasures.For hemarried

wasoverforty.B uthewas

edanamefor strictimpar-

wellasoutside.H isloyaltyto

. A nA ssistantPo litica lA gent

ce,and hestooduptothe

yandasked abaGandhito

todo andwasthereforekept

ours.B utwhentheagentsaw

adamantheorderedhimtobe

mbitionto accumulateriches

erty.H ehadnoeducation,

f historyandgeographyhe

che perience inpractica la ffa irs

utionofthe mostintricate

mtomanagehundredsofmen.

s training,buthepossessedthat

hefrequentvisitingof temples

on H indureligion.Inhis last

eGita attheinstanceofa learned

mily,andhe usedtorepeat

ayatthe timeofworship.

onthatmymotherhasleft

saintliness. K e~w asdeeply re-

nkoftaking hermealswithout

sittothe templewasoneofher


50/390

ymemorycangoback, Idonot

rmissedherreligiousfasts.

estvowsandkeep themwithout

cuseforrela ingthem. Ican

henshewasobservinga

buttheillnesswasnot allowedto

pline.Tokeeptwo orthree

hingtoher. ivingononemeal

sahabitwithher. Notcontent

etelyoneachalternateday

tanothertime,shevowednot

gthesun. We childrenon

aringatthe sky,waitingto

hesun sappearance. A tthe

he sunnotseldomremains

y andIcan recalldayswhen,

earanceaftertherain,we would

her. hew ouldcomeoutto

butby thattimeperhapsthe

,thusdeprivingher ofher

atter, shew ouldsaycheerfully .

toeatto -day . Thenshew ould

es.

monsense. hewaswell

sof tate,andladiesofthe

intelligence.OftenI would

ngtheprivilegeofchildhood

ylivelydiscussionsshehad

oftheThakor ahib.

hat Iwasbornat Porbandar

hereIpassedmychildhoodand

chool.Itwaswith somedif-


51/390


hemultiplicationtables.The

gmoreofthosedaysthanof

withotherboys,to abuseour

ggestthatmyintellectmust

tthat timeandmymemoryraw.

en yearsoldwhenmyfather

becomeamemberof the

primaryschool,andI can

s,includingthenamesandother

whotaughtme. A satPor-

is hardlyanythingspecialto

dI couldonlyhavebeena

mthisschoolI wenttothesuburban

ighschool,havingalready

donot rememberhavingever

periodofmy life,eitherto

oolmates.Iusedtobe-yj ry-_shy

pany . B ook sandlessonsw eremy

ydailyhabit tobeinschool

ndtorunback homeassoon

iterally Iranback, becauseI

ybodyandwasevenafraid

natme.

occurredatthee amination

highschool,whichis worth

ducationalInspector,hadcome

ehadsetus fivewordstowrite

Oneof thewordsw as k ettle . I

rtried topromptmewiththe

ldnotbe prompted.Itwas

wantedmetocopythespelling

ate forIhadthoughtthatthe


52/390

viseus againstcopying.The

s,e ceptmyself,werefoundto

ctly.OnlyI hadbeenstupid.

bringthisstupidityhometo

forcopyingwassomethingI

ettheincidentdidnot inthe

ormy teacher.Iwasbynature

rs. ater, Icametok now of

eacher butmyregardfor

orI hadlearnttocarryout the

antheiractions.

gingtothesame periodhave

ry.A sarule Ihadadistaste

eyondmyschool books.The

e,becauseIdislikedbeingtaken

muchasI dislikeddeceivinghim.

ssons,but oftenwithoutmy

venthe lessonscouldnotbe

fcourseno questionofany

mehow myeyesfe llonabook pur-

asaplayabout hravana sde-

readit withintenseinterest.

bout thesametimesomeitin-

epicturesthat wasshownby

rying,bymeansofslingsfitted

parentsonapilgrimage.The

nindelibleimpressiononmy

ampleforyoutocopy , Isa idto

entoftheparentsover hra-

shinmymemory.Themelting

dI playeditonac oncertina

asedforme.


