The Story of My Experiments with Truth
Encyclopedia
The Story of My Experiments with Truth (Gujarātī
: સત્યના પ્રયોગો અથવા આત્મકથા) is the autobiography
of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, covering his life from early childhood through to 1920. It was initiated at the insistence of Swami Anand and other close co-workers of Gandhi, for him to explain the background of his public campaigns. In 1999, the book was designated as one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century" by HarperCollins
publishers.
's The Kingdom of God Is Within You
, John Ruskin
's Unto This Last
and the poet Shrimad Rajchandra
(Raychandbhai).
, Maharastra), and then it first appeared as a series in the weekly Gujarati magazine
Navjivan during 1925-28 which was published from Ahmedabad, India.
Book Reviews:
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
: સત્યના પ્રયોગો અથવા આત્મકથા) is the autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, covering his life from early childhood through to 1920. It was initiated at the insistence of Swami Anand and other close co-workers of Gandhi, for him to explain the background of his public campaigns. In 1999, the book was designated as one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century" by HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
publishers.
Influences
Gandhi wrote in his autobiography that the three most important modern influences in his life were Leo TolstoyLeo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
's The Kingdom of God Is Within You
The Kingdom of God Is Within You
The Kingdom of God Is Within You is the non-fiction magnum opus of Leo Tolstoy and was first published in Germany in 1894, after being banned in his home country of Russia...
, John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
's Unto This Last
Unto This Last
Unto This Last is an essay on economy by John Ruskin, first published in December 1860 in the monthly journal Cornhill Magazine in four articles. Ruskin says himself that these articles were "very violently criticized", forcing the publisher to stop the publication after four months. Subscribers...
and the poet Shrimad Rajchandra
Shrimad Rajchandra
-Life:Raychandbhai Ravajibhai Mehta, popularly known as Shrimad Rajchandra by his followers, was a prominent Jain philosopher. He is highly respected for His remarkable exposition of Bhagwan Mahavira’s teachings, great spiritual state, extraordinary personality and literary genius...
(Raychandbhai).
First publication and Later editions
After its initiation, "The Story of My Experiments with Truth" remained in the making for 4–5 years (including the time while Gandhi was imprisoned at Yeravda near PunePune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, Maharastra), and then it first appeared as a series in the weekly Gujarati magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
Navjivan during 1925-28 which was published from Ahmedabad, India.
Reviews
Some critics have suggested that Gandhi has assumed the basic knowledge of the events and socio-political situation of India during late 19th – early 20th century on the reader's part. It may be advisable to supplement the reading with other (recent) authors like Yogesh Chadha (Gandhi: A Life) who could help provide the background information and insight of that era.Book Reviews:
- Development in Action (UK): Book Review by Joni Hillman
- South Asian Women's Forum: Book Review
Editions in print
- India - ISBN 81-7229-008-X
- United States - authorized edition with forward by Sissela BokSissela BokSissela Bok, born 2 December 1934, is a Swedish-born philosopher and ethicist, the daughter of two Nobel Prize winners: Gunnar Myrdal who won the Economics prize with Friedrich Hayek in 1974, and Alva Myrdal who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982....
, Beacon Press 1993 reprint: ISBN 0-8070-5909-9 - Dover Publications 1983 reprint of 1948 Public Affairs Press edition: ISBN 0-486-24593-4
- Gandhiana.org: My Experiments with Truth (Paperback)
Online editions
- Story of My Experiments with Truth - Google books
- NITNational Institute of Technology CalicutThe National Institute of Technology Calicut is a federally funded technical university and an institute of national importance governed by an act passed by the Parliament of India. The campus is situated 22 km north-east of Kozhikode city on the Calicut – Mukkam Road. It was established in 1961...
, Calicut: Nalanda Digital Lib. - An Autobiography or The Story of my Experiments with Truth, full text