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Many people have written about Mahatma Gandhi and religions, and many have published their personal reminiscences of his. A distinctive feature of this boom however, is that the chapters on Gandhi and the several religions which he drew upon are complemented by a chapter describing his relationship-which changed more than once during his long life - to various forms of religious non-belief. Relevant personal reminiscences by Lavanam Gora and his family are included and are referred to in the analysis, and yet the conclusions are so carefully framed that Gandhians whose own religious views differ saliently from the authors' have praised this book as a path-breaking study and a superb achievement in scholarship and sensitivity. About the Authors:
Lavanam Gora Lavanam Gora was honoured in the 19902 by the International Humanist and Ethical Union as "Humanist of the Decade." Trained in social work by his father (to whom Gandhi wrote in 1945: "Though there is a resemblance between your thought and practice and mine superficially. I must own that yours is far superior to mine"), worked as a young man with Vinoba Bhave and later co-founded with his wife a social-work agency empowering joghinis (religious prostitutes) and members of "criminal castes" to escape the degrading ways of life prescribed for them by traditional religious and legal authorities. He has twice circumnavigated the world in lecture tours, has served as an executive secretary of the All-India Sarva Seva Sangh, and is a trustee of Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, the national umbrella organization of Gandhian social work agencies.
Mark Lindley Dr. Mark Lindley has taught courses at Bogazici University (Istanbul) on modern South Asian history and on Gandhi, has served as Visiting Professor in Gandhian Studies at the University of Kerala, and has lectured on Gandhian topics at many universities in the West and in India. His previous publications include "Gandhi's Challenge Now to the Affluent." Journal of Gandhian Studies, vol. 2(2004); "Mahatma Gandhi and J.C. Kumarappa as Figures of World Culture," Modern Historical Studies, vol. 1(2000); "Gandhi's Rhetoric," Journal of Literature and Aesthetics, vol. 27 (1999); Gandhi and Humanism (Harvard University Humanist Chaplaincy; 2nd ed., 1999) and Gandhiji kis prakar is nishkarsh par pahunche ki antarjatiya vivah se jati pratha ka unmoolan karna hoga (National Gandhi Museum, New Delhi, 1998).
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