Throughout his adult life, in religious communities he founded and led, Mahatma Gandhi officiated at group prayer services twice each day. For this purpose, over a period of four decades, he compiled a hymnal including some of the most profoundly moving lyrics in all sacred literature, drawn from Hindu, Christian, Moslem, Jain and Sikh traditions. In 1930, Gandhi produced an English translation of this collection for one of his British devotees. Book of Prayers is the first American edition of these translations.