The Story of My Experiments with Truth

Gandhi’s return to India was marked by both personal growth and professional tribulations. Having sailed back resiliently amid stormy seas, he found strength and composure even when confronted with the sorrow of his mother’s passing. During this period, he cultivated rich relationships, notably with Raychandbhai, a poet with an impeccable balance of spiritual wisdom and business acumen. Raychandbhai was one of the trio who most influenced Gandhi, the others being Tolstoy and Ruskin.

However, on the professional front, Gandhi grappled with familial and societal pressures. His elder brother’s financial overreach, combined with caste tensions resulting from his overseas education, were hurdles he faced with a steadfast commitment to nonviolence and nonresistance. Despite the challenges in his marriage and his struggle with a cook named Ravishankar, Gandhi’s focus remained clear: societal and self-reform. Nevertheless, his initial attempts at practicing law in Bombay proved challenging. Feeling ill-prepared, he recollected the nerve-wracking experience of his first case: “I had made it a rule to walk to the High Court” (137), symbolizing his grounded approach amid adversity. The sting of humiliation came when an attempt to support his brother in Rajkot backfired because a British Political Agent dismissed and physically removed him.