The Story of My Experiments with Truth · Chapter
The Birth of Satyagraha explained
Gandhi reflects on how his personal experiments with truth and self-purification, including the vow of brahmacharya, prepared him for the principle of satyagraha.
What happens
Gandhi reflects on how his personal experiments with truth and self-purification, including the vow of brahmacharya, prepared him for the principle of satyagraha. He describes the inadequacy of the term 'passive resistance' and the coinage of 'satyagraha' by Maganlal Gandhi, which became the defining concept of the Indian struggle in South Africa.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This is the story's dramatic climax because it marks the emotional and psychological peak of Gandhi’s physical…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Truth and Self-Experimentation
Gandhi frames satyagraha as the culmination of his experiments with truth and self-purification.
- Nonviolence and Satyagraha
The chapter details the birth of satyagraha as a distinct principle of nonviolent resistance, contrasting it with passive resistance.
Characters to notice
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Narrator and central figure, reflecting on the origins of satyagraha and his personal experiments.
- Maganlal Gandhi
Coined the word 'Sadagraha' which Gandhi later refined to 'satyagraha'.
Key passages
“The principle called satyagraha came into being before that name was invented.”
The concept of satyagraha existed in practice before it was given a formal name.
Gandhi emphasizes that the idea preceded the terminology.
“Maganlal Gandhi coined the word 'Sadagraha' (Sat = truth, Agraha = firmness) and won the prize. But in order to make it clearer I changed the word to 'satyagraha'.”
Maganlal Gandhi created the term 'Sadagraha', which Gandhi modified to 'satyagraha' for greater clarity.
The evolution of the term reflects the collaborative and iterative nature of Gandhi's thought.
