Gandhi on Other Religions: His Views on Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam

Mahatma Gandhi’s engagement with world religions went far beyond tolerance-it was rooted in deep study, sincere reverence, and a belief that all faiths ultimately led to the same divine truth. While remaining a devoted Hindu throughout his life, Gandhi read the scriptures of Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam with the same prayerful attention he gave to the Bhagavad Gita. His views on these traditions reveal a thinker who sought unity in diversity, rejected dogmatism, and believed that the essence of all religions was love, truth, and service to humanity.

Gandhi on Buddhism: a reform within Hinduism 🔗

Gandhi did not consider Buddhism a separate religion. Instead, he viewed it as a mighty reform movement within Hinduism that broke down arrogant assumptions of superiority and insisted on internal purity. He believed that Buddha was born a Hindu and remained one in spirit, giving new life to teachings that were buried in the Vedas.

During his visit to Sri Lanka in 1927, Gandhi addressed Buddhist audiences and declared that the Buddha never rejected Hinduism or the message of the Vedas. Rather, the Buddha introduced a living reformation in the petrified faith that surrounded him. Gandhi particularly admired how the Buddha challenged the practice of animal sacrifice, teaching that true sacrifice was of the self, not of others.

The question of nirvana 🔗

Gandhi’s interpretation of nirvana differed from traditional Buddhist understanding. In his discourses on the Gita at Sabarmati Ashram in 1926, he explained that there was no difference between the nirvana mentioned by Lord Buddha and the nirvana of the Gita. He was concerned that the Buddhist concept of nirvana as shunyata (emptiness) could slide into nihilism. Therefore, Gandhi reinterpreted it as not the black, dead peace of the grave, but living peace-the happiness of a soul conscious of having found its abode in the eternal.

For Gandhi, the Buddha was among the greatest preachers of peace and non-violence. He considered Buddha’s teaching on compassion and ahimsa to be Hinduism’s most progressive expression, one that enriched rather than contradicted Hindu thought. Gandhi once remarked that many friends considered him to be expressing the Buddha’s teachings in his own life-a characterization he accepted with humility.

Gandhi on Christianity: admiration and critique 🔗

Gandhi’s encounter with Christianity began in London during his law studies when he first read the New Testament. While he found the Old Testament difficult, the Sermon on the Mount went straight to his heart. He compared it with the Gita and found that the ideal of renunciation and turning the other cheek deeply resonated with his emerging philosophy of non-violence.

Gandhi called Jesus the Prince of Satyagrahis, recognizing him as one of history’s greatest practitioners of non-violent resistance. He admired how Jesus employed non-cooperation against hypocrites and liars, opposing the might of the Roman Empire for moral principles while showing unmistakable gentleness behind every act. For Gandhi, the Sermon on the Mount represented the whole of Christianity for anyone who wished to live a Christian life.

Theological reservations 🔗

Despite his deep admiration for Jesus, Gandhi could not accept several orthodox Christian doctrines. In his autobiography, he wrote that it was more than he could believe that Jesus was the only incarnate son of God, or that only those who believed in him could have everlasting life. His reasoning was direct: if God could have sons, then all humans were His sons; if Jesus was like God, then all people were capable of being like God.

Gandhi also rejected the doctrine of vicarious atonement-the idea that Jesus’s death redeemed the sins of the world. While he acknowledged there might be metaphorical truth in it, his reason could not accept it literally. He believed Jesus expressed the will and spirit of God and belonged not solely to Christianity but to the entire world.

Critique of Western Christianity 🔗

Gandhi made a sharp distinction between the teachings of Jesus and what passed as Christianity in the West. He observed that the message of Jesus had suffered distortion, and that Western Christianity had often failed to live up to its founder’s ideals. He was particularly critical of how European Christians engaged in colonialism and war while professing to follow the Prince of Peace. Gandhi believed that light upon Jesus’s message might have to be shown from the East, where its ethical demands could be taken more seriously.

Gandhi on Islam: appreciation for monotheism and brotherhood 🔗

Gandhi’s views on Islam were shaped by both his study of the Quran and his close relationships with Muslim friends and colleagues. He appreciated Islam’s unadulterated monotheism and its practical application of human brotherhood. He viewed Islam as a faith that proactively promoted peace and felt that non-violence had a predominant place in the Quran.

