Mahatma Life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

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NEARLY three and a half years have gone by since Gandhiji passed away. The manner of his death was the culmination and perfect climax to an astonishing career. Even during his life innumerable stories and legends had grown around him, and now he seems almost a legendary figure, one in the great line of India's sages and heroes and wise men. A new generation grows up to whom he is almost a name, a great name to be revered, but never the less a name. Within a few more years there will not be many left who have come in personal contact with him and had experience of that vivid, virile and magnificent personality. The legend will grow and take many shapes, sometimes with little truth in it. Succeeding generations will remember him and pay honor to him. As is India's way, we shall add him to our pantheon and celebrate the day of his birth and the day of his passing away. We shall shout jai when his name is mentioned and perhaps feel a little elated in the process and that we have done our duty to him.

What gods there are, I know not and am not concerned about them. But there are certain rare qualities which raise a man above the common herd and appear to make him as made of different clay. The long story of humanity can be considered from many points of view; it is a story of the advance and growth of man and the spirit of man, it is also a story full of agony and tragedy. It is a story of masses of men and women in ferment and in movement, and it is also the story of great and outstanding personalities who have given content and shape to that movement of masses.

In that story Gandhi occupies and will occupy a pre-eminent place. We are too near him to judge him correctly. Some of us came into intimate contact with him and were influenced by that dominating and very lovable personality. We miss him terribly now for he had become a part of our own lives. With us the personal factor is so strong that it comes in the way of a correct appraisal. Others, who did not know him so intimately, cannot perhaps have full realization of the living fire that was in this man of peace and humility. So both these groups lack proper perspective or knowledge. Whether that perspective will come in later years when the problems and conflicts of today are matters for the historian, I do not know. But I have no doubt that in the distant, as in the near future, this towering personality will stand out and compel homage. It may be that the message which he embodied will be understood and acted upon more in later years than it is today. That message was not confined to a particular country or a com-munity. Whatever truth there was in it was a truth applicable to all countries and to humanity as a whole. He may have stressed certain aspects of it in relation to the India of his day, and those particular aspects may cease to have much significance as times and conditions change. The kernel of that message was, however, not confined to time or space. And if this is so, then it will endure and grow in the understanding of man. He brought freedom to India and in that process he taught us many things which were important for us at the moment. He told us to shed fear and hatred, and of unity and equality and brotherhood, and of raising those who had been suppressed, and of the dignity of labour and of the supremacy of things of the spirit. Above all, he spoke and wrote unceasingly of truth in relation to all our activities. He repeated that Truth was to him God and God was Truth. Scholars may raise their eyebrows, and philosophers and cynics repeat the old question: what is Truth? Few of us dare to answer that question with any assurance and it may be that the answer itself is many-sided and our limited intelligence cannot grasp the whole. But, however limited the functioning of our minds may be or our capacity for intuition, each one of us must, I suppose, have some limited idea of truth, as he sees it. Will he act upto it, regardless of consequences, and not compromise with what he himself considers an aberration from it? Will he even in search of a right goal compromise with the means to attain it? Will he subordinate means to ends?

THE FIRST edition of this work was published almost a decade ago. In the introduction to the first edition, reproduced elsewhere, the "auto-biography" of this work is related at some length. The first edition is out of print and it has become a rare item for book collectors. In this completely revised edition I have made many corrections and additions in the light of new material published in the five volumes of Mahadev Desai's diary, in Pyarelal's Last Phase, and in Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. I have also consulted many other sources including the exhaustive reports and contemporary press cuttings preserved by the various Provincial Governments during the British regime.

After careful scrutiny of photostats of the original documents relating to the South African period of Gandhiji's early life, I have taken the liberty of revising some dates given in Gandhiji's South African Struggle and My Experiments with Truth, for example, those concerning the birth of the Natal Indian Congress and the first publication of Hind Swaraj, etc. Some of these revisions I had discussed with Gandhiji during his life time and he was most co-operative in my research work. During the time of storm and stress, Gandhiji found no time to consult original documents and he had to depend on his memory. In the interest of historical accuracy, the author must, as far as possible, consult the original documents. I have tried to make my work as accurate as possible and I hope that it will be reliable source material for many years to come.

I am grateful to Jawaharlal Nehru for taking active interest in my work and its publication.

My thanks are also due to Anu Bandyopadhyaya for her collaboration with me in the revision work.

For some unavoidable reasons and also for keeping the price as low as possible, the number of illustrations have been reduced to the minimum. I am thankful to the Publications Division for their hearty co-operation in bringing out this revised edition.

1 CANNOT trace the origin of this book because it has written itself and it reflects the times in which I and my generation have grown. It is a dream-world from which I have not emerged. Gandhiji and his story are present all the time before my mind's eye. He is moving among us and talking to us, as he did only a few years ago. His death is but a small incident; he courted it and defied it many a time. It is only the finale to a majestic symphony.

When I look back, the death of Tilak and the national mourning come to my mind, with a vivid picture of Gandhiji leading the people, the very next day, to heroic heights. The first of August, 1920, is fixed deeply in the subconscious, though it was just the beginning of a great drama, developing almost without a flaw. I was then only ten years old.

I was drawn into the whirlwind of revolution like the millions. It was a queer revolution, defying the Government in the open, in which the whole nation participated, pitting indomitable will against brute force. The mind became at once free, and defied starvation and death, and followed the great leader wherever he wanted us to go. It was not merely hero-worshipped but consciousness of strength, with which he imbued the people to break the shackles of their enslaved minds.

There were ups and downs in the nation's progress, but no stagnation. Gandhiji knew no defeat and inspired the people to march along a path never trodden before.

The present work is a simple narration of the events through which we have lived. It is a history of the last fifty years or so with Gandhiji in the foreground. There is no attempt either at moralization or dramatization of these exciting times. I have tried to tell the story faithfully and, as far as possible, in the words of Gandhiji, who not only took the leading part in the movement but wrote the best commentary on it.

I never knew that I would undertake this work, although I was eager for many years to examine what Gandhiji did to mould the new thought. In the beginning I was a devotee, then a critic, and am now an impartial admirer. I belong to no particular school of thought, and have had no time, so far, to give my undivided attention to his philosophy as such. I did not always agree with him, but with his all-embracing life and his courage of conviction he has attracted me much more than any other historical figure.

I remember those early years when I read Young India with avidity and looked forward to the next issue.