RELIGION
OF MAHATMA GANDHI
K. THIAGARAJAN
Gandhiji
is neither a philosopher of religion, who critically evaluates the various
concepts and presents them in a systematic and rational manner, nor a prophet
with a revelation. He has not written any systematic treatise on religion, nor
ever wanted to establish a religion of his own. His mission in the sphere of
religion is to interpret or rather to recreate the real significance of the
traditional religious concepts in the light of his own understanding and
experience. He was a simple seeker of truth whose life is a shining example of
the struggle to realize the same. His life, as he puts it, is an “Experiment
with Truth” and it is for the world to draw conclusions from it.
The
influence of religion can be clearly perceived in all his thoughts and actions,
to whatever sphere of life they may belong. To understand his religion is then
to understand his life. Hence, his views on religion are to be discerned from
his speeches and writings on various subjects, and those provide the material
for this study. Though Gandhiji was born and brought up in the Hindu religious
tradition, he came into contact with other religious traditions, mainly Christianity
and Islam, which contributed towards his understanding of his own religion
better and also in working for religious harmony.
What
is true religion? It is the passionate search of the soul to find its true
nature and also to realize its oneness with God in realizing which it finds its
fullest expression and fulfilment. It is God realization by way of
self-realization. In his own words, true religion is that “which changes one’s
very nature, which binds one indissolubly to the truth within and which ever
purifies. It is the permanent element in human nature which counts no cost too
great in order to find full expression and which leaves the soul utterly
restless until it has found itself, known its Maker, and appreciated the true
correspondence between the Maker and itself”. (Young India, May 12, 1920) Religion is thus the supreme
concern of man and in attaining its ideal, man achieves the highest end of his
life.
There
can be no religion devoid of morality. A pure life, unruffled by passions and
prejudices, is an essential prerequisite for religious experience. Generally,
the place of ethics in Hindu religious tradition is that of a means to an end.
To become morally perfect is not the goal of religion; the goal is to attain
something higher. As against this Gandhi asserts that religion and morality are
not two things. They are synonymous. He says, “morals, ethics and religion are
convertible terms.” To be immoral is to become irreligious. One who is
untruthful, cruel and wicked cannot have God on his side. Religion does not
transcend morality; if it does, it ceases to be religion. Both are
interdependent, for morality is the basis of all things and truth is the
substance of morality. The whole universe follows the law of God, and God’s law
is not different from Him (Harijan,
March 23, 1940). So, to transgress His law is disobedience to God. For
this reason, no religion can ever have real significance if it is not concerned
with the moral problems of man.
According
to Gandhi, God is not an impersonal, static universal consciousness, nameless,
formless, transcendental and indeterminate Absolute rather. He is the supreme
person, a living presence and a concrete personality endowed with
individuality, will, omniscience and omnipotence.
The
traditional Hindu conception ascribes to God the three-fold functions of creation,
maintenance and destruction. Gandhi seems to accept it when he says “God is the
Creator, the Ruler and the Lord of the universe and not a blade of grass moves
but by His will” (Harijan, November
14, 1936). The same thing is accepted by the Vallabha school of Indian thought
where God has been accepted as the inner ruler of the whole world. It believes
in the supremacy of Divine will and dependence of everything on it. If Gandhi
holds the similar view it is but natural because he was born in a Vallabhist
Vaishnava family. Gandhi also believes that God is the inner controller of all
beings. He is the most intimate to man. He is guide and companion. Gandhi
writes “I must go with God as my only guide. He is a jealous Lord. He will
allow no one to His authority. One has therefore to appear before him in all one’s
weakness empty-handed and in a spirit of full surrender and then He enables you
to stand before a whole world and protects you from all harm.” (Young India, 3rd Sept. 1931)
Gandhiji
respected the spirit of religion in all earnestness, not the letter of it. By
his ideas, by his ideals, by his
noble character by his way of life, by the magnificent powers of his soul, he brought a moral reawakening among the people. In the life of Gandhiji, the world has the unique privilege to witness the fascinating drama of a spiritual struggle to perfect
character. His pre-eminence was mainly due to his grim struggle to live a
life of spirit in the midst of a hectic political life. It was his ‘soul force’, which has given a halo in his leadership. That religion and morality are no meaningless
words, and that idealism
has a place in life have been amply proved by him.
There
can be no religion, according to Gandhi, Outside the problems of life. Without
its inspiring insight the various activities
of mankind remain baseless like structures
without firm foundations. In
this context, one can appreciate Gandhiji’s contention that politics, economics, sociology, etc., should be viewed in relation to religion or as means to it. We can understand this thesis better by understanding how Gandhiji explained the possible
relationship between religion and society. Within the social sphere, religion
can foster a spirit of oneness
and equality of mankind. Echoing Vedanta, he says, that though men differ in diverse ways, spiritually they are all
equal, as the self which
is within all is one. Realization of this spiritual equality can help mankind in becoming free from
various social prejudices
arising out of notions of superiority and
inferiority. As all men are spiritually equal, to discriminate between them is sinful. To assume superiority to one’s
self or to one’s community or
nation over others is
irreligious. Gandhiji narrates how, because
of such an understanding, he could identify himself with the meanest of the mean
and the lowest of the low, and serve them. Thus, religion
as the realization of
the spiritual oneness of
mankind, if pursued, can solve many
of the problems arising in different spheres of life with harmony and peace. Without such
a unifying vision, human perspective
loses its integrity, and things
which should contribute towards the progress and fulfilment of man turn out to be death-traps and work for his ruin.
The
ultimate goal of religion, according to Gandhiji, is liberation of the soul from the bondage
of flesh and ignorance. It is to experience God and also to realize one’s oneness with
Him. “What I want to achieve,
what I have been striving and pining to achieve these thirty years” says Gandhiji, is “self-realization, to see
God face to face, to attain Moksha. I
live and move and have my being in pursuit
of this goal. All that I
do by way of speaking and writing, and all my ventures in the political field, are directed to this same end.”
21st December, 1973