This document discusses Mahatma Gandhi's views on Christianity and Jesus. It notes that Gandhi had a profound respect for Jesus' message in the Sermon on the Mount. Gandhi saw Jesus as a perfect man and martyr who embodied sacrifice. However, Gandhi rejected the idea of divine atonement and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. He also had a profound respect for Christianity but considered the organized church to be the greatest enemy of true Christianity. Gandhi called for a new reinterpretation of Christianity in India that was not tied to Western civilization and its violence and materialism.

2. Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
In his Autobiography he affirms his
philosophy of life
“My uniform experiment has convinced me
that there is no other God than Truth. And
the only means for the realization of truth is
Ahimsa- a perfect vision of truth can only
follow a complete realization of Ahimsa.”
For him non-violence is the means to
achieve the truth.

3. Introduction 1
Message of Jesus
His attraction to Jesus’ message is based on the Sermon on the Mount “The message of Jesus
as I understand it, is contained in His Sermon on the Mount. The Spirit of Sermon on the
Mount competes almost equal terms with Bhagavad-Gita for the domination of my heart. It is that
sermon which has endured Jesus to me.”
He considered Jesus as a perfect man, “The gentle figure of Christ, so patient, so kind, so loving, so full of
forgiveness that he taught his followers not to retaliate when abused or struck but to turn the other cheek
it was a beautiful example, I thought, of the perfect man.”
He accepted Jesus as a martyr, an embodiment of sacrifice and the cross as a great example to the world.
His heart rejected the idea of divine atonement and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
As a devoted Hindu it was natural for him to accept Jesus as one among many

4. Introduction 1
Gandhi’s View on Church
Though Gandhi did not attach much importance to historical religious institutions, yet he had a
profound respect and reverence for all religions, particularly Christianity but he considered
organized Church as the greatest enemy of true Christianity.
Gandhi never considered being a Christian if it meant being part of the Church, when asked why he did
not embrace Christianity, he said that he had studied the scripture and a profound effect on him still were
not able to convince him
Gandhi’s ultimate position was that it does not matter what religion we practice, as long as the soul longs
for the truth.

5. A Re-Interpretation of Christianity
Gandhi rejected orthodox Christianity and calls for a new reinterpretation of its essence and form in India.
To be a good Hindu also meant that I would be a good Christian.
First and foremost is Gandhi’s idea of a universalized Christianity arising from his own understanding of
Christ as the symbol of thee ternal law of ahimsa (non - violence), expressed in the Sermon on the Mount.
Christianity therefore, is essentially a new life and not a religion, and wherever the way of love is practiced
Christianity is present.
Secondly, Indian Christianity must dissociate itself from Western civilization, which is based on
violence and materialism. European Christianity is allied with it and ‘measures moral progress by
their material possessions’.
Thirdly, Gandhi seeks to persuade the Christian missions in India to recognize that the call ‘Go ye
into all the world’ has been ‘some what narrowly interpreted and the spirit of it is missed’ and that
they will ‘serve the spirit of Christianity better by dropping the goal of proselytizing while
continuing their philanthropic work.

6. Evaluation
According to E. Stanley Jones, “Gandhi was a Hindu and belongs to Hinduism, but nevertheless
when you strip away all controversies between East and West and religion and religion, we cannot
help but recognize affinities he had with the faith in Christ….the Mahatma was a natural Christian
rather than an Orthodox one. In practice of those principles he discovered and lived by the person
of Christ, however dimly and unconsciously….he never seems to get to Christ as a person”

7. Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)
He was originally named Narendranath Datta born
on 12th January1863 in Calcutta was the chief
disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
He presented Vedanta as the Universal Religion,
reinterpreting it to suit the needs of the day and
combining it with the Christian idea of social service;
he thus provided a basis for social service within the
framework of Hinduism.
Vedantic Christ

8. Vedantic Christ
Swami Vivekananda seeks to interpret Jesus Christ
in terms of the principles of the Vedanta which he
has enunciated. For him Jesus Christ and the New
Testament cannot be properly understood and
interpreted except within the framework of the
Vedanta, so Christ for Vivekananda is a Vedantic
and Jevanmukta because he rejected ‘me’ and
‘mine.’
Vivekananda interprets the life and teachings of
Jesus Christin the context of Advaitic framework.
First, Jesus Christ, according to him, was a yogi, who
realized himself as God in his spirit and showed
others the path to the same spiritual realization as
Messenger.
He declares: Christ had no other occupation in life;
no other thought expect that one, that he was a
Spirit. He was disembodied, unfettered, unbound
spirit. And not only so, but he, with his marvelous
vision, had found that every man and woman,
whether Jew or Greek, whether rich or poor,
whether saint or sinner, was the embodiment of the
same undying ‘Spirit as Himself’. Therefore, the one

