MY FAVORITE BOOK

Introduction

I like to read books but I always try to find out good books. I try to avoid trash. I believe in wise reading, not in wide reading. My choice generally falls on two kinds of books, poetry and biography. I read other kinds of books but only for the sake of pure relaxation. One of the most outstanding and soul stirring book, I have ever read is Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘My Experiments. with Truth’. I can call it my favorite book.

‘My Experiments with Truth’ My favorite book

I was presented a copy of Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘My Experiments with Truth’ by my teacher on my birthday last year. The book attracted me. I remember how I sat up late on the night of my birthday, reading the story of the Father of the Nation. The very first chapter touched my heart. I went through it twice and then proceeded onward.

The author of my favorite book

Mahatma Gandhi wrote the book in Gujarati. He did not call the book autobiography but a story because he was a man of humility. He wrote the book in nineteen twenties and it was translated into English by Mahadev Desai, the friend, philosopher and guide of the Mahatma and the translated version was revised by an eminent scholar of India.

Characteristics of the book

My Experiments with Truth’ is simple in language and high in thoughts. It appeals directs to the heart. because it has come direct from the heart. It is worth-reading for its subject-matter. A part from its subject matter, the book is remarkable for its style and atmosphere. The atmosphere of homeliness is present in the book from the beginning to the end. The Mahatma takes the reader into confidence and tells his secrets honestly and truthfully. While reading to book, the reader feels that the Mahatma is talking to him face to face and he forgets for a moment that he is reading the life-story of a man who is no more.

Spirit of the book

Mahatma Gandhi was an apostle of Truth and Non-violence. My Experiments with Truth’ is his sermon on Truth. The book has been translated into all the standard languages. of the world and is universally read with interest and devotion. There are thousands of people in India who read this book daily as a religious performance. The late Dr. Rajendra Prasad was one of them. Every line of the book has the tinge of sincerity. It reads like a sermon. It is a faithful record of two thing-the writer’s personality and the growth of India’s freedom movement. It is an autobiography, a history and a sermon at the same time. I could not help burs ting into laughter at various places,

Conclusion

I am not morally competent to dive deep into the greatness of the book. Only the great poet Goswami Tulsi Das was capable of understanding the greatness of lord Rama’s character. Likewise, a holy man like Vinoba Bhave or Dr. Rajendra Prasad could understand the vigour and divinity of the soul expressed by the Mahatma in his monumental book. I look upon the book as the fountain-head of instruction and elevation. Whenever I fall in the trap of worldliness, I open the pages of the book and find myself on a higher plane of morality.

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