The Spirit's Pilgrimage

By Mirabehn

Book Overview

The autobiography of Madeleine Slade, a young English woman who renounced her heritage of privilege to become, as Mirabehn, the intimate and trusted disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0915556138
• ISBN13: 9780915556137
• Release Date: September 1995
• Publisher: Great River Books
• Length: 319 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The most enigmatic platonic relation of the 20th century

`Spirits Pilgrimage' is a memoir-cum-autobiography of Madeline Slade who at the age of thirty-three came down to India from England renouncing an aristocratic upbringing to be with Gandhi and his cause. Mirabehn, as she soon came to know since she landed in India, spent next 33 years of her life working with Gandhi becoming the only western woman disciple of Gandhi who sustained so long in India. Even after the death of Gandhi, she spent another ten years in India working on different community projects before moving to Vienna to pursue her real dream: study of Beethoven, her beloved personality from the history of music. After all, it was Beethoven whom she served by serving Gandhi and after the death of Gandhi she continued to `serve' Beethoven until her death in 1983. Considered as the most enigmatic platonic relation of the 20th century, their `relation' caught the attention of both historians and common folks alike on the exact nature of the bond between them. So, naturally, when she had written her autobiography, everyone expected that she would give some insight into her `relation' with Gandhi. Contrary to the expectations, she scarcely touched on the topic of their relation in her book but instead portrayed a woman destined to serve her life in India with Gandhi and his cause. Her portrayal of Gandhi leaves us with a picture of a man who was both spiritual and astutely political. Reading between the lines of her book what is becoming more clear is the melancholy with which she was contracted all the while she was in India serving Gandhi, an emotion she could neither comprehend nor could escape from. Her physically challenging and mentally demanding life with Gandhi and frequent bouts of illness she suffered in India could be attributed to the state of her mind. Between them, they had many written communications that goes beyond the boundaries of `normal' relationship between a guru and his disciple. Their letters were also the source of all the bewilderment historians had on the exact nature of their relation. But, in her book, she clearly is trying to conceal the intricate details of her inner self from readers. For example, she said she moved to tears when she was barred from seeing Gandhi at Wardha, but she stopped short of giving any details on why she was barred and why seeing her would cause Gandhi's blood pressure to rise. Also, she has not given any details of psychological, spiritual and or political conversations she may have had with Gandhi. Trying to understand Mira and her `exceptional' personality would have been helpful in unraveling the complex relationship that Gandhi had kept with many of his women disciples. But, in her memoir, she seldom touches on the details of their relationship and wherever she scarcely did, she rather preferred to remain aloof and thus leaving readers stranded. In his book `Gandhi and his Apostles' Ved Mehta explains his meeting with Mira at her cottage in Vienna during late seventies. She t