Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Kathiawar, India, which was then part of the British Empire. Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of India’s non-violent independence movement against British rule and in South Africa who advocated for the civil rights of Indians. Gandhi studied law and organized boycotts against British institutions in peaceful forms of civil disobedience. Gandhi grew up worshiping the Hindu god Vishnu and following Jainism, a morally rigorous ancient Indian religion that espoused non-violence, fasting, meditation and vegetarianism. During Gandhi’s first stay in London, from 1888 to 1891, he became more committed to joining the executive committee of the London Vegetarian Society, and started to read a variety of sacred texts to learn more about world religions. Living in South Africa, Gandhi continued to study world religions. “The religious spirit within me became a living force,” he wrote of his time there. He immersed him...