ABSTRACT
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948) (Mahatma Gandhi) and Aurobindo Ghose (1872–1950) (Sri Aurobindo) are among the deep makers and nurturing figures of modern India. Their thoughts and actions have been significant for the whole world especially for its future trajectory of evolution towards a world of beauty, dignity and dialogues. However, their lives, thoughts, contemporary legacies, works, and relevance for alternative human futures, have been rarely studied and explored together. This Introduction explores some of these issues. It discusses historical, philosophical, theoretical and sociological questions vis-à-vis their lives and works. It examines the convergence and divergence between their lives and thoughts, such as their visions and struggles for Swaraj, integral yoga, critique of state, and spiritual transformation of self and society.
