Of the seven books written by Swami Sahajanand Saraswati in the Hazaribagh Central Jail between 19 April 1940 and 7 March 1942, Mera Jeevan Sangharsh or The Struggle of My Life is the most important in terms of style, substance and historical significance. First in the series, he ‘started working on it the moment he reached the Hazaribagh jail’ (p. 355), the manuscript was completed within eight months in December 1940 and covers his recounting of the major events and issues upto April 1940 when he was imprisoned. He added the last chapter in 1946 as the postscript which unfolds the events between the time of his release from jail (8 March 1942) to 1946. But the book was published in 1952, two years after his death by the Sitaram Ashram at Bihta which he created in 1927 as the headquarters of his activities.
It is a curious fact that Swami Sahajanand Saraswati whom the peasants hailed as their saviour and emancipator and the historians considered as the most charismatic kisan leader and who authored several books in Hindi, Sanskrit and English had little formal education as he was educated only up to class IX. Through self-study he acquired adequate knowledge on various subjects and also writing skill. He had the vision, courage and organizing ability to plan the political mobilization of the peasants against the Raj and the zamindars.
The first hundred pages cover his early life, education, marriage and formative years that he wished to be made public after his death. Some other issues of his close and active interest such as his religious and spiritual quests, his engagements with self-studies also figure in the narrative.