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Gandhi the Man

How One Man Changed Himself to Change the World

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This is the story of how Gandhi, an ineffective young lawyer, became the Mahatma, who led 400 million Indians in their nonviolent struggle for independence.

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Gandhi's life is both inspiring and baffling to modern readers. This biography gives a moving account of the turning points and choices in Gandhi's life that made him both a great leader and an icon of the transforming power of nonviolence.

Easwaran grew up in Gandhi's India. While visiting Gandhi's ashram, Easwaran watched as the Mahatma meditated on the Bhagavad Gita, the Indian scripture that was the source of his inspiration and strength. Easwaran shows how Gandhi endured terrible hardships joyfully and with love for all. And he explains what nonviolence is, and how it works.

This book has 70 digitally restored photographs, quotations from Gandhi's writings, and a detailed chronology with maps and background. It conveys the spirit and soul of Gandhi — the only way he can be truly understood.   

Audiobook

The audiobook includes Easwaran’s chapters 1-4 of the book but excludes the essay, “How nonviolence works,” by Tim Flinders. It is read by Paul Bazely, a professional actor and longtime student of Easwaran.

Experiences (4)

This book belongs in every public library in the English-speaking world.

Huston Smith, author of "The World's Religions"

You and I can touch Gandhi's person and heart through this compelling creation.

Rajmohan Gandhi, Research Professor, University of Illinois, and author of "Gandhi: The Man, His People, and the Empire"

Comes closer to giving some sense of how Gandhi saw his life than any other account I have read.

Bill McKibben

From front to back cover, this book cannot help but draw you in. Pick it up and simply flip through it: with even more photographs than before - all of them digitally restored - you'll see Gandhiji walking and laughing in the pages. And the detailed chronology with map and notes make this a useful reference for anyone - young and old - trying to understand the historical stage on which he lived.


Easwaran's introduction (not in the previous edition) brings to light his deep desire to understand Gandhiji's mesmerizing effect on Easwaran himself as well as the circle in which he lived. His quest to discover the underlying cause prompted a visit to Gandhi's ashram so that he could spend time with the Mahatma, and understand the deep inner transformation that Gandhiji underwent - to the end of his life - so that his every action was consistent with his deepest beliefs.


I love Easwaran's ability to unlock historical events by illustrating, for example, how by conserving his anger at injustice and harnessing it instead through "the fierce discipline of satyagraha", Gandhiji became an instrument for the welfare of both British and Indians alike. Ultimately, as we see here, Gandhi's actions are far from "political"; instead, they are driven by a deeper understanding of the unity of life. There is no book on Gandhi that captivates my heart as much as this one, or shows me how to become even a small part like him, through my own inner transformation.

THE MOST HELPFUL REVIEW ON AMAZON.COM