THE GREATEST YAGNA: GANDHI‘S PETI CHARKHA AND TWO LETTERS ON THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE OF SPINNING
A portable folding peti charkha (box spinning wheel) of stained teak, incorporating a collapsable spinning mechanism with drive wheel, spindle assemblies and fitted internal accessory compartments, enclosed within its original hinged carrying case with iron handle and clasp. The interior retains its original spinning accessories, including spindle assemblies still wound with hand-spun cotton thread, together with loose-spun yarn and raw cotton fibres that, according to the uninterrupted Hingorani family provenance, have remained with the charkha since its presentation by Mahatma Gandhi to Anand T Hingorani. The survival of these associated working materials substantially enhances the historical integrity, completeness and documentary significance of this remarkable ensemble. Preserved in an untouched state, the charkha retains the honest wear and natural patina acquired through decades of practical use and careful preservation, reflecting the utilitarian simplicity and self-reliant ethos that lay at the heart of Gandhian material culture.
Together with two autograph letters signed in Hindi by Mahatma Gandhi to Anand T Hingorani concerning spinning, service, self-discipline and the spiritual significance of the charkha:
(i) Autograph note signed in Hindi by Mahatma Gandhi to Anand T Hingorani, dated 15 October 1944, written in black ink on two pages of reused printed paper, concerning spinning, service and the spiritual significance of the charkha, including the exhortation:
"Do you ever ply the charkha? Plying the charkha constitutes the greatest yagna. You should ply it even while weeping."
The letter was subsequently translated and published in the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 85, Letter No. 61, p. 57.
(ii) Autograph note dated 23 October 1944, written in black ink on three pages of reused paper, in which Gandhi advises Anand Hingorani to spin while sitting beside him, describes the takli as "our silent companion", invokes Mahadev Desai and J. B. Kripalani as examples, and suggests that absorption in spinning may render even physical affliction insignificant.
Published in Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 85, Letter No. 113, p. 87.
India, circa 1930s–1944.
Charkha dimensions:
Open: 9.3 x 32 in (23.62 x 81.28 cm)
Closed: 9.3 x 16 in (23.62 x 40.64 cm)
THE SILENT COMPANION: Gandhi's Peti Charkha and His Letters on Spinning, Service and Karmayoga
The charkha occupies a unique place in the history of India's freedom movement. For Mahatma Gandhi, it was at once a practical tool, a political symbol, an economic programme and a spiritual discipline. No other object became so closely identified with his vision of self-reliance, constructive work and moral regeneration. Through the daily act of spinning, Gandhi united labour, devotion and national service within a single practice.
The significance of the present peti charkha is enhanced by two provenance letters Gandhi wrote to Anand T Hingorani in October 1944. Together, they offer one of the clearest surviving expressions of his philosophy of spinning and reveal the central place the charkha occupied in his moral and spiritual life.
In the first letter, written on 15 October 1944, Gandhi asks Anand whether he continues to spin before writing:
"Do you ever ply the charkha? Plying the charkha constitutes the greatest yagna. You should ply it even while weeping."
By describing spinning as yagna—an act of sacrifice, devotion and offering—Gandhi places the charkha at the heart of his philosophy of self-discipline and service.
Writing again on 23 October 1944, Gandhi develops these ideas further. He advises Anand to spin whenever he sits beside him, as Mahadev Desai and J B Kripalani had done. The takli, he writes, is "our silent companion", producing yarn without complaint while allowing one to observe, listen and reflect. In one of the most striking passages in the correspondence, Gandhi suggests that complete absorption in this discipline might even render Anand indifferent to his deafness, transforming physical limitation into an opportunity for spiritual growth.
Read alongside the present peti charkha, these letters reveal how Gandhi understood spinning: as a discipline that cultivated patience, humility, concentration and service while linking personal conduct with national regeneration.
Preserved within the Hingorani archive for more than eight decades, the charkha and its accompanying correspondence form a rare union of object and documentary record. Few surviving Gandhian artefacts explain so directly why spinning occupied such a central place in Gandhi's life, revealing his conviction that the regeneration of a nation began with the disciplined regeneration of the individual—one thread at a time.
