Prison: A Life Of Privilege

Philosopher's Name and Brief Background

Mohandas Gandhi was an intensely spiritual man. He used his spirituality to help reform the unfair policies of the world and even businesses focusing on the oppressed people on such a personal level. During his life span he influenced many people and to this day people live by his leadership strategies

Louis Fischer is a renowned journalist who as we know edited the current book we are reading The Essential Gandhi. This consist of some of Gandhi writing that were edited by Fischer and it also explains how Gandhi became ‘Mahatma”.

Author's Central Purpose or Theme in this Chapter or Essay

In chapter 20 Louis Fischer describes Gandhi’s experience while in Yeravda Jail. Through Gandhi’s experience and outlook on being in jail, many themes based around individualistic improvement arise.

Identification of Major Themes, Ideas, and Arguments

Self Improvement – Don’t concentrate on the outside world but better yet the improvement of one’s self

Self-Control – It is best thing for an individual. It is merely training to reach a superior state

The Art of Thinking – One should not indulge in useless thoughts

Correction vs. Punishment – prison should be a place of correction because punishment makes crimes more persistent

Identification and Brief Description of Four to Six Key Passages ( with pp. #’s)

Page 236 – 4th paragraph (Self Improvement):

A point was made that “firemen do not waste any water on [the fire] at all. They only try to save the neighborhood…” (Fischer 236). It is impossible to eliminate the chaos of the world all in one so first we must focus on what is possible and that is improving ourselves. We must not waste any “water”, energy, on improving the world but we mu...

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...fined to the space provided for them and locked away from the world. I would think that the prisoners would find it useless to worry about the outside world and worry about themselves. Just as the prisoner are confined, we could confine our train of thought so that we may not worry about useless things but worry about what’s important as well as work on our individual selves, which can transfer to the improvement of the world.

Two or three Questions for Discussion

1. How is experiencing happiness of Gita superior to all other emotions?

2. “A follower of the Gita dharma [duty] trains himself to do without things with happiness…” (Fischer 237). When he talks about things with happiness does it relate to Satyagraha, when one reaches the level where they must leave their family and seclude themselves?

3. What did Gandhi experience that made his time in jail enjoyable?