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Bookreview 160421070411
Bookreview 160421070411
Name:-
Branch:-civil-A
Enrollment No:-
ROLL NO:- 28
Year:-2015-2016
Submitted To:-
Prof.:-
Sub:-Communication skills(2110002)
Humanities & Science Department
Book’s Name:-
Auther’s Name:-
Pubblication Details:-
GANDHI BOOK CENTRE
Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal 299,
Tardeo Raod,
Nana Chowk Bombay - 7
INDIA 3872061
email: info@mkgandhi-sarvodaya.org
www:mkgandhi-sarvodaya.org
NAVAJIVAN PUBLISHING HOUSE AHMEDABAD-380014
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PRICE:-RS. 199/-
Character:-
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the preeminent leader of the Indian
independence movement in British-ruled India. Employing nonviolent civil
disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil
rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahatma (Sanskrit: "high-
souled", "venerable") applied to him first in 1914 in South Africa is now used
worldwide. He is also called Bapu in India.
of Gandhi.
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It is a detailed account of Gandhi’s consisting of Gandhi’s self penned essays
(105 essays in all) on his experiments and covers all aspects of the Mahatma’s
spiritual life.
This Autobiography is divided in five parts starting from his childhood days, his
experiments on fundamental principles of Truth and God, till the year 1921,
after which his life was so public that he felt there was hardly anything to
write about.
Gandhi’s Non-violent struggle in South Africa and India had already brought
him to such a level of notoriety, adulation and controversy that when asked to
violence and colonialism, Gandhi felt that his ideas needed deeper
God and attributed the turning point, success and challenges in his life to the
will of God.
Gandhi says that his attempt to get closer to this divine power led him seek
purity through simple living, dietary practices (he called himself a fruitarian),
celibacy and ahimsa- a life without violence. It is in this sense that he calls his
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book “The Story of My Experiments with Truth”, offering it also as a
Gandhi’s Autobiography is one of the best sellers and is translated in nearly all
languages of the world. Perhaps never before on so grand scale has any man
succeeded in shaping the course of history while using the weapon of Peace –
Ahimsa (Non-violence).
To many it will have the value of a new Bible or a new Gita; for here are
words that have come out from the depth of truth, here is tireless striving
“confession of Gandhi’s faith, a very basic document for the study of his
thought”
What first strikes you about Gandhi's autobiography is the strange wording of the title:-
If it had been a mere political life story, the title would have read
something like 'An Autobiography: How I Liberated India from British
Rule'. But right from the beginning of the book, Gandhi is at pains to
point out that it is not simply a description of events (although it does
provide this), but the recording of his efforts to isolate 'truth' amid the
chaos of normal existence.
What makes the book doubly interesting is that it was written before he
became a famous world figure. He did not, after all, return to live in India
until 1915, when he in his mid-40s, and he was not then the white-robed
figure we think of today but a lawyer in a suit with a family. The
salutary term 'Mahatama' (great soul) had yet to stick, and he was still
able to travel around India without getting mobbed. Whereas biographical
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dictionaries devote most of their entries to Gandhi's political work in
India, three quarters of the Autobiography is devoted to his youth and
the 21 years of his adult life that he spent working for the rights of
Indians in South Africa.
Wherever he was, though, the constants in Gandhi's life were his various
experiments, the main ones being vegetarianism, celibacy, non-violence and
simple living. Each of these were expressions of larger philosophical/spiritual
concepts that he drew from Hinduism: brahmacharya; ahimsa; and
aparigraha. No understanding of Gandhi is possible without at least having
some awareness of these terms and what they meant to him.
Written originally in his native Gurjarati, the book did not appear in
English until 1957. Though rather long, it is broken up into short, clearly
titled chapters on the essential episodes in his life, and is one of the more
gripping life stories you are likely to read.
Final word:-
Gandhi never liked the title Mahatma, as he did not think of himself as a great
man. Far from being a trumpet-blowing exercise, his autobiography was designed
to objectively detail his discoveries and his failures in relation to right principles
and spiritual truth, and he never claims to have been perfect.
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Gandhi believed ahimsa had to be central to a quest for truth, because
any effort to achieve an aim would ultimately be self-defeating if it
involved mental or physical injury to our fellow sentient beings. To attack
another person, for instance, was like attacking our own selves, since we
were all simply representations of the Creator.
But how exactly was this concept translated into Gandhi's famous political
activism?
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Let the reader make no mistake. I was married, not betrothed. For in
Kathiawad there are two distinct rites, betrothal and marriage. Betrothal
is a preliminary promise on the part of the parents of the boy and the
girl to join them in marriage, and it is not inviolable. The death of the
boy entails no widowhood on the girl. It is an agreement purely between
the parents, and the children have no concern with it. Often they are not
even informed of it. It appears that I was betrothed thrice, though
without my knowledge. I was told that two girls chosen for me had died
in turn, and therefore I infer that I was betrothed three times. I have a
faint recollection, however, that the third betrothal took place in my
seventh year. But I do not recollect having been informed about it. In the
present chapter I am talking about my marriage, of which I have the
clearest recollection.
It will be remembered that we were three brothers. The first was already
married. The elders decided to marry my second brother, who was two or
three years my senior,a cousin, possibly a
year older, and me, all at the same time. In doing so there was no
thought of our welfare, much less our wishes. It was purely a question of
their own convenience and economy.
