Gandhi and religion

The religious faith of Gandhi was shaped not only by his knowledge of sacred texts but his encounters with people of different faiths.He had widely read the Bhagavad Gita,the Quran and the Bible.He was too influenced by famous books,namely Leo Tolstoy’s The kingdom of God is within you,John Ruskin’s Unto the Last and The Perfect Way by Kingford and Maitland.Though he was born a Hindu,he was mentored by a Jain poet and thinker,Raychand Bhai in his initial days.In his days in England as well as South Africa,his contacts with Jewish and Christian English friends,Hindus,Muslims and Parsis further reinforced his views on religion.

An important element of Gandhi’s religious ecumenism was his belief that all religions lead to the same God.In Gandhi's view,different religions were merely ‘different roads that converges to the same point’.In the late 19^th century and early 20^th century,there were frantic efforts of proselytization by Christian missionaries and ‘shuddhi movement’ led by Hindu social organisations like Arya Samaj.That said,Gandhi was himself a man of message implying that no particular religion was superior to the other in terms of seeking God.

Second,Gandhi defied the argument that religious sacred texts were sacrosanct and infallible.In Gandhi’s view there were both truths and errors in religious texts.When some conservatives justified the practice of untouchability by stating that they were sanctioned by ancient Hindu texts,Gandhi retorted”If at all, I discovered that the Vedas,Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita claim divine authority for untouchability,nothing in this world would make me hold on to Hinduism.I should overthrow it overboard as I should overthrow a rotten apple.”Similarly,acts of conversion,according to Gandhi,was not sanctioned in Christian texts.

Third,Gandhi advocated that a human-being should stick to his own religion as there was ‘truth and content’ in every religion.Instead,a Hindu should endeavor to become a better Hindu,a Muslim a better Muslim and a Christian a better Christian.In his days in South-Africa,his friend and biographer Joseph Doke had persuaded him to embrace Christianity.Gandhi politely refuted Doke’s appeal stating that every religion delivers the same essential message of peace and humanity.Later,he stood against B.R.Ambedkar’s appeal to the Harijans(or people from lower caste)to convert into Buddhism in order to avoid the oppression of Brahminical tradition.

Fourth,Gandhi encouraged inter-religious dialogue.In his view,it could serve as a benchmark for the individuals to view their religion and faith in the critical reflections of another.Therefore,he conducted inter-faith prayer meetings in his ashrams,wherein texts from different religions were read together by his followers.

Fifth,Gandhi  believed that Moksha,or liberation from the cycle of birth and death,could be attained by following the path of truth,non-violence,compassion and most importantly ethical conduct.His famous quote’The service to man is the service to God’ was partly influenced by his correspondence with Jain mentor Raychandbhai and his reading of Tolstoy’s famous book’The kingdom of God is within you’.He believed that ‘the only way to find God is to see Him in His creation and to be one with it’.This can only be done by service of all.His belief in the principles of Daridranarayan and Sarvodaya i.e.upliftment of all originates from his conviction in ethical conduct.

Thus,Gandhi’s faith was central to Mahatma’s personal life and to his political practice.It is a truism that if we take the Mahatma’s faith and religion out of him.then Gandhi would not be the Mahatma.
(Ideas borrowed from Ramachandra Guha's writings on Gandhi)