Book of Prayers

Throughout his adult life, in religious communities he founded and led, Mahatma Gandhi officiated at group prayer services twice each day. For this purpose, over a period of four decades, he compiled a breviary including some of the most profoundly moving lyrics in all sacred literature, drawn from Hindu, Christian, Moslem, Jain and Sikh traditions. In 1930, Gandhi produced an English translation of this collection for one of his British devotees. Book of Prayers is the first American edition of these translations.

Although drawn primarily from Indian sources, these passages cross cultural boundaries, directly expressing universal spiritual aspirations. Their plain and unadorned literary style, achieved through meticulous attention to the language and spirit of the original texts, reflects Gandhi's humility and simplicity of life. This edition includes a foreword by Arun Gandhi, the grandson of the Mahatma, and an introduction by Michael N. Nagler.