Gandhi Immersion

“My life is my message.”
— Mahatma Gandhi

Most of us grew up with Gandhi as a portrait on a currency note, a statue at a crossroads, a holiday in October. Far fewer of us have met Gandhi the designer — the man who spent fifteen years at the Sabarmati Ashram, with 78 satyagrahis, quietly engineering the conditions from which a nonviolent movement could grow.

This January, we invite changemakers from across India to spend 2.5 days living inside that laboratory — and then to meet the many distributed “Gandhis” of our time.

Why now

In Gandhi’s time, change organized one-to-many: one Gandhi, and millions of us. Vinoba walked village to village, heart to heart. Today a third formation is emerging — many-to-many, countless decentralized Gandhis, each bridging a divide in their own corner of the world. We call it Gandhi 3.0. As machines grow more intelligent, the question of our era is less what we can compute than what we can cohere — and Gandhi’s experiments in coherence have never been more relevant.

What we’ll do

Stay at the ashram. We won’t visit the Gandhi Ashram as tourists; we’ll live there, wake to its prayers and move to its rhythm.

Learn the design. With local love warriors like Jayesh bhai, we’ll explore the nuances behind Gandhi’s principles — why the ashram vows, why bread labour and the charkha, why means and ends are inseparable, why trusteeship — and how inner transformation became the engine of social change.

Use our hands. Spinning, serving, cooking and cleaning together; visiting a nearby village; small acts of kindness on the streets of Ahmedabad. Gandhi believed that head, hands and heart learn best together.

Join two community nights. On two evenings, we’ll join 40+ global changemakers and luminaries from a dozen countries who are gathered for the 10-day Gandhi 3.0 retreat — first in small “heart café” dialogues, then for an evening of stories of heartivism and soul-stirring music. In past years, these evenings have included author Gary Zukav, Acumen founder Jacqueline Novogratz, Bain Capital India chair Amit Chandra, peace activist Orland Bishop and singer Rachelle Jeanty, among many others.

What this is not

It isn’t a heritage tour or a lecture series. There are no keynotes to sit through and no titles to carry. Like every MovedByLove gathering, it is held entirely by volunteers and offered as a gift — there is no charge to attend. What unfolds will be shaped by who arrives, and how present we are willing to be.

When & who

January 29th (10 AM) to January 31st (12:30 PM), 2027, at the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad. This immersion is for changemakers from across India — educators and entrepreneurs, NGO leaders and students, professionals and everyday heroes — who sense that the change they seek outside begins within. No background in Gandhian thought is needed. We ask everyone to be present for the full immersion.

To join, please click Apply For Retreat below (in English or Hindi) and we’ll get back to you.