This excerpt from Gandhi's autobiography describes incidents from his childhood where he stole. As a boy, Gandhi stole copper coins to buy cigarettes and later stole a small amount of gold from his brother's armlet. Feeling restricted by his elders, Gandhi and a relative also contemplated suicide by poisoning themselves. They ultimately did not go through with it. Gandhi confessed his theft of gold to his father in a letter, causing his father to cry upon reading it.

1. 32. Stealing & Atonement
(Page 233-236)
Presentation by :
Birendra Prasad Shrestha
Unit 7: Memoir and Travel
From The Story of My Experiment
with Truth – M.K. Gandhi
Bhagyodaya Campus, Shankharapur-6, Sankhu

2. Stealing & Atonement
 This excerpt is taken from
Mahatma Gandhi’s
autobiography – “My
Experiments with the Truth”
Bhagyodaya Campus, Shankharapur-6, Sankhu

3. Mahatma Gandhi Biography
• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer,
anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist, who
employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful
campaign for India's independence from British Rule, and
in turn inspire movements for civil rights and freedom
across the world. Wikipedia
• Born: October 2, 1869, Porbandar, India
• Died: January 30, 1948, New Delhi, India
• Spouse: Kasturba Gandhi (m. 1883–1944)
• Parents: Karamchand Gandhi (father); Putlibai
Gandhi (mother)
• Education: UCL Faculty Of Laws (1888–1891)
• Children: Harilal Gandhi, Manilal Gandhi, Ramdas
Gandhi, Devdas Gandhi
Bhagyodaya
Campus,
Shankharapur-6,
Sankhu

4. Stealing & Atonement
Meaning:
Stealing = taking something that
belongs to another person
without permission and secretly
Atonement = acting in a
way that compensates for
the previous wrong/
confession
Bhagyodaya Campus, Shankharapur-6, Sankhu

5. Stealing & Atonement
• The book , “My Experiments
with the Truth”, has five parts.
• Stealing and Atonement is in
the first part.
Bhagyodaya Campus, Shankharapur-6, Sankhu
It begins as:
“I have still to relate some of my failings during this meat-eating
period and also previous to it, which date from before my
marriage or soon after.” (Page 233 1st Paragraph)

6. Contd….Stealing & Atonement
• Stealing and Atonement
begins with Gandhi relating
some of his failings during
meat eating period.
Bhagyodaya Campus, Shankharapur-6, Sankhu
• It has 3 main persons:–
1. writer 2. a relative 3.his father.

7. Contd….Stealing & Atonement
• They pilfered(= stole rf]/]) the
stumps thrown by the uncle
as they had no money.
Bhagyodaya Campus, Shankharapur-6, Sankhu
• The boys saw an uncle
of theirs smoking &
wished to smoke the
way he did. (2nd para)

8. Contd….Stealing & Atonement
• They had to hide the cigarette
and their smoking activities
from the elders.
• They smoked the parts of
certain porous plants too.
Bhagyodaya Campus, Shankharapur-6, Sankhu
• They started stealing
servants money to buy
cigarettes. (3rd para)
• They felt suffocated because they
needed elder’s permission for
everything. So they wanted
independence. As they could not
get it, they decided to commit
suicide.

9. Contd….Stealing & Atonement
• They thought of how to
commit suicide and
decided to take
Dhatura seeds posion
in a evening at the
Kedarji temple.
Bhagyodaya Campus, Shankharapur-6, Sankhu
• They felt suffocated because they
needed elder’s permission for
everything. So they wanted
independence. As they could not get
it, they decided to commit suicide.

10. Contd….Stealing & Atonement
Bhagyodaya Campus, Shankharapur-6, Sankhu
• They could not die. They thought – what
was the good of killing?
• They swallowed two or three seeds.
• Then they thought of going to Ramji
mandir to dismiss the thought of suicide.
• They realized it was difficult commit
suicide as to contemplate it.
• At the end of suicide thought they left
smoking and stealing habit.

11. Contd….Stealing & Atonement
Bhagyodaya Campus, Shankharapur-6, Sankhu
• The another guilt:
– Stealing a little gold from his brothers
armlet.
– To pay brother’s debt.
Stealing 2 times –
1. coppers to buy cigarette
2. gold to pay debt

12. Contd….Stealing & Atonement
Bhagyodaya Campus, Shankharapur-6, Sankhu
• Confession
– Stealing gold at the age of 15 was more
painful.
– So he decided to confess it to his father.
He found it difficult to tell his father:-
1. Not because he was afraid of his father
2. But because the pain it would cause his father.

13. Contd….Stealing & Atonement
Bhagyodaya Campus, Shankharapur-6, Sankhu
• Confession Letter
– He writes a confession letter to his father
– In the letter he confessed the guilt and
asked for the apt punishment and not to
punish himself.
 Father reads the letter
 Tears drop from father’s eyes

14. Contd….Stealing & Atonement
Bhagyodaya Campus, Shankharapur-6, Sankhu
• Ahimsa
• Father’s love