Gandhi the Man is a biography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi written by Eknath Easwaran. The book was originally published in the United States in 1973. Several subsequent expanded editions have been published. Non-English editions have also been published in several languages.

Topics covered

All US editions of Gandhi the Man contain four major parts entitled 1) The Transformation, 2) The Way of Love, 3) Mother and Child, and 4) Gandhi the Man. All US editions also contain numerous photographs. More recent editions contain a foreword by Michael Nagler and an Appendix by Timothy Flinders entitled "How Satyagraha Works." The 4th edition (2011) contains several pages of maps and chronology (timelines), and additional background notes.

Reviews and influence

Reviews have appeared in the New York Post,<ref name=mckibben89>Bill McKibben (21 May 1989). New York Post, pp. 4-5. Review of Gandhi the Man, A Man to Match His Mountains, Meditation, The Mantram Handbook, and Conquest of Mind. the San Francisco Chronicle, The History Teacher,<ref name=cody81> and elsewhere. In the New York Post, Bill McKibben wrote that Gandhi the Man "seems at first glance like pure hagiography, most notable for the wonderful photographs it contains. But it isn't a picture book - in fact, in very few words, it comes closer to giving some sense of how Gandhi saw his life than any other account I have read. From the outside, his life looked like a political drama... But from the inside, Easwaran argues quite persuasively, it looked quite different. Gandhi mastered his own life - took charge of his mind and his body. As a result he knew no fear, only great and undifferentiated love for the rest of creation. And so he was able to powerfully affect that creation." In The History Teacher Donald Cody wrote that "the book's uniqueness lies in the effective interspersing of some six dozen pictures throughout the relatively short text [...which] itself is biographical only in a very general way; the author's major goal is to reveal the spiritual dimensions of Gandhi's life.... Teachers and college students, in particular, will find the two or three hours spent with this book a rare inspirational experience. Even high school students who appreciate works with a spiritual focus will be affected by its profound message." Cody also wrote that "while the author describes [the] political struggle in considerable detail, he is more interested in showing that Gandhi did not see achieving India's freedom as his primary goal. In fact, had he not believed that British rule was particularly injurious to the Indian lower classes, he might not have involved himself in the independence movement at all." In the Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, Tonya Emeigh suggested that Gandhi the Man could be used for teaching humane attitudes towards farm animals.<ref name=emeigh88> The publisher quoted influential religion scholar Huston Smith as stating that "This book belongs in every public library in the English-speaking world."

Curriculum

Gandhi the Man serves as the basis of a 7-week curriculum and course offered through a US-based church denomination.

Editions

The original edition was published by in 1973 by Glide Publications (San Francisco). Several later US editions were published Nilgiri Press. Other editions have been published in Chinese (PRC),<ref name=gtmchinese>Eknath Easwaran (1998). 圣雄·甘地: 非暴力之父 (The Father of Nonviolence: Mahatma Gandhi) ISBN 7-80128-125-X, ISBN 978-7-80128-125-8, (306 pages) Czech,<ref name=gtmczech>Eknath Easwaran (1999). Gándhí člověk: příběh jeho transformace (Gandhi the Man: The Story of his Transformation) (Bohumila Kučerová, trans.). Czech Republic: Volvox Globator. ISBN 80-7207-270-6, ISBN 978-80-7207-270-5 (140 pages) Dutch,<ref name=gtmdutch83>Eknath Easwaran (1983). Gandhi (Hilde Lichtendahl, trans.). Netherlands: Sirius en Siderius. ISBN 906441047X, ISBN 978-90-6441-047-5 <ref name=gtmdutch97>Eknath Easwaran (1997). Gandhi Een biografie Netherlands: Ankh-Hermes. ISBN 90-202-8124-0 ISBN 9789020281248 (paper) German,<ref name=gtmgerman83>Eknath Easwaran (1983). Der Mensch Gandhi. Germany:Grumann. ISBN 3-924092-13-3, ISBN 978-3-924092-13-9 (184 pages). <ref name=gtmgerman97>Eknath Easwaran (1997). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=gvvZAAAACAAJ&q=Der+Mensch+Gandhi.+Sein+Leben+ist+eine+Botschaft Der Mensch Gandhi. Sein Leben ist eine Botschaft (Gandhi the Man: His Life is a Message)]''. Freiburg, Germany:Herder. ISBN 978-3-451-04564-6 Indonesian,<ref name=gtmindonesian13>Eknath Easwaran (2013). Gandhi the Man - Seorang pria yang mengubah dirinya demi mengubah dunia. Indonesia: Bentang Pustaka (Mizan Group). ISBN 6027888903, ISBN 978-602-7888-90-6 (288 pages). Japanese,<ref name=gtmjapanese13>Eknath Easwaran (2013). 人間ガンディー 世界を変えた自己変革 / (Gandhi the Man: How One Man Changed Himself to Change the World) (ｽﾀｲﾅｰ 紀美子= Kimiko Steiner, trans.). Osaka, Japan: 大阪東方出版 / Eastern Osaka Publishing. ISBN 978-4862492135, ISBN 4862492134,, (214 pages) Korean,<ref name=gtmkorean>Eknath Easwaran (2005). 비폭력이 가장 위대한 사랑이다 (Nonviolence is the Greatest Love) (박유진, trans.). Korea: 꿈꾸는돌. ISBN 89-91159-07-9, ISBN 978-89-91159-07-5 Kurdish,<ref name=gtmkurdish10>Eknath Easwaran (2010). Rebāzī-i ʻashq : chīrokī wacharkhānī roḥī-y Māhātmā Gāndī (Hāwār Aḥmad Halanjayi [Halabjayi], trans. from Persian). Hawler [Erbil], Iraq: Chāpkhāna-y Minārih. (175 pages) and Persian.<ref name=gtmpersian>Eknath Easwaran (2001). Rāh-i ʻishq: dāsitān taḥūl rūḥī mahātmā Gāndī (The Way of Love: The Story of Mahatma Gandhi's spiritual transformation) (Shahram Tabrizi, trans.). Iran: ققنوس، (Phoenix). ISBN 964-311-411-2, ISBN 978-964-311-411-4, (190 pages). English-language editions have been published in Canada, India, and the US. The US editions are: Canadian edition: Indian edition: