Page 43 - GANDHI A Biography for Children and Beginners

GANDHI – A Biography for children and beginners

main religions of the world, — Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and others. He had

studied something of these religions earlier. But now it became urgent, and was

based on his commitment to find and tread the path of the spirit for himself
and for his colleagues.

He had many friends among the Christians. Many of them had been impressed

by his respect for Christianity. They had hoped that Gandhi would accept the
Christian faith. Some of them had urged Gandhi to do so. Gandhi was greatly

attracted by the life of Jesus. Tears welled in his eyes when he thought of the

crucifixion of Jesus, or the Sermon on the Mount, and its message of love and
renunciation. But he had difficulties. He could not accept Christianity as

explained by his followers. He could not believe in miracles. He could not

believe that Jesus was the only Son of God. In his view, all human beings were

the children of God. He could not subscribe to the belief that only those who
accepted 'His great redemption' could find eternal peace. He replied, "I do not

seek redemption from the consequences of my sin. I seek to be redeemed from

sin itself, or rather from the very thought of sin. Until I have attained that end,

I shall be content to be restless."

He could not accept many of the superstitions and rituals that had come to be

identified as an essential part of Hinduism. He could not accept that God or
religion could ordain human beings to be treated untouchables. He had revolted

against this even while he was a young boy, and his mother had asked him not

to touch the young Ulaka who belonged to a caste that was considered

untouchable. He would touch Ulaka to show that the belief was a myth and was
indefensible. There were many questions in his mind about human life, death,

the soul, rebirth and so on, and he engaged in discussions and correspondence

with Raichandbhai, a well-known religious thinker and practitioner in Gujarat.

He delved into a study of the Gita, and discovered a veritable 'spiritual
dictionary' in it. It had an answer for every occasion, every difficulty. Many of

its stanzas brought tears to his eyes. To him the battlefield of Kurukshetra was

metaphorical. There was an incessant fight going on within us between good
and evil. Lord Krishna had shown us the path that could lead to the victory of

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