Gandhi (A Spiritual Journey)

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Beginning with his childhood and early years in South Africa, Gandhi: A Spiritual Journey explores the search for truth and the spiritual transformation of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Influenced by western thought in his youth, Gandhi underwent a deep inner conflict that drew him to the study of comparative religion. His experiments with spiritual ideas, derived from a living faith in God, led him to propagate the principles of ahimsa and satyagraha. Gandhi was as much in politics as he was in search of God and the desire for God-realisation was the mainspring of all his actions, both political and social.

Could Gandhi have internalised his quest for God and still remained a leader of the masses? What is Gandhi's spiritual legacy that continues to inspire so many leaders across cultures? Can Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence address the ills of today's strife-torn world? This book examines Gandhi's spiritual ideology and traces his life-long journey in quest of truth that led him to conclude that Truth is God.

M. V. Kamath (1921-2014), eminent writer, columnist and journalist, authored over 45 books. He started his career in journalism in 1946. He was the correspondent at the United Nations for the Press Trust of India, and in Bonn, Paris and Washington for the Times of India. He was also editor of Free

Press Journal, and later of the Illustrated Weekly of India. A prolific writer, Mr. Kamath is the author of numerous biographies and books, which include The Pursuit of Excellence, B. G. Kher: The Gentleman Premier, Sai Baba of Shirdi: A Unique Saint, Nani A. Palkhivala: A life, and Narendra Modi: The Architect of a Modern State. In 2004, Mr. Kamath was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India. He was chairman of Prasar Bharathi, and a director of the Manipal Institute of Communications.

I have written this book on Gandhi and his compulsive desire to attain spiritualism with a great deal of trepidation. It is seldom that one knows one's own self. How then can one presume to know the workings of another individual's mindand that too, of someone like the Mahatma—with any degree of certainty? It is one thing to admit to one's fears and shortcomings and quite another to make an honest study of events and circumstances as are known and are public knowledge. Gandhi was by no means secretive about his thoughts and feelings and much to the discomfort and embarrassment of all his followers and even his close colleagues, had the courage openly to share them with one and all through his writings. The man was transparency personified. There was nothing that he hid from friends and foes including his wife Kasturba and his four sons. In the circumstances, it is difficult to categorise him. He is in a class by himself. There are literally scores of works on Gandhi, but the latest work entitled Mohandas, authored by his grandson Rajmohan Gandhi, tells us much more about the man than almost any other work of earlier vintage.

Gandhi's spirituality was not mere lip-service; it was rooted in positive action, for he was in every way a karmayogi. His spirituality consisted of identifying with the whole of God's creation and expressing it through tireless service of humanity. His journey towards realising the Supreme, therefore, encompassed a battle against untouchability, inequality, and all other prevailing unacceptable practices.

Spirituality underpinned all Gandhi's activities, whether social or political. He based his spiritualism on a strict moral code of conduct and ethics and it was due to his adherence to such a code that he could exercise a moral authority that not many can. What was remarkable about Gandhi, however, was his repeated assertion that every ideology had to submit to the acid test of reason before being accepted. He held that even the scriptures had to be rejected when they went against trained reason and the dictates of conscience. It was this questioning approach that led him to experiment with spiritual ideas, culminating in his definition: Truth is God. It is also this rational approach to religious beliefs and spirituality that makes Gandhi's ideals acceptable and practical.

**Contents and Sample Pages**