This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as a reference for the condition of each lot.
A portable folding peti charkha (box spinning wheel) of stained teak, incorporating a collapsable spinning mechanism with drive wheel, spindle assemblies and fitted internal accessory compartments, enclosed within its original hinged carrying case with iron handle and clasp. The interior retains its original spinning accessories, including spindle assemblies still wound with hand-spun cotton thread, together with loose-spun yarn and raw cotton fibres that, according to the uninterrupted Hingorani family provenance, have remained with the charkha since its presentation by Mahatma Gandhi to Anand T Hingorani. The survival of these associated working materials substantially enhances the historical integrity, completeness and documentary significance of this remarkable ensemble. Preserved in an untouched state, the charkha retains the honest wear and natural patina acquired through decades of practical use and careful preservation, reflecting the utilitarian simplicity and self-reliant ethos that lay at the heart of Gandhian material culture.
Together with two autograph letters signed in Hindi by Mahatma Gandhi to Anand T Hingorani concerning spinning, service, self-discipline and the spiritual significance of the charkha:
(i) Autograph note signed in Hindi by Mahatma Gandhi to Anand T Hingorani, dated 15 October 1944, written in black ink on two pages of reused printed paper, concerning spinning, service and the spiritual significance of the charkha, including the exhortation:
"Do you ever ply the charkha? Plying the charkha constitutes the greatest yagna. You should ply it even while weeping."
The letter was subsequently translated and published in the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 85, Letter No. 61, p. 57.
(ii) Autograph note dated 23 October 1944, written in black ink on three pages of reused paper, in which Gandhi advises Anand Hingorani to spin while sitting beside him, describes the takli as "our silent companion", invokes Mahadev Desai and J. B. Kripalani as examples, and suggests that absorption in spinning may render even physical affliction insignificant.
Published in Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 85, Letter No. 113, p. 87.
India, circa 1930s–1944.
Charkha dimensions:
Open: 9.3 x 32 in (23.62 x 81.28 cm)
Closed: 9.3 x 16 in (23.62 x 40.64 cm)
THE SILENT COMPANION: Gandhi's Peti Charkha and His Letters on Spinning, Service and Karmayoga
The charkha occupies a unique place in the history of India's freedom movement. For Mahatma Gandhi, it was at once a practical tool, a political symbol, an economic programme and a spiritual discipline. No other object became so closely identified with his vision of self-reliance, constructive work and moral regeneration. Through the daily act of spinning, Gandhi united labour, devotion and national service within a single practice.
The significance of the present peti charkha is enhanced by two provenance letters Gandhi wrote to Anand T Hingorani in October 1944. Together, they offer one of the clearest surviving expressions of his philosophy of spinning and reveal the central place the charkha occupied in his moral and spiritual life.
In the first letter, written on 15 October 1944, Gandhi asks Anand whether he continues to spin before writing:
"Do you ever ply the charkha? Plying the charkha constitutes the greatest yagna. You should ply it even while weeping."
By describing spinning as yagna—an act of sacrifice, devotion and offering—Gandhi places the charkha at the heart of his philosophy of self-discipline and service.
Writing again on 23 October 1944, Gandhi develops these ideas further. He advises Anand to spin whenever he sits beside him, as Mahadev Desai and J B Kripalani had done. The takli, he writes, is "our silent companion", producing yarn without complaint while allowing one to observe, listen and reflect. In one of the most striking passages in the correspondence, Gandhi suggests that complete absorption in this discipline might even render Anand indifferent to his deafness, transforming physical limitation into an opportunity for spiritual growth.
Read alongside the present peti charkha, these letters reveal how Gandhi understood spinning: as a discipline that cultivated patience, humility, concentration and service while linking personal conduct with national regeneration.
Preserved within the Hingorani archive for more than eight decades, the charkha and its accompanying correspondence form a rare union of object and documentary record. Few surviving Gandhian artefacts explain so directly why spinning occupied such a central place in Gandhi's life, revealing his conviction that the regeneration of a nation began with the disciplined regeneration of the individual—one thread at a time.
This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as a reference for the condition of each lot.