53/390


tconnectedwith another

me, Ihadsecuredmyfather s

erformedbyacertaindramatic

ishchandra . Itcapturedmy

tiredofsee ingit. B ut

mittedtogo Ithauntedme,

arishchandra tomyself t imes

shouldnota llpersonsbetruth-

w asthequestionIask edmy-

owtruthandtogothrough

shchandrawentthroughwasthe

nspiredinme.Q uiteliterally

arishchandra.Thememory

ep.Mycommonsensetells

andracouldnothavebeenahis-

me,bothH arishchandraand

lt ies andIamsure Ishouldbe

fI weretoreadthoseplays

tiveIknowthatI shallhave

ughts butIcannot doother-

hipperof Truth.Itismy

cordfirstofall mymarriage

sIseetheyoungstersof the

reundermy care,andthink

inclinedtopitymyselfand

vingescapedmylot. Icansee

ortof suchapreposterously

etthereadermakeno mistake.

d.Forin athiawarthere

thaland marriage.B etrothal

ntheparto f theparentsof


54/390

eminmarriage,and itisnot

eboyentailsno widowhood

greementbetweentheparents

rnwith it.Oftentheyarenot

appearsthatIwasbetrothed

owwhen.Iwastoldthattwo

rmehaddiedinturn and

betrothedthreetimes.H ow-

ctionthatthethirdbetrothal

ear.NeverthelessI donot

medaboutit.In whatInow

taboutmybetrothalbutabout

vethe clearestrecollection.

twewerethreebrothers.

ed.Theeldersdecided to

mysecondbrother,anda cousin

etime.Inthisthere wasno

chlessour wishes.Itwas

ownconvenienceandeconomy.

snosimplematter.The parents

groomoftenbringthemselves

theirsubstanceandtheirtime.

makingclothesand ornaments

dinners. achtriestooutdo

ndvarietyofcoursestobe

ertheyhavea voiceorno,sing

engetill,anddisturb thepeace

ntheir turnquietlyputup

stle,dirtandfilth,which

heweddingfeast,becausethey

ewhentheyalsowillbebe-

It wouldbebetter,thought


55/390


botheroveronceandforall.

dbe lesse penseandgreater

reelybespent,if thee pense

reetimesover.Myfatherand

n,and wewerethelastchil-

hattheywantedtohavethis

sbeforetheydied.Inviewof

tripleweddingwasdecided

adbefore , monthsw eretak enup

reparationsthat wegot

nt.I donotthinkit meantto

eprospectof goodclothesto

ageprocessions,richdinners,

with.Thecarnaldesire came

hecurta inovermyshame, e -

hrecording.TotheseIshall

enbackfromRajkotto

aDiwan,buta servantofthe

obecausehewasin favourwith

atterw ouldnotlethimgountil

edidso,he orderedmyfather

ucingthejourneybytwo days.

otherwise.Porbandarisone

fromRajkot,whichmeansa

y fatherwastocompletethe

coachtoppledoverduringthe

edsevereinjuries.H earrived

hisandour interestinthecom-

ed,butthe ceremonyhadto

ouldthe marriagedatesbe


56/390

grieveovermy father sin-

ementatthewedding.

adevotedson,butnonethe

assionsoftheflesh.I hadto

uldbe sacrificedindevoted

ndyet,asthoughby wayof

orpleasure,anincident hap-

ter on,thathaseversince

ulanandsings: Renunciation

unciationofdesires,is short-

may try. WheneverIsingthis

bitteruntowardincidentrushes

withshame.

vefaceinspite ofhisin-

thewedding.A sIthink of

e foremymind seyetheplaces

hroughthedifferentdetailsof

Idreamthen, thatIshould

inlaterlifefor havingmarried

y thingonthatdayseemedtome

ant.Therewas alsomyown

andaseverythingthatmy

asbeyondreproach,therecol-

tillfreshinmy memory.Ican

at onourweddingseat how

ensteps ; 3how thenew lyw edded

weetmeatintoeach other s

tolivetogether.Twoinnocent

yhurlingthemselvesinto

a lled S aptapada, aretak entogetherbyaHindubrideand

kepromisesofmutualfidelityanddevotion,afterwhich

evocable. Thesw eetmeat, ca lled K ansar, isaprepara-

r eattogetherafterthecompletionofthe ceremony.


57/390


er swifehadthoroughly

aviouronthefirst night.Ido

dmywife.I haveneverasked

edto dosonow.Thereader

toonervoustofaceeachother.

hy . How w asItota lk toher

Thecoachingcouldnotcarryme

eallynecessaryinsuchmatters.

