In this narrow window of time separating the 150th birth anniversaries of M.K. Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo, one of Indias most prolific and creative sociologists, Ananta Kumar Giri, proves once again to be a unique voice of simultaneous scholarship and devotion. In his latest edited book, Giri and his distinguished fellow contributors inaugurate a sustained, synergistic dialogue between these two national and global icons. What is fascinating is the consistent juxtaposition in every single chapter never before this book have Gandhi and Aurobindo so meticulously been brought together. The two may never have met in person, but Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo reveals countless ways that they were also never apart.
Aakash Singh Rathore, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonepat, India
Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo have left us with a legacy of undeveloped potential for revolutionary political, economic, cultural, and environmental thinking and practice, for ethical living, and for transformative spiritual realization. This most significant book, bringing Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo-informed perspectives into complex dynamic dialogues and interactions, has the potential to burst open some of our present false, immoral, and destructive closures and to offer qualitatively new creative ways of relating to our contemporary crises that threaten life on the planet.
Douglas Allen, Professor of Philosophy, The University of Maine, USA
Amidst pandemic and climate change and global social upheaval this book lifts up the two paths to personal and political freedom charted by Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo. We all seek sovereignty (svaraj). How might we be inspired by Gandhi's nonviolence and holding to truth and Aurobindo's descent of consciousness? These essays boldly bring us into heightened awareness of social location and the relentless and unremitting tragedies of human history. Contemporary solutions require moving into a shared vision of a plural universe, seeking federalist alliances rather than slipping intro nationalisms, setting aside personal, consumerist impulses in favor of a common good. This book edifies and educates the reader about the history of how Gandhi and Aurobindo responded during World War II. It explores literature about justice and injustice as found in the celebrated novel Samskara. These essays remind us of Gandhi's call for lifestyle simplicity, and the quest for human liberation as exemplified by Aurobindo. It poses the enduring question: beyond mere survival, how do we sustain and thrive?
Christopher Key Chapple, Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology and Director, Master of Arts in Yoga Studies, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, USA
