Gandhis Teachers Rajchandra Ravjibhai Mehta

Author(s): Satish Sharma
Publisher: Gujarat Vidyapith Ahmedabad

Page 66

48
Gandhi's Teachers : Rajchandra Ravjibhai Mehta
his sins would get washed away only through the intercession of Jesus. One of the Plymouth Brethren confronted Gandhi like this:
"You cannot understand the beauty of our religion. From what you say it appears that you must be brooding over your transgressions every moment of your life, always mending them and atoning for them. You can never have peace. You admit that we are all sinners. Now look at the perfection of our belief. Our attempts at improvement and atonement are futile. And yet redemption we must have. How can we bear the burden of sin? We can but throw it on Jesus. He is the only sinless son of God. It is His word that those who believe in Him shall have everlasting life. Therein lies God's infinite mercy. And as we believe in atonement of Jesus, our own sins do not bind us. Sin we must. It is impossible to live in this world sinless. And therefore Jesus suffered and atoned for all the sins of mankind. Only he who accepts His great redemption can have eternal peace. Think what a life of restlessness is yours, and what a promise of peace we have."
Gandhi felt pressured by the arguments of his Christian friends, but he did not convert to Christianity. He indicated that he would think over the matter and needed time. He, however, felt that the definition of religion presented by the Christian friends was somewhat narrow and resolved that if this be the Christianity acknowledged by all Christians then he would not accept it. Gandhi told his friends that he did not merely seek redemption from the consequences of his sins, but redemption from the sins themselves and the very thought of sins. Until this goal was attained, he was content to be restless."
Gandhi had difficulty accepting that Jesus was the only son of God and that He was the only source for redemption from the sins and salvation. Gandhi admitted that though born a Hindu, he did not have enough knowledge of his own religion, much less of other religions, and that he was not certain what his religion should be. He promised that he would make a