Saralabehn’s birth name was Catherine Mary Heilman (1901-1982). She was born in England, but her mixed English-German heritage presented difficulties during World War I. Her father, who was German, was jailed during the war because of his heritage, and Heilman faced social ostracism and was denied a scholarship for her education. At the age of sixteen Heilman had to give up her studies and go to work full-time. In the years that followed she was employed in multiple jobs and lived in multiple boarding houses, and during this time she came into contact with Indians living in London. As Heilman learned more about the Indian anticolonial struggle, she was increasingly drawn to Gandhi’s teachings. After the Salt March, Heilman wrote to Gandhi to request permission to join Sabarmati Ashram. Gandhi – who at this time was facing a lengthy prison sentence and was considering closing Sabarmati Ashram – discouraged Heilman from moving to India.

Yet Catherine Mary Heilman was determined, and in 1932, at the age of 31, Heilman left England and arrived in India. She spent the next four years in Udaipur, Rajasthan, where she accepted a teaching position and came to be known as Saralabehn, which became her preferred name for the rest of her life (alternates: Sarla Behn, Sarala Devi). In 1935, Saralabehn went to Wardha where she met Gandhi for the first time. In 1936 she moved to join Gandhi, becoming a resident of his final community, Sevagram Ashram. At Sevagram Ashram, Saralabehn was not only involved in teaching the children in residence, but also worked with several other coresidents to create a model national school curriculum for primary education (known as “Nai Talim”). Saralabehn also grew involved in anticolonial activism while in residence at Sevagram Ashram, joining the Quit India movement in 1942, and serving time in prison for her activism.

Saralabehn’s health suffered at Sevagram Ashram from repeated bouts of malaria. Gandhi occasionally sent her further north to recover in the mountain air. In 1946, Saralabehn left Sevagram Ashram with Gandhi’s blessing, and moved to the Himalayan mountains, where she founded a living and learning community for women and girls in Kumaon, Uttarakhand. Called Lakshmi Ashram, this community was founded on Gandhian principles, and educated girls in the curriculum as well as the constructive work program that were developed at Sevagram Ashram. Lakshmi Ashram remained well-integrated with Sevagram Ashram after Gandhi’s assassination, as well as with the ashram founded by Vinoba Bhave (another former resident of Sevagram Ashram). Saralabehn remained an activist throughout her life, dedicating herself to educational, feminist, and environmental causes in India. In the 1950s Saralabehn and some of the residents from Lakshmi Ashram joined Vinobha Bhave as he walked throughout central India on a Bhoodan Yajna, or Land Gift Pilgrimage. Saralabehn is perhaps best known for her work as an environmental activist in the Chipko movement of the 1970s. Saralabehn died in India in 1982.