Marriage among Hindus is no simple matter. The parents of the bride and
the bridegroom often bring themselves to ruin over it. They waste their
substance, they waste their time. Months are taken up over the
preparations in making clothes and ornaments and in preparing budgets for
dinners. Each tries to outdo the other in the number and variety of
courses to be prepared. Women, whether they have a voice or no, sing
themselves hoarse, even get ill, and disturb the peace of their neighbours.
these in their turn quietly put up with all the turmoil and bustle all the
dirt and filth, representing the remains of the feasts, because they know
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that a time will come when they also will be behaving in the same
manner.
It was only through these preparations that we got warning of the coming
event. I do not think it meant to me anything more than the prospect of
good clothes to wear, drum beating, marriage processions, rich dinners and
a strange girl to play with. The carnal desire came later. I propose to
draw the curtain over my shame, except for a few details worth
recording. To these I shall come later. But even they have little to do
with the central idea I have kept before me in writing this story.
My father was a Diwan, but nevertheless a servant, and all the more so
because he was in favour with the Thakore Saheb. The latter would not
let him go until the last moment. And when he did so, he ordered for my
father special stage coaches, reducing the journey by two days. But the
fates had willed otherwise. Porbandar is 120 miles from Rajkot, a cart
journey of five days. My father did the distance in three, but the coach
toppled over in the third stage, and he sustained severe injuries. He
arrived bandaged all over. Both his and our interest in the coming event
was half destroyed, but the ceremony had to be gone through. For how
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could the marriage dates be changed? However, I forgot my grief over my
father's injuries in the childish amusement of the wedding.
My father put on a brave face in spite of his injuries, and took full part
in the wedding. As I think of it, I can even today call before my mind's
eye the places where he sat as he went through the different details of
the ceremony. Little did I dream then that one day I should severely
criticize my father for having married me as a child. Everything on that
day seemed to me own right and proper and pleasing. There was also my
own eagerness to get married. And as everything that my father did then
struck me as beyond reproach, the recollection of those things is fresh in
my
memory. I can picture to myself, even today, how we sat on our wedding
dais, how we performed the Saptapadi how we, the newly wedded husband
and wife, put the sweet Kansar into each other's mouth, and how we
began to live together. And oh! that first night.Two innocent children all
unwittingly hurled themselves into the ocean of life. My brother's wife
had thoroughly coached me about my behaviour on the first night. I do
not know who had coached my wife. I have never asked her about it, nor
am I inclined to do so now. The reader may be sure that we were too
nervous to face each other. We were certainly too shy. How was I to talk
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to her, and what was I to say? The coaching could not carry me far. But
no coaching is really necessary in such matters. The impressions of the
former birth are potent enough to make all coaching superfluous. We
gradually began to know each other, and to speak freely together. We
were the same age. but I took no time in assuming the authority of a
husband.
REVIEW :-
In his book, Mr. Gandhi has described his life as a series of experiments,
he performed, on truth, non-violence, brahmacharya , dietetics,
hydropathy, naturopathy etc.
He completed his law from England, and after that spent most of his life
in South Africa. Its there he did lots of experiments with his life. And,
these were which made the changes in him. It’s worth studying the
adversaries he faced in there, but he never compromised with his ideologies
and believes.
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I call this arrogance. One may see it as a very haughty attitude, but
there's a glimpse of 'positive arrogance' in it. He lived, and subsequently
died, believing in his ideologies. Every legend (be it Hitler, Mao Ts Tung,
Winston Churchill, Benjamin Franklin etc.) had some arrogance in him/her
(whether good or bad, positive or negative), and that's why history (and
we) remembers him/her.
I would suggest everyone to read this book, as it’s a live example of how
modesty, wisdom, and humiliation adapt themselves in making of a
MAHATMA.
Gandhiji’s influence on India is a topic for another post. This book is his
autobiography and his views of what was going on around him during the
beginnings of the movement for a free and independent India. It is a
classic, however don’t expect it to prepare you for Indian culture like
other books might.
Aside from being challenged by his faith and life, the biggest takeaway I
got from this book was how common of an Indian Gandhiji was. He talks in
detail about his family. He obsesses over food and vegetarianism. He is
consumed both with very noble thoughts and very common, ordinary
thoughts. After reading this, Gandhiji comes across as the true “common
man” to emulate.
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The book covers his life up until 1921, about the time his international
fame was starting to spread. Despite not covering the later part of his
life, you get a great perspective into his character, values, and travels,
which stay consistent throughout his life.
I was really benefited by the book and I believe its really helpful for
others too. Talking about the merits it goes so long like getting many
benefits and helpful tips for living life with the help of truth and non-
violence.
Well talking about demerits of the book I didn’t found any of it but
frankly saying its fonts are small to read. Orelse it’s a very good book and
I request all others too to read it.
1) Understanding oneself:
To learn a potentially valuable insight into a life and thought process of a
one in millions man. and motivations and struggles in the minds of human
beings.
OPINIONS:-
Gandhi's autobiography, which he had titled 'My experiments with Truth'
can be rated as one of the most popular and the most influential books in
the recent history. It was written at the instance of Swami Anand. It
appeared in the Weekly 'Navjivan' during 1925-28. It covers Gandhi's life
up to 1920. He did not cover the period after that as it was well known
to the people and most of the concerned persons were alive. Besides he
felt that his experiments in that period were yet to yield definite
conclusions.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
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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
Recommendation:-
It’s recommended to read it once in your life and to swallow the morals
of the chapters and always to walk on the path of truth and non-
violence.
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