Bhaktisandesam / Mahatma Gandhi on God and Religion

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Hari-Om

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Top 10 Quotations

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Mohandas K Gandhi (1869 - 1948), India's " Father of the Nation, " who

spearheaded the country's Freedom Movement for Independence from

British Rule is known for his famous words of wisdom on God, life and

religion. Here are some of the most noteworthy ones…

 

Religion - a Matter of the Heart: " True religion is not a narrow

dogma. It is not external observance. It is faith in God and living

in the presence of God. It means faith in a future life, in truth and

Ahimsa…. Religion is a matter of the heart. No physical inconvenience

can warrant abandonment of one's own religion. "

 

Belief in Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma): " I call myself a Sanatani

Hindu, because I believe in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas,

and all that goes by the name of Hindu scripture, and therefore in

avataras and rebirth; I believe in the varnashrama dharma in a sense,

in my opinion strictly Vedic but not in its presently popular crude

sense; I believe in the protection of cow … I do not disbelieve in

murti puja. " (Young India: June 10, 1921)

 

The Teachings of the Gita: " Hinduism as I know it entirely satisfies

my soul, fills my whole being … When doubts haunt me, when

disappointments stare me in the face, and when I see not one ray of

light on the horizon, I turn to the Bhagavad Gita, and find a verse

to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of

ovrewhelming sorrow.

My life has been full of tragedies and if they have not left any

visible and indelible effect on me, I owe it to the teachings of the

Bhagavad Gita. " (Young India: June 8, 1925)

 

Seeking God: " I worship God as Truth only. I have not yet found Him,

but I am seeking after Him. I am prepared to sacrifice the things

dearest to me in pursuit of this quest. Even if the sacrifice

demanded my very life, I hope I may be prepared to give it.

 

The Future of Religions: No religion which is narrow and which cannot

satisfy the test of reason, will survive the coming reconstruction of

society in which the values will have changed and character, not

possession of wealth, title or birth will be the test of merit.

 

Faith in God: " Everyone has faith in God though everyone does not

know it. For everyone has faith in himself and that multiplied to the

nth degree is God. The sum total of all that lives is God. We may not

be God, but we are of God, even as a little drop of water is of the

ocean. "

 

God is Strength: " Who am I? I have no strength save what God gives

me. I have no authority over my countrymen save the pure moral. If He

holds me to be a pure instrument for the spread of non-violence in

place of the awful violence now ruling the earth, He will give me the

strength and show me the way. My greatest weapon is mute prayer. The

cause of peace is therefore, in God's good hands. "

 

Christ - a Great Teacher: " I regard Jesus as a great teacher of

humanity, but I do not regard him as the only begotten son of God.

That epithet in its material interpretation is quite unacceptable.

Metaphorically we are all sons of God, but for each of us there may

be different sons of God in a special sense. Thus for me Chaitanya

may be the only begotten son of God … God cannot be the exclusive

Father and I cannot ascribe exclusive divinity to Jesus. " (Harijan:

June 3, 1937)

 

No Conversion, Please: " I believe that there is no such thing as

conversion from one faith to another in the accepted sense of the

word. It is a highly personal matter for the individual and his God.

I may not have any design upon my neighbour as to his faith, which I

must honour even as I honour my own. Having reverently studied the

scriptures of the world I could no more think of asking a Christian

or a Musalman, or a Parsi or a Jew to change his faith than I would

think of changing my own. " (Harijan: September 9, 1935)

 

All Religions are True: " I came to the conclusion long ago … that all

religions were true and also that all had some error in them, and

whilst I hold by my own, I should hold others as dear as Hinduism. So

we can only pray, if we are Hindus, not that a Christian should

become a Hindu … But our innermost prayer should be a Hindu should be

a better Hindu, a Muslim a better Muslim, a Christian a better

Christian. " (Young India: January 19, 1928)

 

 

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Jai Shree Krishna !