There are as many scriptures as there are religions. Just as there is nothing in the core of religions that can keep us apart, there is nothing in the religious scriptures that separates us because the primary aim of all the scriptures is to lead men to wisdom and detachment. They teach us how to put the core teachings of religion into practice. Each one of them teaches us in one form or the other the eternal principles of human conduct: Maitri, Karuna, Mudita and Upeksha.
The term religion can be, and is, used in two senses. In the first sense, it is used to refer to a sect or an organised religion; and in the second sense, it is used to refer to an ethical or moral practice which is rooted in a specific ontology and metaphysics. In fact, Mahatma Gandhi uses the term in both these senses.
In Hind Swaraj he says, “Religion is dear to me… Here I am not thinking of the Hindu, the Mahomedan, or the Zoroastrian religion, but of that religion which underlies all religions.” That Gandhi does not use the term religion to connote such individual religions or faiths is clear when he says: “By religion, I do not mean formal religion, or customary religion, but that religion which underlies all religions, which brings us face to face with our Maker.”
Elaborating his use of the term ‘religion’ further, he says, “Religion does not mean sectarianism. It means a belief in ordered moral government of the universe.” This religion, according to him, is that “which transcends” the limits of any particular religion. It does not supersede individual religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, etc, but “harmonises them and gives them reality”. Gandhi argues that the essence of religion is neither its scriptures nor its methods of worship, nor its gods and goddesses rather it is a way of life, a mindset, what Wittgenstein calls a form of life. From the above it follows that as a distinct form of life, religion is not merely doing or saying or even showing, but is a constant reminder to oneself that one has to lead a life with an intense sense of complete self-surrender to the governing principle underlying all the religions.
This kind of religion is one “which changes one’s very nature, which binds one indissolubly to the truth within and whichever purifies. It is permanent element in human nature which counts no cost too great in order to find full expression and which leaves the soul utterly restless until it has found itself, known its Maker and appreciated the true correspondence between the Maker and itself”.
According to Gandhi, the essence of the religion which underlies different religions is the “teaching that one should serve and befriend all”. “The common factor of all religions”, according to Gandhi, “is non-violence”. To say that ahimsa is the common factor of all religions is to say that mercy, kindness, compassion form the core of all religions. The goals of “religions are not for separating men from one another, they are meant to bind them”. A true religion, therefore, unites and does not divide mankind.
In a conversation with Khawaja Saheb Abdul Majid, Gandhi maintained: “For God-fearing men, all religions are good and equal, only the followers of different religions quarrel with one another and thereby deny their respective religions.” He categorically asserted, “Almost all riots in this unhappy land take place in the name of religion though they might have a political motive behind them.” However, though religion does not admit of perpetration of violent conflict, it does not mean that one should be indifferent to the differences in the interpretation of the religious dictums. Being indifferent to one’s own religion may be criminal, but peacefully defending it, or cogently arguing for it, and supporting it, is the duty of all. We should remember that “religion never suffers by reason of the criticism fair or foul of critics; it always suffers from the laxity or indifference of its followers”. Contemplating or reflecting on the religious preaching and practices is not to be neglected. But more importantly, one should also keep in mind that religion is essentially prayerful living and a life of surrender and not merely an intellectual activity. Prayerful living achieves much more than pure thinking can.
That Gandhi does not regard religion or being religious or following of a religious order or creed as something external, some kind of a ‘job’ or ‘profession’ is abundantly clear when he said, “I do not conceive religion as one of the many activities of mankind.” The main reason for this is that “the same activity may be governed by the spirit either of religion or of irreligion”. On the contrary, he regards being religious as something inherent to humankind. The term religion, as used by him, pervades in all our activities. Therefore, Gandhi concludes, “For me every, tiniest, activity is governed by what I consider to be my religion.” He very explicitly admits this fact when he says, “This is the maxim of life which I have accepted, namely, that no work done by any man, no matter how great he is, will really prosper unless he has a religious backing.”
There are as many scriptures as there are religions. Just as there is nothing in the core of religions that can keep us apart, there is nothing in the religious scriptures that separates us because the primary aim of all the scriptures is to lead men to wisdom and detachment. They teach us how to put the core teachings of religion into practice. Each one of them teaches us in one form or the other the eternal principles of human conduct: Maitri, Karuna, Mudita and Upeksha. Gandhi argued that the principles of rationality and being logical are as much applicable to scriptures as to the other literature. He categorically asserted, “Scriptures cannot transcend reason and truth. They are intended to purify reason and illuminate truth.” Purification of reason and revelation of truth is not the “exclusive property of no single scripture”. It is the main objective of the scriptures of all religions. He did not consider any scripture to be infallible on the ground that it had a divine origin or is a gospel. He said, “I do not believe in the exclusive divinity of the Vedas. I believe the Bible, the Koran, and the Zend to be as much divinely inspired as the Vedas. My belief in Hindu scriptures does not require me to accept every word and every verse as divinely inspired”.
According to Gandhi, the rationality that he talked about in the context of the scriptures is the reason “which sanctifies reason itself”. The spirit of various scriptures, according to Gandhi, has to be judged by the criterion of truth, and ahimsa. To the question why do we find some contrary, contradictory, and incompatible assertions in the scriptures of different religions, he replied, “Because they have come down to us through imperfect human instrumentality”. To accommodate their vested interests human beings have interpreted them in inconsistent ways.
Let me conclude by saying that varieties of faith and religion, and their scriptures is an existential fact of our life. The main purpose of scriptures of all religions is to awaken in man higher consciousness about his relationship with God and the universe. In achieving this goal, as Goethe said, they never fail. We should following Gandhi not only believe in the principle of tolerance but like him go further and advance “from tolerance to equal respect for all” of them. The writer is a former professor of philosophy, University of Delhi.