Gandhi has given so much to the world that can be and should be remembered as a tribute on his birth anniversary. But in the current scenario of a heated controversy over ‘Sanatan’ it is appropriate and a must to know how Gandhi looked at it. Gandhi was a proud Sanatani who believed in all the fundamentals of Sanatan- belief in God, immortality of the soul, transmigration of the soul, the law of Karma and Moksha and truth and ahimsa, cow-protection and Varna-ashrama. He believed in the Vedas, Upanishads, the Puranas and the writings of holy reformers. Bhagwat Gita was his leading light. Though he was well aware of the malpractices that had entered in Hinduism over a period of time, He was always critical of them but it never made him abandon Hinduism. In fact, after several attempts by Christian missionaries he was steadfast at his faith in Hinduism. He is a perfect example how one can be secular yet have pride in his own religion. He could muster this courage because he understood the essence of Hinduism. To him Sanatan was the religion of humanity and it had best of all the religions. He openly expressed anguish over social ills like caste system or untouchability as he knew that these practices didn’t find any mention in Sanatan religious text books.
He believed in Varna Ashram System of Sanatan. But as mentioned originally in Rigveda his Varna system was not hierarchical. All the four Varna are equally important for the society and are placed horizontally, not vertically. Gandhi favoured for mobility amongst the Varnas while always mastering the duties of concerned Varna. According to him Brahmin could take up the weapons or provide service of Shudras but he must perform his priestly duties. Same way shudra could take up the weapons or engage in priestly duties while maintaining his ancestral duties. For him Varna was a class system of today’s life which asked for specialisation and division of labour. This pure form of Varna system mentioned in Rigveda was accepted by Gandhi. Though he rejected Caste system which was a modified not original part of Sanatan.
He believed that religion should be a matter of self-expression. That is why he openly opposed to ulterior motives of Christian missionaries. He opposed to non- Christian aid to Christian missionaries as they were having propagation against Hinduism. On 6 March, 1937 in Harijan Gandhi questions as to why the Christian missions should receive non-Christian aid while they are pregnant with an aim that is repugnant to the non-Christian sentiment? Gandhi always believed in the greatness of Hinduism as it had given us so many great men like Chaitanya, Dnyandev, Tukaram, Tiruvalluvar, Ramkrishna Paramahamsa, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Vivekananda and others. This shows the assimilative power of Hinduism. In fact, all his major concepts like truth, non-violence, Satyagrah were inspired by the teachings of Hinduism. He openly confessed that whenever he had slightest doubt, he took the solace in Gaytari Mantra and Bhagwat Gita. To him the first verse of Ishopanishad was essence of it and it could make Hinduism last forever. This can be a reply to all those who are taking to end the Sanatan from Hindustan.
His statement in 1933 made it clearer that he was not only a Hindu but proud Hindu. He said, “I am a Hindu not merely because I was born in the Hindu fold, but I am one by conviction and choice. As I know it and interpret it, it gives me all the solace I need both here and hereafter.” He believed that despite so many problems Hinduism will continue to flourish. He said, “I have firm faith that a religion that has maintained itself for thousands of years will not perish even at the hands of our priests.” He openly discussed crucial aspects of Hinduism like Idol worship and accepted it as right in its own way. He understood that Hinduism has space for people with different capacities and conscious level. So, worshiping idols was completely fine for those who needed some statue for mediation. He said, “It is not necessary for any Hindu to go to the temple to worship (the image of) Ramchandra. But it is for him who cannot contemplate his Rama without looking at his image in a temple. It may be unfortunate, but it is true that his Rama resides in the temple as nowhere else. I would not disturb that simple faith.”
He appreciated all religions with having pride in Hinduism. In a letter to Jawaharlal Nehru, he wrote, ‘My life would be a burden to me, if Hinduism failed me. I love Christianity, Islam and many other faiths through Hinduism.’
So he preached to love other faiths but only from within one’s own religious fold. He understood the importance of Hinduism and its contribution to composite culture of India. This can be an answer to recent debates going on Hinduism in the country. He writes at one place, “Somehow or other, Christianity has become synonymous with Western culture. Perhaps rightly so, for the religion of the Western people is predominantly Christianity and therefore Western culture may fittingly be described as Christian culture, as Indian culture would certainly be described as Hindu culture.” He was a believer of the fact that certain drawbacks of a religion need to be reformed from time to time. But this doesn’t mean the separation from your own religion. He had so much firm faith in it that he believed that all reform moments were a part of Hinduism only. Addressing the Young Men’s Buddhist Association, Colombo, he said, “ Remember also that Gautama was a Hindu of Hindus. He was saturated with the spirit of Hinduism, with the Vedic spirit. He was born and brought up in those exhilarating surroundings, exhilarating for the spirit, and so far, as I am aware, he never rejected Hinduism or the message of the Vedas. What he did was therefore to introduce a living reformation in the putrefied faith that surrounded him. I venture to suggest to you that your study of Buddhism will be incomplete unless you study the original sources from which the Master derived his inspiration.” Speaking at the Gurukul Anniversary in March 1916, Gandhi reiterated his position, “ I am frankly a Sanatanist. For me Hinduism is all-sufficing … And though the Arya Samajists and the Sikhs and the Brahmo Samajists may choose to be classed differently from the Hindus, I have no doubt that at no distant future they will be all merged in Hinduism and find in it their fullness. Hinduism, like every other human institution, has its drawbacks and its defects. Here is ample scope for any worker to strive for reforms, but there is little cause for secession.” Thus we can say that Gandhi truly understood the real essence of Hinduism. He was a proud Sanatani who had firm faith in Hinduism. He was tolerant enough to make space for other religions while having full proud in his own religion. Whatever he preached, his philosophy were all taken from Sanatan Heritage of Bharat be it Truth, Non-Violence, Love for Humanity, Tolerance or Satyagrah. Everything speaks about the great ancient values of Hinduism which will always make it flourish even when faced with hardest of the challenges.
Dr. Daisy Sharma, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur