Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi: an example for us all
We know Gandhi as a great figure in history. But after having seen the movie “Gandhi” and having learned more about him, there is something about his thinking that is not very often seen today that I see as crucial to harmony between humans. With battles over belief raging on every continent, think about this:
Mohandas Gandhi was born a Hindu—but the way he saw it, all genuine good faith had a place under God. No one belief is superior to the others.
What strikes me about this point of view is its capacity for true respect of different faiths and cultures, without bias toward any particular one. Gandhi recognized that whether you believed in Allah, Adonai, or God, or whether you prayed to Vishnu, Christ, God, or nobody in particular, you and your faith have a place in the world. It is no one’s place to tell you that you must convert to their thinking in order to be enlightened or saved. This I wholeheartedly agree with.
This is not a case for immoral lawlessness. Gandhi hated the twisting of faith into an excuse for violence so much that he fasted himself to near death on more than one occasion in protest. The point of faith and spiritual connection above all is to promote harmony and love, and Gandhi understood that all of the faiths have just that as their aim when truly applied—thus they are not in conflict with each other.
A real disciple of Christ who takes their faith seriously will devote their time to making sure they are humble, kind, truthful, merciful, trustworthy, etc. toward others rather than trying to impose their beliefs on people or telling people that they will go to hell.
A real Muslim who takes their faith seriously will focus on self-development and enlightenment through faith, prayer, charity, self purification, and solidarity (among other things) rather than denigrating their sisters and brothers of different faiths.
This principle applies to all faiths, of course, not just the ones with the greatest numbers.
Seeeing the 1982 Oscar-winning film inspired this post. There was one scene, however, that really drove the point of mutual respect and coexistence of different faiths home to me: During the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, violent clashes broke out everywhere between Hindu and Muslim communities. Gandhi fasted in protest, vowing only to stop when all the fighting stopped. During that time, he is visited by a Hindu man who has done the unthinkable—killing a child by smashing his head against a wall. Gandhi asks him why. He says:
“They killed my son. The Muslims killed my son.”
To which Gandhi says the following:
“I know a way out of Hell. Find a child, a child whose mother and father have been killed and raise him as your own. Only be sure that he is a Muslim and that you raise him as one.”
If only more people made room in their hearts to think like this.
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