Gandhi was deeply impressed by the Prophet Muhammad’s life, particularly his suffering and dedication during the Mecca period. He remarked that Islam had spread not by the sword but by the prayerful love of an unbroken line of saints and fakirs. The Prophet’s simplicity, self-effacement, scrupulous regard for pledges, and intense devotion to friends and followers moved Gandhi profoundly.

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan: proof of Islamic non-violence 🔗

When critics argued that Islam was inherently violent, Gandhi pointed to his close friend and ally Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known as the “Frontier Gandhi”. This remarkable Pashtun leader founded the Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of God), a movement of approximately 100,000 non-violent activists drawn from a traditionally warrior culture.

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan derived his philosophy of non-violence directly from the Quran and the life of Prophet Muhammad. He taught that there was nothing surprising in a Muslim subscribing to non-violence-it had been followed by the Prophet during his entire time in Mecca, fourteen hundred years before Gandhi. When Khan first explained the fundamental laws of non-violence in the Quran to Gandhi, the Indian leader was deeply moved. This demonstrated conclusively that non-violence was in perfect harmony with a vigorous, resurgent Islam.

For Gandhi, this distinction was crucial: while violence might be permitted in Islam under certain circumstances, non-violence was a duty. He believed the Quran could be interpreted to support both positions, but that its deeper message aligned with compassion and peace.

Rejection of proselytization 🔗

Gandhi was unequivocally opposed to conversion efforts by missionaries of any faith-whether Christian or Muslim. He believed that proselytization would mean no peace in the world. His position was straightforward: all great religions were fundamentally equal, and people should have innate respect for other faiths, not merely mutual tolerance.

His early impressions of Christian missionary work in India were deeply negative. Missionaries would stand near schools pouring abuse on Hindus and their gods. Converts were reportedly required to eat beef, drink liquor, change their clothing, and disparage their ancestral faith. This created in young Gandhi a strong dislike for Christianity that only changed when he discovered the ethical beauty of the New Testament.

Becoming better in one’s own faith 🔗

When asked what he would say to someone who felt they could find peace only by changing their religion, Gandhi’s answer was consistent: that person should strive to become a better follower of their own faith. If a Hindu was captivated by the Bhagavad Gita’s message, Gandhi would tell them to find the same truth in the Bible or Quran. The aim of any Fellowship of Faiths, he argued, should be to help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim a better Muslim, and a Christian a better Christian.

Gandhi particularly objected to the attitude of patronizing tolerance that characterized some missionary efforts. He felt that Parliament of Religions or International Fellowship could only be based on equality of status-a common platform where no faith claimed superiority over others. Those who harbored the belief that other religions were in error while their own was the only true path could not genuinely participate in interfaith dialogue.

The final interpretation lies in living examples 🔗

Perhaps Gandhi’s most profound insight was that the true meaning of any religion cannot be found solely in its scriptures or doctrines but must be interpreted through the lives of its most devoted followers. Texts can be debated endlessly; it is in how sincere practitioners embody their faith that its real message becomes clear.

Gandhi crystallized his views by stating that all religions are more or less true, but all are imperfect because they come through imperfect human instrumentality. After long study and experience, he concluded that all religions have some errors in them, yet all religions should be as dear to us as our own. Religious symbols, he warned, should never be made into fetishes to prove one faith’s superiority over another.

This approach allowed Gandhi to draw freely from Buddhist compassion, Christian love, and Islamic brotherhood while remaining rooted in Hinduism. He saw himself not as diluting any tradition but as recognizing the golden thread that connected them all-the pursuit of truth, the practice of non-violence, and service to humanity.

What do you think? In today’s world of religious polarization, can Gandhi’s vision of finding truth in all faiths while remaining rooted in one’s own tradition offer a practical path forward? How might his distinction between the teachings of religious founders and the often-flawed practices of their followers help us approach interfaith dialogue more honestly?

References

1. https://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-MAG/mag147429.pdf
2. https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/How-Gandhi-and-Nehru-viewed-Buddhism/172-188918
3. https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/opinion/gandhi-and-buddha-godly-and-the-ungodly
4. https://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/what-jesus-means-to-me/sermon-on-the-mount.php
5. https://www.mkgandhi.org/whatjesusmeanstome/08christ.php
6. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3400300/
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practices_and_beliefs_of_Mahatma_Gandhi
8. https://qantara.de/en/article/abdul-ghaffar-khan-pioneer-nonviolence
9. https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/road-peace/pakistans-gandhi
10. https://indianhistorycollective.com/what-were-gandhis-views-on-religious-conversion/