One of the people who inspired the Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi was the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, with whom Gandhi corresponded for many years. This correspondence is contained in Letters from One: Correspondence (and more) of Leo Tolstoy and Mohandas Gandhi. Tolstoy was a believer in the power of non-violence in resistance movements, and he rejected belief systems built on violence. Tolstoy also believed in the essential power of love over the ideologies of violence that many leaders subscribed to, and these beliefs influenced the way Gandhi led his resistance movement against British rule.
In addition, Gandhi was inspired by Raychandbhai, a Jain poet and philosopher. He was Gandhi's spiritual guide, and the two corresponded when Gandhi was living in South Africa. Ruskin, the British art historian, also influenced Gandhi. Ruskin's book Unto this Last had a profound effect on Gandhi. The book spoke of the moral unjustness of economic inequality and the unspiritual nature of modern methods of production. Ruskin believed work had a spiritual component and that modern work was often unjust and dehumanizing. Ruskin's ideas had a profound impact on Gandhi's economic ideas.
No comments:
Post a Comment