Gandhiji's
Dialogue with Christianity

Introduction
Rajiv Vora

This imperialist quest is intrinsic to both the religious and the secular-scientific-rationalist thought of the West. Both hold claim to be the ultimate truth, only light and the only path for salvation. They proclaim: Ko-nyo-sti sadrisho maya “I am the glorious, I am the power, I am the beauty, I am the superior, I am the good, I am the Light, I am the Truth; therefore none other than me must exist, flourish and rule; for all the rest are fallen, backward and unenlightened; I am the only giver of enlightenment, mine is the way to salvation, rest lead to darkness…”

Such a way of thinking is the cause of all causes of violence. It is this thinking which plunged the world in the darkness of imperialist subjugation, exploitation and violence of despicable magnitude and kinds; World Wars, crusades and religious wars; besides continuous state of strife, conflicts, and exploitation. Such a way of thinking: Ko-nyo-sti sadrisho maya : is therefore described as a demonic dispensation, aasuri sampad, a trait which feeds not the divine but the demon in man.

Spirituality does not consist of one's belief in God, neither of religiosity so called. Spirituality is the evidence of faith in essential goodness of man; of the faith that the entire Creation is not only sustained by but also pervaded by Him, hence everything is divine and there is no discrimination much less inequality in Gods scheme. Ko-nyo-sti sadrisho maya is based on the denial of others' right to be equal in God's scheme.

If all men are not spiritually equal, then no other equalities can infuse in man self-esteem, dignity, and sense of power.

This is the seeking of Sanatan Dharma and India has strived for it through ages. That is how our civilization has attained great heights, and is capable of attaining it so far we adhere to its principles and fight out against the challenges posed from within and without. That is why Gandhiji has said in Hind Swaraj that being such a culture Indian civilization is soundest at its core. At times we have degenerated and therefore paid the price for it. About untouchability Gandhiji rightly said that if it persists, not only in practice but in our minds, Hinduism must perish. But that must not allow others to exploit our weakness, and capitalize on the desperation caused by poverty.

Gandhiji asked Christian Missionaries to help Hindus become better Hindus by spreading flower-like fragrance of their unselfish service in the cause of God. He cited examples of such Missionary friends. We can also cite similar examples today. But Gandhiji also pointed out that such examples do not help any generalization. But as examples, they have a great value as torch-bearers.

At a time when his Holiness the Pope John Paul-II himself has proclaimed the third Millenium for Christianity's conquest, ‘harvest of faith', in Asia , and that too from the Indian soil, it is our duty to grasp the meaning of it and understand its implications. We must therefore know how the ‘Cross was planted' in Europe in the first millenium, and in African continent in the second, so that we can draw some lessons for the third millennium. One cannot resist saying that by making such a declaration on the eve of the new millenium His Holiness has vitiated the already troubled conclusion of the second Christian millenium in India . Not only has he defied our civilizational sensibility, he has betrayed Christianity's proselytizing zeal which has raised demons out of men as suggested by the history of past two millennia of Christianity's expansion, besides insulting our self-image as a nation by proclaiming form our soil their desire and design for India's spiritual doom. It is a wakeup-call as Gandhiji would say.

India can meet this challenge, in ways befitting our culture of non-violence if we remove our moral, intellectual and spiritual lethargy. Hence we wish to introduce a Gandhian perspective on the problem. This will help us revaluate our position, and if we learn form Gandhiji's way, it will also help transform acrimony into a dialogue and understanding. We earnestly wish to identify the end of second Christian millenium not with ‘2000 years of Jesus's death' but with ‘2000 years of Jesus's birth' .

Therefore, we would say: Let faiths bloom like flowers, but not be harvested. A flower blooms because that is its nature, its temperament. It blooms to serve the wish of God, but it is harvested for man's gratification.

Rajiv Vora

New Delhi
20 November 1999

Page 1 2 3 Contents Page