Veena R. Howard 
Gandhi’s Ascetic Activism [EPUB ebook] 
Renunciation and Social Action

More than six decades after his death, Mohandas Gandhi continues to inspire those who seek political and social liberation through nonviolent means. Uniquely, Gandhi placed celibacy and other renunciatory disciplines at the center of his nonviolent political strategy, conducting original experiments with their possibilities to gain practical, moral, and even miraculous powers for social change. Gandhi’s abstinence in marriage, eccentric views on sexuality, and odd ways of including his female associates in his practices continue to cause ambivalence among scholars and students. Through a comprehensive study of Gandhi’s own words, select Indian religious texts and myths that he used, and the historical and cultural context of his activism, Veena R. Howard shows how Gandhi’s ascetic disciplines helped him mobilize millions. She explores Gandhi’s creative use of renunciation in challenging established paradigms of confrontational politics, passive asceticism, and oppressive social customs. Howard’s book sheds new light on the creative possibilities Gandhi discovered in combining personal renunciation, sacrifice, ritual, and myth for modern day social action.

Cuprins

Acknowledgments

Notes on Symbols of Vocabulary and Transliteration

Preface

Introduction



1. Challenging the Philosophical Presupposition: Gandhi’s Unconventional Synthesis of Asceticism and Activism



2. Gandhi’s Alternative Paradigm: From Traditional Principles to New Political Purposes



3. The Traditional Roots of Gandhi’s
Brahmacarya



4. Gandhi’s Unorthodox
Brahmacarya: Reinterpreting Private Religious Practice for Public Service



5. Gandhi’s Embodiment of Legendary Heroes and Ascetics: Toward a Coherent Narrative for Nonviolent Activism



Conclusion

Appendices

Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Despre autor

Veena R. Howard teaches Religious Studies and Asian Studies at the University of Oregon.