{"id":33241,"date":"2018-10-16T23:04:44","date_gmt":"2018-10-17T03:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=33241"},"modified":"2018-10-16T23:04:44","modified_gmt":"2018-10-17T03:04:44","slug":"review-of-the-gift-of-anger-by-arun-gandhi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=33241","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Gift of Anger, by Arun Gandhi"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Gift of Anger<\/p>\n

And Other Lessons from My Grandfather Mahatma Gandhi<\/em><\/p>\n

by Arun Gandhi<\/p>\n

Gallery Books (Jeter Publishing), 2017. 292 pages.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

This book is filled with stories of things that Arun Gandhi learned as a child when he lived for two years on the ashram with his grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi. I read a chapter a day, which gave me some nice, inspirational food for thought. I learned much I didn\u2019t know about Mahatma Gandhi, but what I love most about this book is how it radiates peace and nonviolence. Reading this book makes it much easier to see how counterproductive it is to hold onto anger.<\/p>\n

The chapters themselves are listed as \u201clessons.\u201d So \u201cLesson One\u201d is \u201cUse Anger for Good.\u201d Lesson Four is \u201cKnow Your Own Worth.\u201d Lesson Five is \u201cLies Are Clutter.\u201d Lesson Six is \u201cWaste Is Violence.\u201d And Lesson Eight is \u201cHumility Is Strength.\u201d The book includes eleven lessons, all illustrated by stories and insiights. Lesson Nine gives us \u201cThe Five Pillars of Nonviolence,\u201d and throughout the book, a picture develops of the power of a nonviolent life.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t surprised by the title story and the lesson \u201cUse Anger for Good,\u201d because I\u2019d read about that incident in Arun Gandhi\u2019s picture book, Grandfather Gandhi<\/a>.<\/em> When Arun came to the ashram as a boy, he had a lot of anger. His grandfather talked with him, including this insight:<\/p>\n

Bapuji looked over at me from behind his spinning wheel. \u201cI am glad to see you can be moved to anger. Anger is good. I get angry all the time,\u201d he confessed as his fingers turned the wheel.<\/p>\n

I could not believe what I was hearing. \u201cI have never seen you angry,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I have learned to use my anger for good,\u201d he explained. \u201cAnger to people is like gas to the automobile \u2013 it fuels you to move forward and get to a better place. Without it, we would not be motivated to rise to a challenge. It is an energy that compels us to define what is just and unjust.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grandfather explained that when he was a boy in South Africa, he too had suffered from violent prejudice, and it made him angry. But eventually he learned that it didn\u2019t help to seek vengeance, and he began to fight against prejudice and discrimination with compassion, responding to anger and hate with goodness. He believed in the power of truth and love. Seeking revenge made no sense to him. An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And that\u2019s only the first lesson! The lessons progress, and are usually accompanied by stories from Arun\u2019s life with his grandfather, though there are usually other illustrations as well. The lessons include Mahatma Gandhi\u2019s time of political activism, using nonviolent protest to free India from British rule, and they continue all the way up to his death, and Arun\u2019s struggles with wanting revenge. Ultimately, honoring his grandfather\u2019s legacy won out. <\/p>\n

\u201cForgiveness is more manly than punishment,\u201d Bapuji had said.<\/p>\n

When we are tested, we don\u2019t prove our strength with violence or anger but by directing our actions for good. India had given Bapuji the great gift of a brief peace after his death. I had to give him the similar gift of forgiveness in the face of great evil. Bapuji had once explained that it is easy to love those who love you, but the real power of nonviolence comes when you can love those who hate you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s lots of wisdom in this little book.<\/p>\n

SimonandSchuster.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Nonfiction\/gift_of_anger.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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