This English translation of Narayan Desai’s epic four-volume biography in Gujarati, Maru Jivan Ej Mari Vani—hailed as one of the finest insights into the life of Gandhi—brings alive Gandhi’s quest as one indivisible whole, in which “the political” is not outside the realm of “the spiritual”. My Life is My Message liberates the Gandhi story from the constraining tyranny of political discourse and gives centrestage to his “soulsearchings”. The struggle within and the struggle without, are both seen as aspects of the same reality—just as the inner journey of the self is depicted in its interaction with the life of the collective. What emerges is a full picture of Gandhi.
Drawing from a wealth of sources—what Gandhi wrote in letters, books and newspapers, spoke in intimate conversations with his fellow “servant co-workers”, and in speeches and interviews, besides what those around him wrote and spoke about him—the narrative is illumined, above all, by the author’s own life as an inveterate “Gandhijan”, ever since his childhood years in Gandhi’s ashrams.
Volume I (Sadhana) deals with the first 45 years of Gandhi's life—a fascinating story of how a shy Indian student of average intelligence, who grows up with his London education into an uncertain and hesitant lawyer, becomes the advocate of the Indian community in South Africa and, finally, leads thousands of indentured labourers in their struggle for dignity. Beginning with serving his parents, he goes on to serve the cause of vegetarianism and, later, that of the Indians in South Africa. Through “humble homage and service and by repeated questioning,” he masters the knowledge of truth, worships it, and then experiments with its immense force by forging the weapon of satyagraha. From a pledge taken before leaving Indian shores for the first time, not to touch “meat, wine and women,” to deciding in the waiting room at the Pietermaritzburg station to suffer but not to leave the country like a coward—Gandhi marks every major change in his life with a vow. With intimate portraits of his close associates, of Indian Opinion, and of life in his first ashrams—the Phoenix and Tolstoy farms—the story spans three continents. 
Volume II (Satyagraha) records the sixteen years following Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa in 1915. These are the years in which he implemented in his home country the political, social and spiritual experiments that he had been formulating in South Africa. His interactions with moderate and extremist Indian leaders, with Hindu, Muslim and other religious groups, and with the British, make for riveting reading. We see Gandhi as the central figure influencing an entire generation of Indians during this eventful period of Indian history, when the country witnessed the Champaran movement, the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre, the Khilafat movement, Non-cooperation movement, satyagrahas at Ahmedabad, Kheda, Bardoli, Vykom, Dandi and other places, and instances of both unity and discord between Hindus and Muslims. The volume chronicles Gandhi’s relationships with Tagore, the Ali Brothers, the Nehrus, Jinnah, Mirabehn, Maganlal Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and many other historical figures. But, above all, the book gives us an insight into the Gandhian way of life—his ashrams, his belief in the charkha and khadi, the Ekadash Vrata, and the constructive programmes that he initiated and inspired. This period of Gandhi’s life was also marked by prolific writing, fasts, imprisonments, illness and experiments with food. Here is a life, lived intensely and passionately, ever-conscious of its commitment to truth and nonviolence.
Volume III (Satyapath) covers the years between 1930 and 1940, a period of intense dialogue in Gandhi’s life. It begins with Gandhi’s trip to Europe to participate in the Second Round Table Conference and deals with his immensely rich dialogue with the people of England and with European intellectuals like Romain Rolland. Gandhi’s subsequent imprisonment and his fast against the Communal Award lead us to his dialogues with Dr Ambedkar and the Harijan Yatra. The volume provides a moving account of Gandhi’s fast for self-purification and explores his relationships with Subhas Chandra Bose, the Socialists, Vinoba, Charlie Andrews and Herman Kallenbach. It also provides a detailed analysis of Gandhi’s “Constructive Work”. The narration guides us to the last and most moving phase of Gandhi’s life, which would commence with the Quit India movement.
Volume IV (Svarpan) focuses on the last phase of Gandhi’s life. It begins with the failure of the Cripps Mission and Gandhi’s call for the “complete and immediate orderly withdrawal of the British from India,” thereby launching one of the largest non-violent civil disobedience movements ever seen—the Quit India Movement. It offers poignant glimpses into the lives of Gandhi and his associates inside the Aga Khan Palace Prison, as well as the deaths of Kasturba and Mahadev while still in custody. Moving on to the complex negotiations between Gandhi, the INC and the British government following the release of the Congress leaders, the author provides clear insights into the different and, at times, clashing personalities involved. There is an incisive account of the emergence of Jinnah on the political scene, his subsequent rise as the leader of the Muslim League, and the demand for Pakistan. Svarpan covers Gandhi’s last journey through Noakhali, Bihar and Calcutta, and the miracle of non-violence this lonely pilgrim sought to bring about. The last few chapters describe his last day in detail—the day Nathuram Godse pulled the trigger on him. The book ends with a discussion on the relevance of Gandhi today, more than sixty years after his death.The author, born in 1924 to Durgaben and Mahadev Desai, Narayan Desai chose not to have a formal education. He had father’s and Gandhiji’s blessings for the decision. He worked in Gandhiji’s secretariat with his father from 1936–46, and participated in freedom movement. Later, he was a very active participant and leader in Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan movement from 1952–60, and with Jayaprakash Narayan from 1960–76. He walked 12,000 km, received 3000 acres of land as gift and distributed it. He was National Secretary of the Shanti Sena, the All India People’s Committee, Chairman of the War Resistors International, and Founder Member and Director of the World Peace Brigade. An accomplished author and editor, he has written over 50 books in Gujarati, Hindi and English and has edited Bhoomiputra, Yaqueen, Buniyadi Yaqueen, Tarun Mun and Sarvodaya Jagat. He has won many awards that include the Bharatiya Gyaanpeeth Murtidevi Award, the Sahitya Academy Award and the Ranajitram Gold medal (highest literary award in Gujarati). In addition he received the Jamnalal Bajaj Award for constructive work and UNESCO Award for Non-Violence and Tolerance. Currently, he is Chancellor of the Gujarat Vidyapeeth, founded by Gandhiji in 1920, President of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad. He is currently engaged in rendering Gandhi katha in India and abroad and taking Gandhiji’s message to the youth.
The translator Tridip Suhrud is a political scientist and a cultural historian, working on the Gandhian intellectual tradition and the social history of Gujarat of the 19th and 20th centuries. He has translated the works of Ashis Nandy and Ganesh Devy into Gujarati and novelist Suresh Joshi into English. He translated and edited C.B. Dalal’s Harilal Gandhi: A Life (Orient BlackSwan, 2007). His other books imclude Writing Life: Three Gujarati Thinkers (Orient BlackSwan, 2008), Hind Swaraj Vishe and An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth: A Table of Concordance. He has worked (with Suresh Sharma) on a bilingual critical edition of Hind Swaraj (forthcoming, Orient BlackSwan). At present he is working on the English translation of Govardhamram Tripathi’s four-part novel n. He is a Professor at Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Gandhinagar.
