On November, 22nd , 2015 the library № 4 named after A. A. Prokofiev, Saint-Petersburg, RF, held a lecture with video presentation on the exhibition of photographs entitled "Mahatma Gandhi — Great Soul of India". The exhibition is organized by the St. Petersburg Branch of the International Centre of the Roerichs.

Elena Kucheryavenko, the lecturer of the St. Petersburg Branch of the ICR, told the audience about the content of the exhibition, and about the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi as a great humanist, philosopher and reformer of the 20th century.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is a world – known leader of national liberation movement of India for independence from the British Empire, the spiritual leader of the nation. His life and work were devoted to the union of India, the independence and freedom of its peoples; non-violence principle was the main method of his activity.

In 1915, the famous Indian writer, Nobel laureate in literature Rabindranath Tagore was the first to call Mohandas Gandhi with the title "Mahatma", i.e. "Great Soul".
Rabindranath Tagore considered it possible to compare Gandhi and Buddha, describing Tagore’s influence on people: "He stood at the threshold of huts of the thousands of dispossessed, dressed just as they were. He addressed them in their language, here, finally, was a living truth, not quotes from books... In response to Gandhi's call, India again opened up for great deeds, just as it was in earlier times, when Buddha proclaimed the truth of empathy and compassion among all living."

Personal courage of Mahatma, who was often subjected to arrest and imprisonment, his willingness to share the fate of his people earned him the love of millions of Indians. The teaching of Gandhi is an integral part of the political culture of modern India.
Many of his ideas are reflected in the official ideology of the country.

In 2007 the UN declared 2 October - birthday of Mahatma Gandhi - International day of non – violence to perpetuate the memory of this great man.
The aim of this International day is the desire to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence between people all over the world. Today an increasing number of politicians, commentators and scientists are drawn to developing ideas of non-violent revolution, of non-violence in politics, in inter-ethnic, inter-state and social relations.

The exhibition highlights the most important facets of the life of Mahatma Gandhi, his formation as a leader and ideologist of the national liberation movement of India: childhood, education in England, the African period of the bar; correspondence with Leo Tolstoy, which influenced the formation of his philosophy and the movement "Satyagraha".