Library / Letter to a Hindu

Three words: Educational, valuable, reflective

A few more: A bit of history: You’ve probably heard of Leo Tolstoy, author of those pretty large books such as War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and other highly acclaimed literature. He was also that russian guy with a really large beard, a Christian anarchist, and a believer in non-violence. In 1908 Tolstoy wrote a letter to the editor of an indian publication, Free Hindustan. It was later passed on to Gandhi who translated it from Russian and published it in an Indian newspaper.Then started a letter correspondence between Gandhi and Tolstoy. In fact the last letter Tolstoy wrote before his death was to Ghandi

In the letter Tolstoy argues this: That only through love could the people of India free themselves from the British and that only the through the nonviolent application of love, in the form of peaceful resistance, will there be an alternative to violent revolution  Tolstoy believes that the only way to answer evil is with love.

Here's a taste: "A commercial company enslaved a nation comprising two hundred millions. Tell this to a man free from superstition and he will fail to grasp what these words mean. What does it mean that thirty thousand men, not athletes but rather weak and ordinary people, have subdued two hundred million vigorous, clever, capable, and freedom-loving people? Do not the figures make it clear that it is not the English who have enslaved the Indians, but the Indians who have enslaved themselves?... If the people of India are enslaved by violence, it is only because they themselves live and have lived by violence and do not recognize the eternal law of love inherent in humanity”

For bookshelf or borrowing?: My copy looks like a mangled mess from notes and carrying it around. I’m adding it to my folder of essays I love. You can buy this in book format, but I printed my copy for free online.