merbirthare potentenough

fluous.W egraduallybegan

speakfreelytogether.We were

no timeinassumingtheauthority

a inedthatIw asapupila t

ewhenIwasmarried.W ethree

hesameschool.My eldest

herclass,andthebrotherwho

me asIwasonly oneclass

ultedinboth ofuswastinga

sworseformy secondbrother

altogether.H eavenknowshow

meplightas he.Onlyinour

doschoolandmarriagegothus

nued.Iwas notregarded

oolbut alwaysenjoyedthe

ertificatesofprogressandchar-

rparentseveryyear andmine

arasIcanrecollectIhadnot

wnintellectualability,butI

ycharacter.Theleastlittle

yeyes.W henImerited(or


58/390

erit) arebuke,itwasquiteun-

ceivedcorporalpunishment.

otaffectme somuchasthe

dmydesert.When ithappened

whenI wasinthefirst or

asanothersimilarincidentdur-

theseventhstandard.Dorabji

master.H ewaspopularamong

plinarian,amanofmethodand

madegymnasticsandcricketcom-

perstandards.Idislikedschool

enpartinanye ercisesuchas

eyweremadecompulsory.

reasonsforthisaloofness,

g. B utatthattimeIhadthe

csandschoolgameshad noth-

To-dayIknowthatphysical

chplace inthecurriculumas

tion,however,thatIwasnone

ome ercise,becauseIhadread

sof longwalksintheopenair

eI hadformedahabitoftaking

nedwithmeever since,and

eafairly hardyconstitution.

r gymnasticswasmykeen

tomy father. A ssoonasthe

rry homeandbeginserving

secamedirectlyinthe wayof

requestedMr.Gimitoe empt

tI mightbefreetoservemy

sten tome.Nowitso hap-

y , w henw ehadourschoo linthe


59/390


hometotheschoolfor gym-

ntheaf ternoon. Ihadnowatch,

ceivedme.B eforeIreached

lle f t. Thene tdayMr. Gimi

dmemark edabsent. B e ingask ed

d himwhathadoccurred,

e andorderedmetopaya

Thatdeeplypainedme. H ow

nce Therewasnow ay. Icried

tamanoftruth mustalsobe

efirstandlast instanceofmy

vea faintrecollectionoffinally

ne remitted.

ercisewasofcourseobtained,

to theheadmastersayingthat

erschool.B utthoughIwas

neglectede ercise,Iamstill

herneglect.Thenotioncame

handwritingwasnota neces-

I retainedituntilI wentto

in outhA f rica , Isaw thebeau-

sandyoungmenwhowere

countryIwasashamedofmy-

glect.I sawthatbadhand-

asa signofimperfecteduca-

emine,butit wastoolate.

hcouldneverbe repaired.It

ldrenshouldfirstbetaught

learninghow tow rite. etthe

bservationjustashedraws

owersandbirds. ethimlearn


60/390

aslearntto drawobjects.H e

formedhand.

fmyschooldaysare worth

earbecauseofmymarriage,

eto makegoodthelossbyskip-

privilegeusuallyallowedtoin-

hadonlysi monthsinthe

motedtothe fourthafterthe

becamethemediumof instruction

fourthstandardonward,and

pletelyatsea.Geometrywas

asnotparticularlystrong,and

nstructionmadeitsti l lmore

rtaughtthe subjectwell,but

enIwouldloseheart and

thirdstandard,feelingthatthe

tudiesintoasingleyear wastoo

otonlydiscredit me,butalso

untingonmyindustryhe had

tion. othefearof thedouble

ost.When, however,withmuch

nthpropositionof uclid,the

ssuddenlyrevealedtome.A

dthesimpleuse ofone srea-

difficult. versincethattime

asyandinterestingfor me.

dahardertask.Ingeometry,

morise w hereasin ansk rit

tby heart.Thissubjectalso

fourthstandard.A ssoonasI

medisheartened.Theteacherwas

ous, asIthought, to forcethe


61/390


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arntheirsubjectsthrougha

earningall theselanguages

sk,but aperfectpleasure.A

elanguagemakesaknowledge

rativelyeasy.


