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Mahatma Gandhi ; an interpretation
"I have believed in and loved Mahatma Gandhi through the years---in spite of differences...But to try and interpret such a complex character as he was---well, it was beyond me..."
160 pages, Hardcover
First published August 8, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 26, 2013
Gandhi was truly an amazing man. But what might be most important about him is that he stands not as a hero only, but rather as an example to be emulated. Possibly the most faithful follower of Jesus in the 20th century, this Hindu man demonstrated the Cross of Christ to an oppressive people who used the Cross for decoration or as an icon for worship while failing to see it's significance for life. As a Christian E. Stanley Jones, a friend of Gandhi, recognized God's imprint on this little man from India, and how God chose to use a Hindu Indian to reveal the Cross of Christ to the world. Some of the historical references and names in this book can be challenging since they occurred and lived in a time and culture different from our own, but if you can make it past them this book is a gem! Here is a sampling:
"The Cross was the new power that was to shake the world - and redeem it! But the Cross of Christendom became official and artificial. It became only a sign - a sign on our churches, a charm around our necks or dangling from our watch chains, an ornament. We were no longer, save in exceptional cases, using it as a working way of life. Christendom was astray - astray at the very center of its faith, the Cross. We had turned from the Cross to material power, to imperial power, to balances of power, to atomic power. There we have come to a dead halt, frozen in our tracks, knowing that if we pursue the way of atomic power we are finished - finished as a race. We Wanted power and have depended on power, and now God has had to say: "You want power. I'll have to give it to you. Look into the heart of an atom - and choose." The end of our quest for power is this: if we use it again, both sides are done for - irretrievably.
When Christendom was astary, losing the Cross in the crosses that hid its meaning, then God raised up a Hindu, protesting all the time he didn't believe in the Cross, but all the time applying it - applying it to a local difficulty in the Ashram, and applying it on a continental scale for the freedom of a nation, and revealing its power before our astonished gaze. Gandhi is our lost chord. He awakens within us a certain homesickness, a nostalgia for a kingdom which we bartered for a mess of physical power - the Kingdom of God. Gandhi the Hindu, whatever he says, calls us to the Cross."
"The Cross was the new power that was to shake the world - and redeem it! But the Cross of Christendom became official and artificial. It became only a sign - a sign on our churches, a charm around our necks or dangling from our watch chains, an ornament. We were no longer, save in exceptional cases, using it as a working way of life. Christendom was astray - astray at the very center of its faith, the Cross. We had turned from the Cross to material power, to imperial power, to balances of power, to atomic power. There we have come to a dead halt, frozen in our tracks, knowing that if we pursue the way of atomic power we are finished - finished as a race. We Wanted power and have depended on power, and now God has had to say: "You want power. I'll have to give it to you. Look into the heart of an atom - and choose." The end of our quest for power is this: if we use it again, both sides are done for - irretrievably.
When Christendom was astary, losing the Cross in the crosses that hid its meaning, then God raised up a Hindu, protesting all the time he didn't believe in the Cross, but all the time applying it - applying it to a local difficulty in the Ashram, and applying it on a continental scale for the freedom of a nation, and revealing its power before our astonished gaze. Gandhi is our lost chord. He awakens within us a certain homesickness, a nostalgia for a kingdom which we bartered for a mess of physical power - the Kingdom of God. Gandhi the Hindu, whatever he says, calls us to the Cross."
November 18, 2014
I was able to find the hardcover addition of this book. It was quite a read. Ghandi was such a unique combination of East and West. He was Indian, yet deeply influenced by his largely Western education. He did not, however, ever surrender to Western civilization. This timid young man grew into an adult who could defy custom, confront empires, and draw adversaries to his side. The author has been able to see the "whole" of Ghandi. He loved Ghandi, despite their differences, and was able to write about his friend without putting Ghandi under a microscope and reiterating his inconsistencies. Jones asked himself..."Can I...interpret such a complex character as he..? "He was simple, and yet very complex amid that simplicity. You thought you knew him, and then you didn't." One of my favorite entries is in chapter five. The author was meeting with Ghandi before he became the Mahatma. Ghandi was not "on the offensive" and Jones was not "on the defensive." Jones asked Ghandi what he, as one of the Hindu leaders of India would tell a Christian who was trying to support Christianity with no ulterior motives for India. Ghandi responded with "great clarity and directness: First I would suggest that all of you Christians, missionaries and all must begin to live more like Jesus Christ. Second, practice your religion without adulterating it or toning it down. Third, emphasize love and make it your working force, for love is central in Christianity. Fourth, study the non-Christian religions more sympathetically to find the good that is within them, in order to have a more sympathetic approach to the people."
February 18, 2017
Interesting. Will challenge your perception of Gandhi from a person who interacted directly with him. Gandhi's advice to Christians to be more "Christian" is compelling.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews