Jesus Christ and Mahatma Gandhi are undoubtedly two of the most iconic and influential personalities that ever walked on the surface of the earth. Their lives and teachings have inspired and influenced millions of people around the world. Gandhi was born almost 1900 years after the times of Jesus. But many say that Gandhi was a Christ-like figure and the one who resembled Christ the most of all the personalities in human history. In fact, Mahatma Gandhi was not someone who was untouched or uninfluenced by the life and teachings of Christ. Gandhi read the Bible and the life and teachings of Jesus and he was so much touched and influenced by Jesus especially the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ and Jesus’ advocacy of ‘Non-Violence’ so much so that Gandhi made the principle of ‘Non-Violence’ his chief weapon in his fight against ‘Apartheid’ in South Africa and ‘Colonialism’ in India. Perhaps this was the reason why Martin Luther King (Junior) once said ‘it was Christ who gave me the idea of Non-Violence… but it was Gandhi who gave me the method’.
However, despite the similarities and resemblances that one find between Christ and Gandhi, we find that Gandhi’ philosophy came into direct conflict with that of Christ when it comes to the assertion that Jesus was divine and that he was God himself in the human flesh. Yes, despite his sincere appreciation and reverence for Christ, Gandhi could never accept that Jesus was god. It is said that Gandhi was someone who made a thorough study of all the major religious books of the world including of course the Bible. And Gandhi said that ‘all religions are true… but all religions have some errors in them’. But Gandhi also openly declared that of all the religions, the one that was closest to him was his own - Hinduism.
One of the fundamental policies of Christianity is to spread the gospel message to all the nations and people of the world because Christians believe that Christ is the only true God. It was Jesus himself who called upon all his disciples, followers and believers to be part-takers in this noble mission of introducing the gospel of salvation to the world. But Mahatma Gandhi was someone who was tooth and nail against this conversion policy of Christianity. According to Gandhi, there was no point in trying to convert a person from one religion to another religion. In fact, he said, “if you are a Christian, strive to be a good Christian, if you are a Muslim, strive to be a good Muslim, and similarly if you are a Hindu, strive to be a good Hindu’. In other words, Gandhi saw no point in the western missionaries preaching the gospel of Christ in India and in trying to convert Hindus and Muslims to Christianity.
It is understandable that Mahatma Gandhi was against the conversion policies of the western missionaries because he saw it as just an effort to convert people from one religion to another. But for a missionary who really believes and works for Christ, it was never a case of trying to convert people from one religion to another… but rather it was a case of telling the world the truth of the gospel and that Jesus is the only true God. In other words, a true Christian missionary never preaches because he wants to convert as many people as possible to Christianity… but rather because be believes that Jesus Christ is God and that Christ is the only way though whom mankind can have salvation and eternal life. This was something which someone like Gandhi miserably failed to see and comprehend.
I have always wondered what an impact it would have created on human history (especially Christian history) if someone like Gandhi had been actually able to truly find Christ and become a Christian. If that had been the case, millions and millions of people (including multitudes of Indians) would have been led to Christ.
If we make a thorough examination of the utterances of Gandhi on religion and on the life and teachings of Jesus, we can say that his sayings and comments are all very reasonable and thought-provoking – at least from the human point of view, perspective, reasoning and understanding. Gandhi never denied the powerful impact that the life and teachings of Christ had had on human lives and history. But for Gandhi, Jesus was just another great human-being to have adorned the pages of history. Gandhi could never accept the claim of Christ that he was God in the human flesh. This is the reason why Gandhi miserably failed to become a follower of the true God.
Mahatma Gandhi was an extra-ordinary man to have ever walked the face of the earth. But today, he remains confined only to the pages of history books. We read and study about him as an influential man who changed the course of human history by his philosophy, ideas and actions. We may learn many lessons by reading and studying about him. But Gandhi is dead and gone and there is no much point in congregating in his name or glorifying him other than coming to know his struggles in life and how he changed the course of history especially that of South Africa and India. We also do not compose or sing hymns in the name of Gandhi and we also do not worship in Gandhi’s name because Gandhi was just a mere mortal like all of us. However, it would be a great fallacy and folly on our part if we are to confine Jesus Christ to the pages of human history as just another historical name. Of course, there is no denying the fact that Jesus is a part of human history …but Christ is much more than that. His life and teachings are a testimony to his divinity and his message of love, atonement, hope and salvation still appeals to all humanity.
Now let us examine the stands of Christ and Gandhi on the matter of ‘Death’. Mahatma Gandhi himself was a victim of child marriage. He was married off to a girl named Kasturba when he was hardly 13 years old. Gandhi and Kasturba lived together under the same roof for many years and thus the attachment between the two was obviously immense. As a result when Kasturba died, it is said that Gandhi was devastated and he went into depression. And it took many days for Gandhi to come out of the depression and regain his normal self. This story clearly illustrates the fact that Gandhi was intimidated by ‘Death’. In other words, he did not understand the real meaning of ‘Death’. But for all believers in Christ, ‘Death’ is no longer as intimidating as it used to be because we now know the real meaning of death as well as the fact that physical death is not real death but only a step unto eternity.
It is also noteworthy to mention here that both Christ and Gandhi were murdered by religious fanatics. In the case of Christ, it was the Jewish religious leaders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, who planned, initiated, trialed, condemned and handed over Jesus to the Romans to be crucified because they thought that Jesus was an imposter and a heretic who claimed to be the messiah prophesied by the prophets of the Old Testament. In the case of Gandhi, it was a Hindu fanatic named Nathuram Godse who murdered him. Godse vowed to kill Gandhi because of Gandhi’s liberal attitudes towards the Muslims. Jesus was only about 33 years old when he was crucified while Gandhi was already 78 years old when he was gunned down in Delhi in January 1948. And here it is worth admitting that the impact created by the short life of a 33 years old man has far overshadowed that of the 78 years old iconic personality of the 20th century. And this is so because many consider Christ as not only history but also the present and the future.
The auto-biography of Mahatma Gandhi is titled “The Story of My Experiment with Truth”. Yes indeed, Gandhi had a meditative mind and he dedicated all his life in search of the ultimate truth. Gandhi even dedicated his time and efforts in reading and meditating about Christ but he failed to truly find Christ because he was searching only from human perspectives with human understanding, reasoning, and logics. I guess this is what happens when human philosophy and divine revelation collide and this is the reason why Mahatma Gandhi has remained just as another name in history books…… while Christ has been hailed as ‘God incarnate’, ‘God in the flesh’ and ‘the only way, truth and life’…..
