Bharatiya Chintan ki Parampara me Navin Sambhavanae Part 2

Author(s): Radheshyamdhar Dvivedi
Publisher: Sampurnanand Sanskrut Vishvavidyalaya Varanasi

Page 136

Gandhi : From 'God is Truth' "Truth is God"
Sri R. R.DIWAKAR
In the very beginning, I would like to remove a misunderstanding which is likely to arise on account of the title I have chosen. It was not so much a transition or change from 'God is Truth' to 'Truth is God' but a generous accommodation for those who do not in their approach to reality, believe in 'God' with all the connotations which that word 'God' has acquired through the ages. Mohan Das born of a mother who was a great dovotee of God, and of a father who used to enjoy talks about different religions with devotees of the respective religions, His belief in God as a benign supreme power at an early age was but natural. His belief in truthfulness from his boyhood is well-known and often illustrated by stories which relate to incidents in his school days and later. It was in 1902 when he was in South Africa that he said that, come what may, he must stick to truth at any cost. His faith in returning 'good for evil' started with a flash when he read a verse by a Gujarati poet Shamalbhat, which said, There is no virtue in returning good for good, real virtue lies in 'doing good for evil'. This was the seed, if one can say so, which sprouted and grew into a mighty banana tree of Ahimsa-Non-Violence-Love. Thus belief in God, belief in Truth, belief in the best way of attaining Truth grew with him from strength to strength, and Truth
परिसंवाद - ३