Mahatma Gandhi said that some of his deepest convictions were reflected in a book titled, “Unto this Last” and the book transformed his life. What was the message from the book that transformed Mahatma Gandhi ?

Mahatma Gandhi's reading of John Ruskin's 'Unto This Last' in 1904 during a train journey in South Africa brought about an 'instantaneous and practical transformation' in his life. In his autobiography, Gandhi summarized the book's teachings into three fundamental points that reflected his deepest convictions. The first and most central message was that 'the good of the individual is contained in the good of all'. The other two points emphasized the equal value of all work (e.g., a lawyer and a barber) and the dignity of manual labor, such as that of a tiller or handicraftsman. This philosophy led Gandhi to establish the Phoenix Settlement and later inspired his concept of 'Sarvodaya' (welfare of all). While Gandhi valued celibacy and uplifting the poor, the specific transformative message he attributed to Ruskin's book was the collective good.

Sources

1. [1] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 15: Emergence of Gandhi > Tolstoy Farm > p. 314