Spiritual Leaders: Mahatma Gandhi

with Peter Popham
Peter Popham

Leader

Peter Popham

As a foreign correspondent, mostly for The Independent newspaper, Peter has lived and worked in Japan, India and Italy, and reported from more than thirty other countries. His first book, published in 1985 was Tokyo - the City at the End of the World, a portrait of the world’s largest city, which was reissued in 2021. In Japan he became a student of Yamada Koun Roshi, a renowned Zen Master based in Kamakura, and practiced zen meditation with his group for several years. Today he is a trustee of the UK branch of the same school, Sanbo-Zen, which practices here at Meditatio every Tuesday. An interview with the Burmese democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prizewinner Aung San Suu Kyi led to a long involvement with that country, prompting Jeremy Paxman to ask on University Challenge, ‘which British journalist has written two books about Burma?’ (The question was answered correctly.) The first of these was The Lady and the Peacock, a world-wide bestseller. Posted to Delhi in 1997 to cover the anniversary of Indian independence, Peter was intrigued by the peaceful power and the charisma of Mahatma Gandhi, and horrified by what he learned about Partition, the division of the subcontinent between India and Pakistan. The result was his acclaimed novel India Be Damned, which is on sale here today. https://www.peterpopham.com/

Date

May 28 2025

Time

UK Time
6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Location

The Meditatio Centre & ONLINE
Category

Gandhi, Churchill and the End of the Raj.

In their lust for power, Stalin and Hitler killed millions. But Gandhi, small and shy, relieved Britain of the crown jewel in its empire without even firing a pop gun.

How did he do it? What can we make of his legacy today? And why was Winston Churchill, so effective as a war leader, impotent to stop him? 

I became fascinated with Gandhi while working in Delhi as the Independent’s South Asia correspondent. He is a major character in my acclaimed novel India Be Damned, set at the time of independence.

Peter’s  book will be on sale afterwards.

Please join us for what promises to be a fascinating evening.

There will be time for questions and comments and we will begin, as always, with the opportunity to meditate. 

 

Peter Popham

Leader

Peter Popham

As a foreign correspondent, mostly for The Independent newspaper, Peter has lived and worked in Japan, India and Italy, and reported from more than thirty other countries. His first book, published in 1985 was Tokyo - the City at the End of the World, a portrait of the world’s largest city, which was reissued in 2021. In Japan he became a student of Yamada Koun Roshi, a renowned Zen Master based in Kamakura, and practiced zen meditation with his group for several years. Today he is a trustee of the UK branch of the same school, Sanbo-Zen, which practices here at Meditatio every Tuesday. An interview with the Burmese democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prizewinner Aung San Suu Kyi led to a long involvement with that country, prompting Jeremy Paxman to ask on University Challenge, ‘which British journalist has written two books about Burma?’ (The question was answered correctly.) The first of these was The Lady and the Peacock, a world-wide bestseller. Posted to Delhi in 1997 to cover the anniversary of Indian independence, Peter was intrigued by the peaceful power and the charisma of Mahatma Gandhi, and horrified by what he learned about Partition, the division of the subcontinent between India and Pakistan. The result was his acclaimed novel India Be Damned, which is on sale here today. https://www.peterpopham.com/

Share This Event

Related Events

Related Events

Join the Mailing List

Receive monthly mailings to support your meditation journey and your daily practice.

Sign Up

Get the App

A great companion for your meditation practice, the app includes a simple meditation timer as well as the latest news and resources from WCCM.

Support the WCCM

Any gift, no matter how small, will help us sustain this work and achieve our mission of nurturing Christian meditation inclusively around a world in greater need than ever of contemplative wisdom.

Donate
Scroll to Top