Are Gandhian principles relevant to today's 'Modern India'?
If you're a person who entertains such a question in your mind, then this book is definitely for you. Written more than a hundred years ago, this book continues to be relevant today and some of his views are indeed prophetic.
Even if you're one of those Gandhi-bashers, if you could keep your hatred for him aside for a while and read this book with the only aim of contemplating on the deeper meaning of his words instead of seeking opportunities to bash him further, you will find that his views on celibacy, soul-force, non-violence and self-rule all hold relevance even today.
There may be some points of his that may make us doubt his sanity or progressive nature. For example, be it his hatred for machines and modern civilisation or for the professions of law and medicine, a mere superfluous reading may make one squirm with disbelief at such 'backward' ideas, but read them in the context and they start making more meaning than ever before.
Of course, not all his über-ideal views will impress everyone and definitely none of us will even want such a world to come to truth, but this is a book worth reading if you want to know the truth that is Gandhi's mind and the convictions that pushed him onward on the path to excellence in the freedom struggle. A must-read for all those who love Indian History.
If you're a person who entertains such a question in your mind, then this book is definitely for you. Written more than a hundred years ago, this book continues to be relevant today and some of his views are indeed prophetic.
Even if you're one of those Gandhi-bashers, if you could keep your hatred for him aside for a while and read this book with the only aim of contemplating on the deeper meaning of his words instead of seeking opportunities to bash him further, you will find that his views on celibacy, soul-force, non-violence and self-rule all hold relevance even today.
There may be some points of his that may make us doubt his sanity or progressive nature. For example, be it his hatred for machines and modern civilisation or for the professions of law and medicine, a mere superfluous reading may make one squirm with disbelief at such 'backward' ideas, but read them in the context and they start making more meaning than ever before.
Of course, not all his über-ideal views will impress everyone and definitely none of us will even want such a world to come to truth, but this is a book worth reading if you want to know the truth that is Gandhi's mind and the convictions that pushed him onward on the path to excellence in the freedom struggle. A must-read for all those who love Indian History.
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