This new selection of Gandhi's writings taken from his books, articles, letters and interviews sets out his views on religion, politics, society, non-violence and civil disobedience. Judith M. Brown's excellent introduction and notes examines his philosophy and the political context in which he wrote.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, called Mahatma (“great soul”), was the father of modern India, but his influence has spread well beyond the subcontinent and is as important today as it was in the first part of the twentieth century and during this nation’s own civil rights movement. Taken from Gandhi’s writings throughout his life, The Essential Gandhi introduces us to his thoughts on politics, spirituality, poverty, suffering, love, non-violence, civil disobedience, and his own life. The pieces collected here, with explanatory head notes by Gandhi biographer Louis Fischer, offer the clearest, most thorough portrait of one of the greatest spiritual leaders the world has known. “Gandhi was inevitable. If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. . . . We may ignore him at our own risk.” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. With a new Preface drawn from the writings of Eknath Easwaran In the annals of spirituality certain books stand out both for their historical importance and for their continued relevance. The Vintage Spiritual Classics series offers the greatest of these works in authoritative new editions, with specially commissioned essays by noted contemporary commentators. Filled with eloquence and fresh insight, encouragement and solace, Vintage Spiritual Classics are incomparable resources for all readers who seek a more substantive understanding of mankind's relation to the divine.

Gandhi the Man tells how Gandhi remade himself from a shy, tongue-tied, average little man to a Mahatma whose life can serve as an inspiration for our own transformation....

Presents Essential Writings Of Mahatma Gandhi Under 8 Different Sections-Autobiographical Writings-The Search For God-Pursuit Of Truths Stead Fast Resistance And Epilogue.

DIVFine explanation of civil disobedience shows how great pacifist used non-violent philosophy to lead India to independence. Self-discipline, fasting, social boycotts, strikes, other techniques. /div

Gandhi's thoughts on such topics as civil disobedience, non-violence, liberty, socialism and communism, and how to enjoy jail.

This selection of Gandhi's writings, taken from his letters, articles and books, represents the complete cross-section of his thought, from his early years as a young barrister in London, to his final days as sage and counsel to newly independent India. The selection not only reveals the growth of his ideas but also their essential internal integrity and consistency. Similarly, it illustrates the full facets of his personality, showing Gandhi to be both an ascetic mystic contemplative, as well as a man of action, and revealing aspects of his thought and character that may have previously been obscured.