My Experiments with Truth.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Part- I
Birth & childhood

Youngest among siblings , born to

Putlibhai and Karamchand Gandhi at
Porbandhar on October 2nd 1869.
Growing up with a devout mother and the
Jain traditions of the region influenced
him.
Compassion to sentient beings,
vegetarianism, fasting for selfpurification, and mutual tolerance
between individuals of different creeds.
Inspired by Shravana and
Harishchandra

Marriage

Education

Gandhiji got married at

the age of 13 to
Kasturba in an arranged
child marriage

Gandhi got versed with

different religions and
had faith in the Ram
Raksha

Kasturba was illiterate

unlike her husband but
was an independent
girl.

After passing
matriculate exams,
Gandhiji went to
England for further
learning.

Important incidents

Tragedies came across in friendship, communication and loss of dear ones.

The death of his father and his condition after that.
Out-casted for going to England, took three vows ( not to touch wine, woman and meat) before
leaving for England
Nervous about adjusting to the British ways of living as he was not a meat eater or alcoholic.
Religiously followed vegetarianism

Part- II
Meeting with Dr. Mehta and Jagjivan

Problem in the caste

Was shocked to know about his mothers

death
Met Dr.Mehta, who introduced him to Shri.
Revashankar Jagjivan and later to Raychand
Was in awe with Raychands his memory
feats, his knowledge about scriptures, burning
passion for self realization

The storm in the caste was still brewing over

foreign voyage
Caste was divided into 2 groups:
- one which readmitted &
- other hell bent on keeping Gandhiji out
Gandhiji was taken to Nashik to take bath in the
sacred river & arranged caste dinner
After which he was readmitted to the caste

Shifting to Bombay and return to

Rajkot

In South Africa

Advised to go to Bombay & gain experience of

High court
But had to return back because of his
incompetency
Upon return, started drafting memorials,
earning 300/ His brother was charged for wrong advice by
political agent
His attempts to solve the issue turned futile

He was called coolie barrister instead of Indian

barrister
Got Islamic & Christianity knowledge from Abdul &
Baker
Studied the condition of Indian settlers deprived
of rights
Settled in Natal & formed Natal Indian congress;
Made comparative study of religion
Returned to India after 3 years & prepared green

Part- III

The first voyage of family along with Gandhi to south Africa

He decided to completely dedicate his life to human service.
He used to attend hospitals daily for two hours to clean the wounds of the patients and even clean
toilets
Gandhiji , even started an improvised school for the children of Satyagrahi parents in South
Africa.
Gandhiji made a thorough learning about Brahmacharya and the concept of moksha
At this time he developed the concepts of Brahmacharya, Non-violence and Satyagraha which
later helped in the battle against British rulers in India.
The Boer war- Gandhiji had personal sympathy for Boers , but he participated in the defence of
British Empire. He set up by organizing 1100 volunteers and served in the Indian Ambulance Corps
Worked on sanitary reforms and famine relief- undertook house to house inspection during
plague in Durban
Return back to India- he went on a tour of India, traveling in third class compartment of the train in
order to study for himself the habits and difficulties of the poor.
He settles in Bombay for work with his family and moves again to South Africa after receiving a

Part IV

Part V

Values of Gandhiji
Truth (Satya)
He believed that the most important battle to fight was overcoming his own demons, fears, and insecurities.
Gandhi summarized his beliefs first when he said "God is Truth".
He would later change this statement to "Truth is God".
Thus, Satya (Truth) in Gandhi's philosophy is "God".

Non Violence (Ahimsa)

The concept of nonviolence and nonresistance has had many revivals in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and
Christian contexts.
Gandhiji explains his philosophy in this book. He was quoted as saying:
"There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no causes that I am prepared to kill for."

Vegetarianism
The idea of vegetarianism is deeply ingrained in Hindu and Jain traditions in India.
Before leaving for
alcohol.

London, Gandhi promised his mother, that he would abstain from eating meat & taking

He wrote the book The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism and wrote several articles on the subject.
He believed that vegetarianism was the beginning of his deep commitment to Brahmacharya

Values of Gandhiji
Brahmacharya (Self Discipline)
Spiritual and practical puritylargely associated with celibacy and asceticism. Gandhiji saw
brahmacharya as a means of becoming close with God and as a primary foundation for self
realization.
He mentions his battle against lustful urges and fits of jealousy with his childhood bride, Kasturba.
He felt it his personal obligation to remain celibate so that he could learn to love, rather than lust. For
Gandhi, Brahmacharya meant "control of the senses in thought, word and deed."

Simplicity
Gandhi earnestly believed that a person involved in social service should lead a simple life
Gandhi spent one day of each week in silence. He believed that abstaining from speaking brought him
inner peace.
This influence was drawn from the Hindu principles of mauna (Sanskrit: silence) and shanti
(Sanskrit: peace). He dressed to be accepted by the poorest person in India, advocating the use
of homespun cloth (khadi).

Faith

Gandhi was born a Hindu and practised Hinduism all his life, deriving most of his principles from Hinduism.
He believed all religions to be equal, and rejected all efforts to convert him to a different faith.
Gandhi believed that at the core of every religion was truth and love (compassion, nonviolence and the Golden Rule).

Values of Gandhiji
Aparigraha (Non Possession)

We should not hoard anything that we do not need today. Gandhiji told that, The less you possess,
the less you want, the better you are.

And better for what? Not for your enjoyment of this life but for enjoyment of personal service to your
fellow beings; service to which you dedicate yourself, your body, soul and mind.

Equality (Sarva Dharma Samanta)

Gandhiji strongly believed that every person in the world is similar. Nobody is bound by religion or
caste
Because of him, we are now living in the secular country in which every person is free to celebrate his
festivals and free to adopt another religion from which he is inspired.

Swadeshi (Use Locally Made Goods)

Gandhiji always wear Swadeshi cloths which were made of Khadi.
Gandhiji advocated that one should always buy Swadeshi cloths. From that our own country men get
more revenue and that will help our country to grow.