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Gandhi insisted
function of religion was to unite rather than divide people
From: "jagbir singh" <adishakti_org@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat Jun 12, 2004 10:24 pm
Subject: Gandhi insisted function of religion
was to unite rather than divide people
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--- In
shriadishakti@yahoogroups.com,
"jagbir singh"
<adishakti_org@y...> wrote:
>
> We have to understand that His Ruh (Adi Shakti) Shri
Mataji
> was thus sent to announce and explain the Last Judgment
and
> Al-Qiyamah in detail to all, and the technique to attain
Self-
> realization. That is why we humans are now able to
> comprehend for
the first time in history the relationship
> between the Islamic
Resurrection, Christian Last Judgment and
> Vedic Sanatana Dharma. It
applies to all traditions and none (of
> their followers) are
accorded special status, regardless of what
> religion they follow. Those
who have surrendered and
> submitted to Allah's (SWT) Will to
commence the Resurrection
> are the true Muslims.
>
> The opening lines of Surah 75 Al-Qiyamah declare:
>
> LAA UQSIM BI-YAWM AL-QIYAMAH:
> WA-LAA UQSIM BI-AN-NAFSAL- LAWWAAMAH
> I do call to witness the Resurrection Day
> And I do call to witness the self-reproaching Spirit.
>
"Religion
During his childhood, Gandhi's family practiced
Vaishnavism, but he
was also exposed to Jainism. While in England studying
law, he was
introduced to Theosophy and Christianity. He did not
realize his
sentimental bond to Hinduism until his Hinduism was
challenged by
Christian missionaries in South Africa. Gandhi had read
the Bhagavad
Gita in an English translation in England, but it did
not become
his "spiritual dictionary" [6, 14] until he read several
different
translations of it in South Africa. Reading the Bhagavad
Gita
reinforced Gandhi's connection to Hinduism. Gandhi
eventually
became "one of the greatest innovators in the history of
Hinduism."
[6, 17] His Hinduism revolved around "a few fundamental
beliefs: in
the supreme reality of God, the unity of all life, and
the value of
ahimsa as a means of realizing God." [6, 17]
With these as his central beliefs, it is easy to see how
Gandhi was
able to find an underlying unity in all the world's
religions. While
in South Africa, Gandhi undertook a comparative study of
religions,
which gave rise to the all-embracing nature of his
religious outlook.
He had faith that "religions are different roads
converging to the
same point." [3, 27] To Gandhi, "the various religions
were 'as so
many leaves of a tree'; they might seem different but
'at the trunk
they are one.'" [6, 21] He had confidence in "the
absolute oneness of
God and therefore of humanity." Based on this, he
believed, "We have
but one soul. The rays of the sun are many through
refraction. But
they have the same source." [1, 198]
Because he saw all religions as essentially the same, he
advocated "mutual tolerance and respect between
different religions"
[6, 23] Gandhi "insisted that the function of religion
was to unite
rather than divide people." [6, 11] Because of this
belief, Gandhi
was deeply distraught by the religious conflict between
Hindus and
Muslims in India. He contended, "In reality, there are
as many
religions as there are individuals, but those who are
conscious of
the spirit of nationality do not interfere with one
another's
religion…The Hindus, The Mahomedans, the Parsis, and the
Christians…will have to live in unity." [3, 26]
Gandhi believed that religion must be applied to
everyday life. To
him, religion was "an ethical framework for the conduct
of daily
life." [6, 24] "He did not know… any religion apart from
human
activity; the spiritual law did not work in a vacuum but
in the
ordinary activities of life; religion which took no
account of
practical problems and did not help to solve them was no
religion."
[6, 19] Within his own life, Gandhi "endeavored to
enforce the
teachings of the Gita…[and came] to the conclusion that
perfect
renunciation was impossible without perfect observance
of ahimsa in
every shape and form." [6, 14]
For Gandhi, applying religion to daily life necessitated
applying
religion to politics as well. Many people criticized
Gandhi for
mixing religion and politics, however, these critics did
not fully
understand what Gandhi meant by religion: "It is not the
Hindu
religion, which I certainly prize above all other
religions, but the
religion which transcends Hinduism, which changes one's
very nature,
which binds one indissolubly to the truth within and
which ever
purifies. It is the permanent element in human nature
which…leaves the soul restless until it has found
itself." [6,
24]
Gandhi's religious philosophy is essentially what
Leibniz called the
Perennial Philosophy. In the introduction to The
Essential Gandhi,
the Perennial Philosophy is characterized as follows:
"First, underlying everything in the phenomenal world is
a changeless
reality, which most religions call God. Second, this
changeless
reality is present in every living creature and can be
personally
discovered by following certain strenuous disciplines
that remove the
layers of conditioning that cover it. And third, this
discovery is
the real goal of life. Whatever else we may accomplish,
nothing will
satisfy us until we realize God in our own
consciousness." [1, xviii]
Gandhi expressed this Perennial Philosophy in his own
words:
"I do dimly perceive that whilst everything around me is
ever
changing, ever dying, there is underlying all that
change a Living
Power that is changeless, that holds all together, that
creates,
dissolves, and re-creates. That informing Power or
Spirit is God. And
since nothing else I see merely through the senses can
or will
persist, He alone is. And is this power benevolent or
malevolent? I
see it as purely benevolent, for I can see that in the
midst of death
life persists, in the midst of untruth truth persists,
in the midst
of darkness light persists. Hence I gather that God is
Life, Truth,
Light. He is love. He is the supreme Good… God to be God
must
rule the heart and transform it…. This can only be done
through a
definite realization, more real than the five senses can
ever
produce…"[1, xviii]
Religion
http://www.wildewildeweb.com/gandhi/religion.html
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