Mahatma Gandhi 46 - Books Of Mahatma Gandhi - A Legacy Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

Gandhiji during his lifetime,
In spite of his extremely active days,
Found time to write down the events of his life,
Rich in experience brimming with diverse episodes,
Stimulating and vibrant incidents of his life,
With a style and personality so attractive and captivating,
A journey riddled with thousand challenges,
That made his life of ‘Simple living and high thinking',
A fine example for the whole world to emulate, follow,
And be admired by the people all over the world.

Gandhiji's finest book is his autobiography titled as
‘The story of my experiments with the Truth.'
This book was first published in two volumes
Vol 1. in 1927 and Vol 2. in 1929.
The original in Gujarati was sold at Rs 1.
The translation into English was published as a Series
In the journal of ‘Young India', after careful revision
By an eminent scholar who wished anonymity.
A single volume of the autobiography in English was
Printed and published by Navajivan Trust in Ahmedabad.

‘An Autobiography - the story of my life' became
The face and pride of India,
Read and re read by millions of people the world over.
It will continue to inspire people from generation
To generation for centuries to come!
Though with great humility Gandhiji wrote
That he has nothing new to teach the world;
But he did teach the world with his own life story,
Not like kings who built empires and monuments,
But by the beauty of his soul in search of truth and non violence!

‘Satyagraha in South Africa'
Is a brilliant book
That traces the struggle of a simple man with high ideals.
The train episode at Pretoria changed the course of Gandhiji's life.
Gandhiji asserted: "If I hit my adversary,
That is of course violence;
But to be truly non-violent,
I must love him
And pray for him
Even when he hits me."

‘The Hind Swaraj' or ‘The Indian Home Rule' is a booklet written
By Gandhiji in 1908 on his return voyage from London.
Initially, it was published as a series in the columns of
‘Indian Opinion' edited by Gandhiji and later, printed as a book.
The book in Gujarati was translated into English by Gandhiji
For Mr. Kallenback, as an answer to the Bombay Government.
In 1921, Gandhiji wrote about the book:
"It teaches the gospel of love in place of that of hate.
It replaces violence with self sacrifice.
It pits soul force against brute force."


When the booklet was printed again in 1938,
Gandhiji altered nothing in the book.
It was published unabridged.
The widely noted, opinionated, criticised,
At the same time praised book contained
The acceptance of the twin principles of
Truth and Non-violence
Leaving the readers to decide whether
To accept or reject!
The book cost only eight annas a copy.

The famed scribe Romain Rolland in his homage to Gandhiji wrote:
" Gandhi is not only for India a hero of national history
Whose legendary memory will be enshrined in the millennial epoch.
He has not only been the spirit of active life which has breathed
Into the peoples of India the proud consciousness of their unity,
Of their power, and the will to their independence.
He has renewed, for all the peoples of the West,
The message of their Christ, forgotten or betrayed.
He has inscribed his name among the sages and saints of humanity;
And the radiance of his figure has penetrated into all the regions of the earth."