The basic principles of Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence and non-violent action were chosen by Thomas Merton for this volume in 1965. In his challenging Introduction, “Gandhi and the One-Eyed Giant”, Merton emphasizes the importance of action rather than mere pacifism as a central component of non-violence, and illustrates how the foundations of Gandhi’s universal truths are linked to traditional Hindu Dharma, the Greek philosophers, and the teachings of Christ and Thomas Aquinas.
Educated as a Westerner in South Africa, it was Gandhi’s desire to set aside the caste system as well as his political struggles in India which led him to discover the dynamic power of non-cooperation. Gandhi’s politics of spiritual integrity have influence generations of people around the world as well as civil rights leaders from Martin Luther King, Jr, and Steve Biko to Vaclav Havel and Aung San Suu Kyi.