9. Vedantic Christ
Secondly, Vivekandanda rejects the ethical Christ for
the mystic Christ. If I as an Oriental have to worship
Jesus of Nazareth there is only one way left for me
that is to worship him as God and nothing else. He
was concerned to build what he called Practical
Vedanta. This he does through his ideas of Karma
Yoga and Jivanmukta. Karma Yoga speaks of
continuous work but without attachment.
Thirdly, he pictures the spirituality of Jesus as
Advaitic, as the realization of his identity with the
Brahman,
There are three ways of perceiving God.
“All these three stages are taught by the Great Teacher in the New
Testament. Note the Common Prayer he taught: ‘Our Father which
art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name,’ and so on; a simple prayer, a
child’s prayer, mark you, it is the ‘Common Prayer’ because it is
intended for the uneducated masses. To a higher circle, those who
had advanced a little more, he gave a more elevated teaching. ‘I am
in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.’ Do you remember that he
and his Father were one; and the Jews thought that that was
blasphemy. What did he mean by that? That has been also told by
your old prophets: ‘Ye are gods and all of you are children of the
Most High.’ Mark the same three stages; you will find that it is easier
for you to begin with the first and end with the last.”

10. Evaluation
Vivekananda’s interpretation of Christ presents three
things.
First, his approach was not that of a seeker but that
of one who found satisfaction in philosophical-
mystical Hinduism.
Secondly, he is influenced by the Christ-myth
speculation of the late nineteen century.
Thirdly, he viewed everything from the perspective
of Advaita Vedanta. He attempted to bring Advaita
and Christ on the same platform so that humanity
can be united in terms of spirituality. By bringing
great figures on the equal platform their
contributions are compromised.

11. Bhimrao Ambedkar
Dr. Ambedkar is considered by many as the modern
messiah of dalit community.
Ambedkar visualized a society on fraternity, liberty
and equality maintaining that religion should treat
these as the foundational doctrines, and it means a
complete change in the fundamental notion of life,
value of life, outlook, and attitude towards human
and other thing. It means conversion he continues, if
you do not like word conversion then for me it is a
new life and new life can’t enter a dead body it
needs new and reunited body.

12. Conception of Religion
The last and the most important book Dr. Ambedkar
wrote in 1956 was ‘Buddha and His Dhamma’. The
concept of Dhamma was central to the ideas of Dr.
Ambedkar. It was a driving force throughout the
movements he carried out in his lifetime.
Dhamma is a principle of living a good and just life. It
is one which sets you free from fear, superstition,
hatred, and inferiority complex and so on and so
forth. It makes you strong from within to deal with
any situation without bending before any power.
Dhamma brings dreams to our life and desires for the
universe.
His concept of Dhamma raises the human being above religion
and Dharma. It breaks the barrier of caste, creed, sex, region,
religion, language and even geographical boundaries. It
integrates humanity in one and establishes a relationship with
flora and fauna in this universe. It promises to uphold the
dignity of human being and accept the utility and relevance of
everything. It centers on the human being and the universe.

13. Conception of Religion
Ambedkar considered
foundation of religion to be
essential to life and
practices of society.
According to him religion is
part of one’s social
inheritance. Religion is the
driving force of life.
Religion must be judged by
social standards based on
social ethics.

14. Christianity and Equality
It was largely Ambedkar’s appreciation for Jesus made
him hope that Christianity would help to solve social
discrimination in India.
For Ambedkar Jesus was the ‘physician to the untouchables’
and he was hence viable option to follow when dealing with
the social issues of caste problems in India.
He says, ““Hindus cannot destroy their castes without
destroying their religion. Muslims and Christians need not
destroy their religions, for the eradication of their castes.
Rather, their religion will support such movements to a great
extent”.

15. Critique of Indian Christianity68
Among the important areas where he criticizes Indian
Christianity is in their continuation of caste
discriminations and lack of a revolutionary spirit
Caste Discrimination
Fully aware of the caste discriminations in the Churches in
India, Ambedkar felt that the way Christianity was practiced in
these Churches was far removed from the ideals preached by
Jesus.
Christianity had not succeeded in eradicating the caste
distinctions from the minds of the converts. In fact, it
appeared that it had not even tried enough to do so. It was
this shortcoming of Christianity that, among other things,
seems to have discouraged him from joining their religion.

16. Lack of revolutionary Spirit
Ambedkar felt that there was a singular lack of a united
struggle for justice and political rights among
Christians. He once remarked that Indian Christians as
a community never fought for the case of social justice

17. Evaluation
Ambedkar saw religion not as a means to spiritual
salvation of individual souls, but as a social doctrine for
establishing righteous relations between one human
and the other.
The message of love and Jesus attitude of compassion
challenged him to identify with Jesus without joining or
subscribing to Church.