63/390

thehigh school

o whomightbecalledinti-

hipsdidnot lastlong,though

egavemeup,becauseI

r.Thislatter friendshipIre-

e.Itlasteda longtimeand

reformer.Thiscompanion

ther sfriend.Theywereclass-

weaknesses,butIregarded

mother,myeldestbrother,

atI wasinbadcompany.Iwas

edmyw ife sw arning. B utI

gainst theopinionofmy

her.NeverthelessIpleaded

owhehasthe weaknessesyou

notknowhisvirtues.H ecan-

semyassociationwithhim is

r Iamsureif hemendshis

dman.Ibegyounot tobe

them,buttheyaccepted

megomyw ay . incethen, Ihave

wrongly.Onewhotriesto

ordtohavecloseintimacywith

efriendshipis anidentityof

thisworld.Onlybetween

bealtogetherworthyand en-

eanother.H ence,infriend-


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opeforthereformationofa

talle clusiveintimaciesare

armorereadilytakesin vicethan

dbe friendswithGodmust

wholeworldhis friend.Imay

cultivateanintimatefriend-

inotherdirectionsw assweeping

enI firstcameacrossthis

manyofourteacherswere

ine.H ealsonamedmanywell

belongingtothe samecom-

ehighschoolboys among

waspainfullysurprisedand

n. Hee pla inedittomeinthis

people , hesa id, becausew edo

shareabletoruleoverus, be-

rs.YouknowhowhardyIam,

isbecauseIam ameat-eater.

oilsortumours andevenif

ohaveany,theyhealquickly.

inguishedpeoplewhoeat meat

virtues.Youshoulddolike-

rying.Try andseewhat

fofmeat-eatingwerenotad-

Theywerethesubstanceofa

entwhichmyfriendwastrying

me totime.Myelderbrother

ereforesupportedhim.Icer-

dbythesideofmybrother and

werehardier,stronger,and


65/390


66/390

tuponme, andIw asatlast

onmethatmeat-eatingwas

ke-ine-strong.anddaringsthatif.

o itthe nglishcouldbeover-

edforbeginningthee peri-

tedinsecret.TheGandhiswere

swereparticularlystaunchintheir

tsown temples. ainism

ts influencewasfeltevery-

.The oppositiontoandabhor-

e istedinGujaratamongthe

sw astobeseennow heree lsee ither

suchstrength.Thesewere

hich Iwasborn,andI was

yparents.Themomentthatthey

havingeaten meattheywould

over,myloveoftruth mademe

t possibleformetosay that

haveto deceivemyparents

utmymindw asbenton re-

stionofpleasingthepalate.There

dthatmeathadaparticularly

at Iwishedtobestrong and

ntrymenalsoto bethesame,

odefeatthe nglishandmak e

w araj (se lf-government)Ihad

wwhatfreedommeant.The

establishedinIndiaduringthesameepochastheB uddhist

netsisthestrict abstentionfromtakingthelifeof

wingpartly totheinfluenceofthe ainfaiththat

obtainedsuchaholdof thereligiousconsciousnessof

aishnavassometimesretain,alongwiththeirownfaith,

e.Thiswas thepracticeinthe Gandhifamily.


67/390


ndedme. A ndhav ingensured

lfthatmerehidingthe deed

parturefromtruth.

ficultfullyto describemy

eonehand,the zealfor re-

noveltyofmakingamomentous

son theotherhandtheshame

erto dothisverything.W hich

tit wouldbeimpossibletosay.

onelyspotbytheriver,and there

meinmy life . Wehadalso

ashion.Neithergavemeany

tw asastoughasleatherandI

eed,Ibecamesosick thatI

.

rybad night.A horriblenight-

ry timeIdroppedof f tosleep, it

e goatwerebleatinginside

upfullo f remorse. B utthenI

whatIhad donewasaduty,

orecheerful.Myfriendwas

enowbegantocookvarious

eatand dressthemneatly.

ng,nolongerthesecluded spot

buta tatehouse, w ithitsdining

about,whichmyfriendhad

usionwiththechiefcook there.

otovermydislik efor nglish

mpassionforthegoats,andbe-

shes,ifnotofmeatitself. This

utnotmorethanhalf adozen

yedina ll becausethe tate


68/390

eryday,andtherewas the

requentlye pensivesavoury

ney topay forthis re form.

waystofind thewherewithal

romwhencehefoundit.B ut

wasbentonturning meintoa

smeansmusthavebeenlimited,

adnecessarilyto befewandfar

toindulgein thesesurrepti-

ewasout ofthequestion.My

kmetocomeand takemyfood

onwhy Ididnotwish toeat.

ay, Iw ouldsay, there issome-

tion. Itwasnotwithoutcom-

seprete ts.IknewI waslying,

lso I w asawarethatifmy

hearof myhavingbecomea

eshockedbeyondwords.This

tmyheart.ThereforeIsaidto

sentia ltoeatmeat, andalsoto

yetdece iv ingandly ingtoone s

sethanabstinencefrommeat.

