When, in Thursday's class, we briefly discussed Ganhi and his apparently brutally honest autobiography, I thought about the nature of actual honesty. In modern society, 'honesty' seems to imply admitting your faults to others, exposing the darkest parts of your history and nature for public perusal. People who admit their lack of proficiency at various activities, tell stories about the unpleasant or immoral things they have done in the past, and generally act in a manner usually considered modest or self-effacing are often lauded as being brutally honest.
However, being modest is not the same thing as being honest. Going on about all of one's failings while neglecting to mention, or perhaps denying the worth of, one's achievements is no more truthful than focusing only on the good side of things. While I haven't read Gandhi's autobiography and as such am in no position to gauge how honest or dishonest he might have been about his life, I do know that putting oneself down and focusing only on one's negative traits seems to be far more admired than is probably wise. In order to be fully and actually honest, people must focus on their negative and positive traits to the same degree, exhibiting an impartial attitude dedicated only to the truth.
Gandhi's modesty is substantial, sincere, and deserved. He is, however, far from shy about the audacity of his aspirations or his successes. He was an extremely ambitious journalist and politician, and a remarkably successful one, and this comes through in his Autobiography as well.
ReplyDeleteI strongly recommend reading "The Story of my Experiments with Truth" for yourself.