Mahatma Gandhi

(Gandhi’s life was an epic, so a movie trailer does feel right for my purposes today…)

The Indian spiritual and political leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on this day in 1869 in Porbander, a town in present day Gujarat. Later called Mahatma, or Great Soul, a title bestowed by the poet Rabindranath Tagore, Gandhi would become a singular figure on the twentieth century public stage.

For me a compelling figure as a spiritual presence whose life and teachings had profound political consequences, but also one who lived at the dawn of modern communications and therefore with the details of his private life very transparent. He was a complicated man with a simple message, Satyagraha, soul power, the ability of simple people to resist tyrany through radical non-violence.

At the Unitarian Universalist Association web page, there’s an interesting guide to Gandhi as an exemplar for those who wish to become peacemakers.

Studying Gandhi’s life grounds UU peacemakers in the common story of a spiritually-motivated and fallible person whose “experiments with truth” identified the power of nonviolent activism. The feminist critique of Gandhi’s inadequate parenting and sexual dis-ease can be acknowledged without destroying his value to peace making. Familiarity with Gandhi’s life and creative approaches gives a common framework and Language for linking with global nonviolent activists.

• Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World, by Louis Fischer, The New American Library, 1954.
  This brief, journalistic account of Gandhi’s life and philosophy was the basis fo the movie “Gandhi”. Fischer was the first respected biographer.
• Gandhi the Man, by Eknath Easwaran, Nilgiri Press, 1978.
  The reflective narrative, black and white photos, as well as many brief quotations bring Gandhi to life. Easwaran’s spiritual guidance and meditation method is useful for many UUs. The author’s spiritual and practical nature comes through. Flinders’ appendix in the 1978 edition is an excellent description of “satyagraha”.
• Gandhi’s Pilgrimage of Faith, by Uma Majmudar, State University of NY, NY, 2005.
  Fowler’s stages of faith development is familiar to many UUs; Majmudar’s application of the theory to Gandhi’s life concentrates on his active and public spiritual journey. This approach maintains Gandhi’s humanity and shows the possibilities for development by every spiritual seeker willing to surrender to ever-expanding awareness of Truth. As Gandhi said, “It is by a process of trial and error, self-search and austere discipline, that a human being moves step by painful step along the road to fulfillment.” (p. 234 in Majmudar)

The translated language and style of Gandhi’s original writings can be tedious for contemporary U.S. readers. Beacon Press published his autobiography, My Experiments with Truth, in 1957. UU minister Homer Jack compiled The Wit and Wisdom of Gandhi, published by Beacon in 1951 and The Gandhi Reader: A Sourcebook of His Life and Writings, in 1956.

One spiritually-oriented collection of his words is The Way to God, Berkeley Hills Books, Albany, CA, 1999.