Reflection on Gandhis Autobiography
Gandhi begins his autobiography by describing the family of his origin and depicts his grandfather as a man of principle. His ancestors probably had humble origins but over time they became leaders, and his grandfather, who had been a prime minister of Porbandar but who had been forced to leave because of political intrigues, demonstrated the principle of loyalty when he saluted the Nawab in the place where he took refuge with his left hand instead of his right. The reason he did this was simple: The right hand is already pledged to Porbandar (Gandhi, n.d., p. 2). This striking opening is helpful in framing the autobiography as a whole because it puts front and center, first and foremost, the notion of principles and, moreover, the notion of loyalty. This loyalty to a homeland is what would compel Gandhi throughout his adult life, especially after returning to India from abroad. Likewise, the notion of having principles would be important to him as he would embark upon his journey of self-denial in order to gain mastery over himself and to purge the soul of the unruly passions.
Gandhi also describes himself as being in the sleep of lust during his younger years (p. 7). This spirit of lust prevented him from being a good teacher to others, and it was only later when he overcame this unhealthy spirit that he was able to reach his potential as a teacher and a leader in public life. This is another important aspect of the man that should be remembered, because it is often the case that heroic people have their histories white-washed and purified so that they appear as angelic beings in the public eye. But Gandhi says of himself that he was in the sleep of lust, and that this lust was a constraint on his activities. It is good to see someone admit ones faults and handicaps, but also that he was able to overcome them as he grew in strength, self-control and in the spirit.
Gandhi describes some of his other sins and faults in his youth, such as smoking and stealing, but he describes these to help show how he learned from these experiences and grew from them. His aim is not just to be honest with the reader but also to be honest with himself. Unless a person is honest with himself he cannot really develop the spirit in the way it should be developed. The important lesson that Gandhi obtained from his experiences of thieving was that of forgiveness. When his father found out about the thieving, Gandhi expected him to be angrybut instead he saw that his father was so wonderfully peaceful that it stunned the young man (p. 15). At the same time, what prompted the peaceful forgiveness was likely also the fact that Gandhi made a clean confessionand this illustrated the need for one to be honest and forthright about ones mistakes (p. 15). Gandhi did not try to hide what he had done but showed repentance and trusted in the justice and mercy of his father, and his father did not let him down. By confessing his crime to his father, his fathers faith and trust in his son was restored. I found this to be a great lesson that surely shaped Gandhis soul.
Gandhi also states that he was tolerant of religions but that in his youth he tended toward atheism, unable to have a living faith in God. He was actually troubled by this, to his credit, for he could not reconcile his beliefs without having a moral basis for them....
…by authorities, but when he explained himself and why this teaching was important they began to take notice and to understand where he was coming from. This came about because he spoke to the authorities as an authority himself and he was respected for it. Later he discusses his mission of Ahimsa and how it became clear to him that it would be on the question of Hindu-Muslim unity that my Ahimsa would be put to its severest test (p. 236). It is for this belief that he would later lose his life, after recommending that a Muslim be Indias first prime minister, which upset the majority Hindus in India. Yet Gandhi was true to his belief in unity. Part of me feels, however, that Gandhi was trying to be too many things at oncea friend of Muslims, a friend of Hindusand that this is in small part due to the fact that he never settled the matter of having a single religious faith. I feel that he should have understood more deeply that even though he did not adhere to a single religious faith, other people do, and that take that adherence very seriously. Gandhi was trying to bridge gaps that he could not humanly bridge. It is not surprising to me that his recommendation ended up leading to his assassination. I feel that if he himself had seen more clearly that unity of a nation could not be had without a unity of faith, he might have understood with more insight that Ahimsa was not going to be possible in his conception of it. It strikes me as troubling that he did not see that religious faith matters greatly because it is a matter of truth, even though for him it was not so much, because he viewed truth…
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