Swami Anand

Swami Anand (8 September 1887 – 25 January 1976) was a monk, a Gandhian activist and a Gujarati writer from India. He was the manager of Gandhi's publications such as Navajivan and Young India and inspired Gandhi to write his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth. He wrote sketches, memoir, biographies, philosophy, travelogues and translated some works.

Biography

Early life Swami Anand was born Himmatlal on 8 September 1887 at Shiyani village near Wadhwan to Ramchandra Dave (Dwivedi) and Parvati in Audichya Brahmin family. His father was a teacher. He was among seven siblings.

Anand's entry into the Indian independence movement was through his association with the revolutionaries of Bengal in 1905. Later, he worked in the Kesari, the Marathi newspaper founded by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, in 1907. He was also involved in independence activities in rural regions. He also edited the Gujarati edition of Marathi daily Rashtramat during the same period. When it was closed down, he travelled the Himalayas in 1909. In 1912, he taught at the Hill Boys School in Almoda which was founded by Annie Besant. Gandhi launched his weekly, the Navjeevan from Ahmedabad four years later. Its inaugural issue came out in September 1919 and soon the workload increased. It was at this juncture that Gandhi sent for Anand to become the manager of the publication. Swami Anand took over its management in late 1919. He proved to be a good editor and manager and when the Young India was launched, he moved the publication to larger premises and with printing equipment donated by Mohammed Ali Jouhar, its publication began. On 18 March 1922, he was jailed for one and a half years as a publisher for an article published in Young India. Later, The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi was published based on the talks Gandhi gave at the Satyagraha Ashram in Ahmedabad in 1926. Swami Anand played a role in inspiring Gandhi to write this work as well.

He was Vallabhai Patel's secretary during the Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928. In 1930, he was again jailed for three years for participating in Salt Satyagraha at Vile Parle in Bombay. When he was released in 1933, he focused on the upliftment of the tribals and the underprivileged. He also founded the Ashrams in Bordi in Gujarat in 1931 followed by in Thane, Kausani and Kosbad.

His philosophical essay collections include Isunu Balidan (1922), Ishopnishad, Ishubhagwat (1977), Lokgeeta, Navla Darshan Ane Bija Lekho (1968), Manavtana Veri (1966), Anant Kala (1967), Atamna Mool (1967), Sarvoday Vicharana (co-written).

A biography of Swami Anand was written by Chandrakant Sheth and he is the central character in Sujata Bhatt's poem, "Point No Point".