Very well organized, and informativeDecember 29, 2006 5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I really liked the way everything is laid out in this book, allowing you to read Gandhi's own words coupled with an explanation of events that was driving him.
EXTRAORDINARY COLLECTION OF GANDHI'S WRITINGS FROM VINTAGE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS SERIESNovember 14, 2006 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
but why not get the originals instead, avaiable here cheaply on amazon.
This book draws from a number of original sources, including "My Experiments with Truth", etc., and you may choose to skip these excerpts and get the full writings. The more in this case the better.
Yet please take a moment to view the back cover using amazon's remarkable "Search Inside" feature, to read the quote about Gandhi's inevitability written by our nation's greatest Christian preacher, the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., slain for doing and preaching non-violence, including opposing profitable warmongering and warmaking that only killed and wounded his and other peoples of color. King learned much about Christianity from Gandhi, and we can do no less. Lucky if we do as well.
Again, please search the mighty amazon for all of Gandhi's orignal works and read them in their entirety,and not only these excerpts collected originally long ago. (In fact one chapter heading, not quoting Gandhi, refers to Negros, a term which fell out of use some forty years ago).
I in particular now study with gratitude his Tous les hommes sont freres, whose topics are tellingly urgent today. His Way to God is also very very helpful and consoling.
But if you need a fine introductory text, begin here if you promise not to rest here. Vintage Spiritual Classics series are a decent popular source, but not the deep river that runs nearby. It is a division of Random House here recycling and reprinting old works still in the catalogue in new wineskins.
Go to the originals! These are the leaders and voices we most sorely need today: Dr. King and Gandhi. Or just read the Reverend Father John Dear, SJ, and you'll get the idea if not the Spirit. Or better yet, get Father Dear's collection of Gandhi's writings instead, from Orbis Books' Modern Spiritual Masters series entitled, Mohandas Gandhi: Essential Writings.
No better time to get your Ahimsa and SatyagrahaJune 27, 2006 61 out of 63 found this review helpful
This is a book that should- and will- profoundly affect you. On the one hand its wonderful and inspiring. But I find myself instead feeling heart-broken. Mournful. I grieve for an alternate reality where our leaders have either the education, curiosity, wisdom, or courage to embrace the lessons of great people such as Gandhi. It's not exactly esoteric stuff. Everyone knows the name Gandhi and has at least some sense of where he stands historically. Even for the non-readers, there was the movie. It was a big deal.
Gandhi's true transformation occurred when he realized that violence is demeaning not just to victims but to the perpetrators. It is an intoxicating release of sadistic impulses. Impulses that are addicting and toxic. I was reading this book and think about the state of the world, and found myself thinking the tired cliche: give peace a chance. It feels so trite, a well-worn sixties throw-back. But it also a courageous sentiment. Peace takes courage and creativity, and it isn't as quick and easy as violence in the short-term, but it is more than just a dream. Peace is a bold assertion.
What kinds of things crossed my mind when I was reading this book? When John Kerry returned from Vietnam and testified about atrocities being committed by both sides, he was vilified by the right wing, portrayed as a traitor. But it was an act of courage. He obviously wasn't saying we should stop the war because American soldiers are bad people. He was showing how violence leads to more violence, how the violence of an unjust war corrupted the souls of good young Americans who were drawn into warfare. Violence leads to violence, but most importantly the converse is also true. Non-violence is just as contagious. We see peace leading to peace on all levels, from the macro international level all the way down to individual relationships. Another example that crossed my mind is the all-to-recent transformation in the culture of inpatient psychiatry. In the past, restraining people was considered a good treatment option because it quickly stopped dangerous behavior and gave staff a sense of control and safety. But now, the attitude has changed. Restraints are no longer seen as a treatment option but instead as a treatment failure, a last ditch resort for extreme cases only. And the results? People are actually safer. Violent patient behavior eventually goes down when staff thinks creatively of non-traumatic solutions. Those are some of the things that crossed my mind as I read this book.
Something else I like about Gandhi, as reflected in his writings: Whether or not you believe he was born destined for greatness has to do with your spiritual bent, but either way, he accomplished what he accomplished as a political leader and philosopher through the hard work of personal journey and spiritual exploration. He was an anglophile when he was young, buying into the classism of the oppressors. When he became radicalized after witnessing the cruelty and the glee with which the British soldiers repressed rebellion, the pendulum at first swung all the way the other way. He became a separatist, not unlike Malcolm X prior to his spiritual transformation. In fact, Gandhi was almost a middle-aged man before coming up with the magnanimous observation that violence degrades all involved, victims and perpetrators alike. That was a surprise to me actually, that Gandhi rejected separatism at an older age than Malcolm X did.
So read Gandhi. Read, share your books, talk about what it stirs up. Dream of a better way. And find a way to act on your dreams. And read John Stuart Mill, Emma Goldman, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Edward Said, Chomsky... Agree, disagree, but read with an open mind. Sorry for all the chatter. Thank you for listening, bye bye.
I wish I had known this book!!!!!!!April 5, 2006 8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Before purchasing this book I had purchased quite a few of other Gandhi titles, but this book truely takes the cake. It is so incredibly well organized, hits the essential notes about Gandhi the man, his spiritual and political gifts to the world. Anytime i need a dose of inner strength and need to evoke a spirit of service in my self this very portable and handy book is the magic key
The "Essential" Reading for AllMarch 18, 2006 4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Essential religion, essential spirituality, essential humanity, essential leadership, essential politics, essential history and more. All in one book!
Praise to Louis Fischer for creating such an incredible view into the mind of an incredible man.
