Bharatiya Chintan ki Parampara me Navin Sambhavanae Part 2

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

Page 140

GANDHI FROM GOD IS TRUTH'
said, every single cell of his body was involved. In common parlance of Yoga and mysticism such an experiecc is a fact of life and is available to what are called 'audio-mystics', as distinct from 'video-mystics'. Of the several Gita and Upanishadic texts Gandhi read, he pointed out that "Ishāvāsyam Idam Sarvam" embodies in a concentrated form the very essance of Sanatana Hindu Dharma. He went to the extent of saying that even if all other Hindu scriptures are destroyed, Hinduism lives till this one Mantra is alive-'All this (the universe) is the very abode of the Lord'. This too clearly indicates Gandhi's idea about God. While the above mentioned ideas give us a good view of Gandhi's conception of God, he was quite liberal as regards the conceptions of others. His attitude reflected the Vedic approach which says, 'Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudha Vadanti, Reality is one, people call it by different names. He himself, for instance, was fond of 'Ram-nam', the name of Ram, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu. He seldom visited temples though he was particular that Hindu temples ought to be thrown open to every Hindu, be he a Harijian or an unnamable', God appears to Persons in the form in which they invoke him-this is a psychological and psychic truth.
११५
I have given a bare outline of Gandhi's concept of God and the belief he had. The concept of God by its very nature is bound to be dynamic as it evolves with the person or the group of persons who hold by the concept. It can be partially compared to the ideal of perfection The nearer we approach the idea of our perfection the further it recedes and we are allured to follow it to eternity. Similarly in the case of the concept of God, the more we think and feel that we have a full grasp of the concept of God, new vistas open
परिसंवाद - ३