,therefore,suchthingsmustbe

nmyparentshavepassedaway

dom,thenIwilleatmeat

mentarrivesI willabstain

tedtomy friend,andIhave

nit. Myparentsneverknew

r sonshadcommitted.Thus

lastoutofthe purityofmy


69/390


ents butIdidnotabjurethe

zealfor settinghimrighthad

andallthe timeIwascom-

fact.

haveledmeinto faithless-

ssavedby anarrowmargin.

abrothel.H esentmein with

.Itwasall prearranged.The

wentintothejawsof sin,

cyprotectedmeagainstmy-

nd anddumbinthisden of

utcommittingthedeedfor

me.I feltasthoughmyman-

dwishedto sinkintotheground

ersince giventhankstoGod

recallfourmoresimilarin-

nmostof themmygoodfortune

y partsavedme.Froma

,all theseoccasionsmustbe

forthecarnalpassionwasthere,

act.B utfromtheordinary

preservedfromphysically

assaved.A ndIwaskeptfrom

rearesomeactionsfromwhich

thforthemanwhoescapes and

ssoon ashegetsback his

ankfultothe divinemercyfor

thata humanbeingoftensuc-

evermuchhemayresistit, we

denceoftenintercedesand

elf.H owallthishappens

ee tow hate tenthe isacreature


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f a rfateentersonthescene a ll

emainamystery.

ory. venthiswasfarf rom

ousnessof myfriend scom-

ymorebitterdraughtsin store

yopenedbyan oculardemon-

sesquiteune pectedbyme.

thing,however,I mustmen-

othesameperiod.Oneof the

withmywifewasundoubtedly

I wasbothadevotedand

riendfannedtheflameof my

nevercould doubthisverac-

ivenmyselfthe violenceof

noftenhavingpainedmywife

on.OnlyaH induwifetolerates

swhy Ihavealwaysregarded

ftolerance.A servantwrongly

hisjob asoninthesamecase

oof a f riendmayputanendto

venifshe suspectsherhusband,

husbandsuspectsher,sheis

o A Hinduw ifemaynotseek

aw hasnoredressforher. A nd

vemyselfforhavingdriven

n.

wasrootedout onlywhenI

ll itsbearings.Isawthen the

3andrealisedthatthewife isnot

allyinnocence,non-violence.Initspositiveaspect,it has

ns,literally,conductthatleadsonetoGod.Its technical

particularlycontinence.


71/390


ebuthiscompanionandhis help-

erina llhisjoysandsorrows

chooseherownpath.W henever

ofdoubtandsuspicion,I am

ly andmylustfulcruelty,

votiontomyfriend.

ofmyfailingsduringthis

it, whichdatefrombefore

relativeandIbecamefond

wanygood insmoking,or

ellofa cigarette.We simply

in emittingcloudsofsmoke

hadthe habit andwhenwe

ghtweshouldcopyhis e -

money. ow ebeganpilfering

hadbeenthrownawayby my

renotalwaysavailable,and

keeither. ow ebegantostea l

spocketmoneyinorder topur-

utthequestionwaswhereto

,ofcourse,smokein thepres-

ehowwemanagedforafew

pperstoget Indiancigarettes.

thatthe stalksofacertain

uldbesmoked. ow egotthem

oking.B utwewerefarfrom

ingsas these.Ourwantof

rtus.It wasunbearablethatwe

ythingwithoutthepermission

heer disgust,wedecidedto


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t F romwhatplacew erew e

eardthatDaturaseedsw erean

enttothejungle insearchof

ndobta inedthem. veningw asthoughtto

ew entto edarjiMandir, 4put

e-lamp, paidavisitto the

a lonelycorner.B utourcour-

gwewerenotinstantlykilled

of killingourselvesafterall

ththelackofindependence

edtwoorthreeseeds.W edid

othofusnowfoughtshy of

oRamjiMandir tocompose

he thoughtofsuicide.ThusI

easytocommitsuicide asto

atevening,wheneverIhaveheard

commitsuicide,ithas hadlittle

matelyresultedin bothof

smokingstumpsof cigarettes

scoppersforthe purposeof

nward,eversinceIhave

neverdesiredtosmoke.The

to appeartomebarbarous,

verunderstoodwhythere

gthroughouttheworld.It is

otravelin acompartmentfull

omechokedfor wantoffresh

hanthis theftwastheoneI

Thisothertheftwascom-


73/390


n thiscase,Istole abitof

gbrother sarmlet.Thisbrother

uttwenty-fiverupees.H ehad

idgold.It wasnotdifficultto-

hedebtcleared. B utthisbe-

ear.Iresolvednevertosteal

mindtoconfessit tomyfather.

ak. NotthatIw asaf ra idofmy

autobiography of mahatma gandhi

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