Gandhi, a Hindu, lived the greatest Christian life of the 20th century. Mohandas K. Gandhi embraced, with every ounce of his being, the ethical teachings of Christ. He was particularly touched by the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus' teaching on forgiveness, and the figure of the suffering Christ. He also maintained a devotion to Jesus throughout his life. With this he believed that “the truth is God”. In this essay I will describe how Gandhi led the greatest Christian life.
Gandhi was a man preoccupied with truth and the pursuit of truth. “Truth is God” is the religious principle that ruled his life. The central concept of Gandhi's philosophy is satyagraha. This Sanskrit word translates to mean “the adherence to Truth in all matters”. He believed that the truth is a gift and a goal which must be stubbornly and continually sought after. In the time that Gandhi was around, many religions believed that they had the real “truth” but Gandhi believed that if one of the religions claimed have the only real “truth” that they have lost touch what is truth. Gandhi believed that no group or person or religion can claim to have a full or total knowledge of truth (or God). Gandhi thus believed that each religion is divinely inspired because each represents one manifestation of the “truth”. Furthermore he believed the only true way to reach this “truth” was through non-violence. This nonviolence, known as “Ahimsa” is an ancient Hindu precept that expressed all the dimensions of the way of nonviolence.
Like Jesus Christ, Gandhi created change without violence. He taught people the
idea of resistance by non-violent means. Gandhi disapproved of the use of violence in the midst of his struggle for the fundamental principles of equality and fairness. Also like Christ, Gandhi promoted natural cures and spiritual healing. Furthermore, Gandhi condemned the taking of life, as did Jesus Christ.
With this nonviolence movemen...