Ghandi was one of the more spiritual people in our history.
I read a book about him ("Freedom at midnight", I think) and saw the movie.

From memory India was approaching its freedom from Englands rule.
It was all primed like a powder keg.
Many millions of poor people of opposing religions (there is that awful word again) were keen to get power and control.
It was not him himself who avioded India dissolving into civil war and mass bloodshed, there were a few politicians who saw the probabilities and the possibility.
Ghandi appealed to the mass India consciousness.  
At one stage it seemed the sporadic violence was reeling out of control.
He fasted till they stopped. He almost died fasting.  

How could one elderley frail man .....guide an entire nation through to such an unlikely outcome ?


What a great man.

Just out of interest, was he the first to achieve anything like that through non-violence? Except for Jesus of course. Nelson Mandela had a theory that it is largely the oppressor in those situations who dictates the level of violence. The harder they try to hold onto power, the more violent it gets.

hhhmmm, I think he was the first to achieve that. Jesus did sort of another thing IMHO.

Yes, the oppressor oppresses to whatever level they see fit to.  The oppressed "retaliate" how they see fit.
How Ghandi "retaliated" was ......... brave ?  There is no law against what he did.

I read Mandalas biography too. Was pretty dull in a way.
What can someone who was in jail for about 25 - 20 years write about ??

You mean Long Walk to Freedom? I've heard the same from someone else, but I thought it was great. It put a human face on what went on over there. I often tell people the tidbit about Nelson Mandela drinking milk straight from the cow's teat as a child. Obviously there isn't a whole lot about his time in jail, but he did still try to play an influential role from inside.