The Story of My Experiments with Truth

“What I want to achieve—what I have been striving and pining to achieve these thirty years—is self-realization, to see God face to face, to attain Moksha.”

The repetition of the structure “What I want” provides emphasis, drawing attention to Gandhi’s long-term dedication and determination. This use of repeated structures is an instance of parallelism, a technique that can provide rhythm and emphasize the intensity of a desire or sentiment. Moksha is a specialized term from Hindu philosophy referring to liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. In this context, it is in a sense a form of jargon or vernacular in that it’s a term that may not be readily understood outside its cultural or religious context yet holds deep significance within it.

“There are some things which are known only to oneself and one’s Maker. These are clearly incommunicable. The experiments I am about to relate are not such. But they are spiritual, or rather moral; for the essence of religion is morality.”

The statement “for the essence of religion is morality” is an assertion. Gandhi presents this belief strongly, not merely as an opinion but as an evident truth in his understanding. The use of the semicolon in this segment helps connect and balance the two closely related ideas, highlighting their intrinsic relationship.