Gandhi the Man: How One Man Changed Himself to Change the World

by Eknath Easwaran

Overview

This is the story of Gandhi’s spiritual evolution – the turning points and choices that made him not just a great political leader but also a timeless icon of nonviolence.

Eknath Easwaran grew up in India and witnessed how Gandhi inspired people of all races, backgrounds, and religions to turn anger into compassion and hatred into love.

How had Gandhi transformed himself from an ineffective young lawyer into the Mahatma, the “great soul” who led 400 million ordinary men and women in their nonviolent struggle for independence? To find out, Easwaran visited Gandhi’s ashram and watched the Mahatma absorbed in meditation on the Bhagavad Gita – the wellspring of Gandhi’s spiritual strength.

Easwaran, a leading authority on the Bhagavad Gita and on spiritual living, explains the principles underlying Gandhi’s nonviolence. He highlights how we can all use Gandhi’s teachings to make our families, workplaces, and communities more peaceful in the world today.

More than 70 photographs illustrate his life, and a detailed chronology provides historical context.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781586380557
Publisher:	Nilgiri Press
Publication date:	04/11/2011
Edition description:	Fourth Edition
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	503,919
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Eknath Easwaran (1910 – 1999) was born in South India and grew up in the historic years when Gandhi was leading India nonviolently to freedom from the British Empire. As a young man, Easwaran met Gandhi, and the experience left a lasting impression.

Following graduate studies, Easwaran joined the teaching profession and later became head of the department of English at the University of Nagpur.

In 1959 he came to the US with the Fulbright exchange program and in 1961 he founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, which carries on his work with publications and retreats.

Easwaran’s Indian classics, The Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads, and The Dhammapada are the best-selling English translations, and more than 2 million copies of his books are in print.

Easwaran lived what he taught, giving him enduring appeal as a teacher and author of deep insight and warmth.

Table of Contents

Foreword Michael N. Nagler 7

Introduction Gandhi: Then & Now 15

Chapter 1 The Transformation 25

Early years in India, London, & South Africa

Chapter 2 The Way of Love 59

Nonviolence in South Africa & India

Chapter 3 Mother & Child 125

The Bhagavad Gita as the source of spiritual strength

Chapter 4 Gandhi the Man 149

Nonviolence in all the affairs of life

Chronology, Maps, & Notes 173

Afterword: How Nonviolence Works Timothy Flinders 187

Further Reading 205

Acknowledgments 207

Index 209

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"You and I can touch Gandhi's person and heart through this compelling creation." – Rajmohan Gandhi, Research Professor, University of Illinois, and author of Gandhi: The Man, His People, and the Empire