The Essential Gandhi
Encyclopedia
The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas is a collection of Gandhi's writings edited by Louis Fischer
. The book outlines how Gandhi became the Mahatma
and introduces Gandhi's opinions on various subjects. It is split into two parts: The Man and The Mahatma.
Part One chronicles the transformation of a young man full of internal struggle into India
's spiritual leader. Gandhi travels to England for his education and upholds his vow to abstain from meat, alcohol, and women. Gandhi displays both a sense of humor in his planned suicide and an obsession for perfection in his own dismay at his lust for his wife, Kasturbai. Throughout this part of the book, the reader is shown subtle glimpses of the part of the rather unremarkable Mohandas K. Gandhi that will become the spiritual leader of India. Part One culminates in Gandhi's march into the Transvaal leading thousands of Indian laborers on strike. The demonstration brought about reforms to the previously anti-Indian law code.
Louis Fischer
Louis Fischer was a Jewish-American journalist. Among his works were a contribution to the ex-Communist treatise The God that Failed, The Life of Lenin, which won a 1965 National Book Award, as well as a biography of Mahatma Gandhi entitled The Life of Mahatma Gandhi...
. The book outlines how Gandhi became the Mahatma
Mahatma
Mahatma is Sanskrit for "Great Soul". It is similar in usage to the modern Christian term saint. This epithet is commonly applied to prominent people like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Jyotirao Phule and Branch Rickey...
and introduces Gandhi's opinions on various subjects. It is split into two parts: The Man and The Mahatma.
The Man
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
's spiritual leader. Gandhi travels to England for his education and upholds his vow to abstain from meat, alcohol, and women. Gandhi displays both a sense of humor in his planned suicide and an obsession for perfection in his own dismay at his lust for his wife, Kasturbai. Throughout this part of the book, the reader is shown subtle glimpses of the part of the rather unremarkable Mohandas K. Gandhi that will become the spiritual leader of India. Part One culminates in Gandhi's march into the Transvaal leading thousands of Indian laborers on strike. The demonstration brought about reforms to the previously anti-Indian law code.