World of Philosophy

Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan

Page 426

of truth and non-violence as taught by Gandhi then the world will run peacefully. There cannot be any war among nations if they have the feeling of tolerance and universal brotherhood. Gandhi freed India from foreign domination by the means of Truth and non-violence. His conception of God as truth is very much practical. According to Gandhi, every religion has some merits and demerits. Gandhi recommends that the attitude towards different religion must be one of tolerance and respect. He made a study of many great religious scriptures. Different religions are the different ways of apprehending the Truth. Gandhi believes that every religion contains good aspects and moral teachings. According to him all religions are good as well as bad, basically good- good in conceiving its ideal, but bad in giving rise to hatred, crusade4s and fanaticism. Gandhi's attitude towards all historical religions can be summed up by the following 3 conclusions - (1) All religions are true, (2) All religions have some error in it, (3) All religions are almost as dear to me as my own Hinduism. But Gandhi condemns some basic points of Hinduism. For ex, condemning untouchability. He says that Hinduism has sinned in giving sanction to untouchability. Again speaking against animal sacrifice he says that such acts are against the fundamental principles of Truth and Non-violence. In fact, the attitude of tolerance is derived from Hinduism especially from the Gita. Morality becomes the essence of religion. For Gandhi religion is a personal quest and a way of life. Just as a man is free to choose his own way of life, similarly a man is free to choose his own religion. Gandhi considered all religions to be equal and that formed the foundation of world peace and Harmony. Thus religion and peace go hand in hand. One cannot be imagined without the other.
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