Gandhi’s Views on Hinduism: Assimilative Faith and Social Reform

Mahatma Gandhi’s relationship with Hinduism was deeply personal yet remarkably universal. Born into a Vaishnavite Hindu family in Gujarat, he embraced his ancestral faith while simultaneously working to purify it of its social evils. His understanding of Hinduism was neither rigid nor orthodox in the conventional sense-it was a living, evolving faith that he believed could accommodate all seekers of truth. This unique interpretation made him both a defender of Hindu tradition and its most vocal internal critic.

Hinduism as an assimilative and universal faith 🔗

Gandhi viewed Hinduism not as a static creed but as what he called a “grand evolutionary process”-a religion capable of growth and self-correction. He found Hinduism to be the most tolerant among all religions, pointing to its historical acceptance of diverse faiths like Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Islam that found refuge on Indian soil.

For Gandhi, the assimilative character of Hinduism was one of its greatest strengths. He believed Hinduism could synthesize whatever new elements it encountered without departing from its essential teachings. As he wrote, he preferred to retain the label of his forefathers so long as it did not cramp his growth or debar him from assimilating all that is good anywhere else.

The ethical foundations of Hinduism that appealed most to Gandhi came from texts like the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. He was deeply impressed by Hinduism’s profound stress on the unity of all beings and its emphasis on Ahimsa (non-violence) toward all living creatures. The absolute oneness of all beings and the omnipresence of God in both animate and inanimate forms represented its universalistic nature.

Room for all prophets 🔗

Gandhi’s Hinduism was not exclusive. He considered it a religion with room for the worship of all prophets of the world. Unlike missionary religions, Hinduism, in his view, encouraged everyone to worship God according to their own faith or dharma and thus could live at peace with all religions. Each religion represented some unique quality worthy of emulation-Christianity’s power of love, Islam’s strict monotheism, Buddhism’s compassion, and Jainism’s many-sidedness of reality.

Confronting social evils: Caste and untouchability 🔗

While Gandhi cherished Hinduism’s philosophical depths, he was pained by the social evils practiced in its name. The caste system and untouchability represented, for him, a severe drawback that negated Hinduism’s universal message. He considered untouchability an “excrescence” on Hinduism-a later accretion with no moral or scriptural basis.

Gandhi launched a comprehensive campaign against untouchability, establishing the All India Anti-Untouchability League in September 1932 and starting the weekly publication Harijan in January 1933. He coined the term “Harijan” (children of God) to replace derogatory terms for the oppressed communities. Between November 1933 and July 1934, he travelled over 20,000 kilometers across India, propagating the removal of untouchability in all its forms.

Evolution of Gandhi’s views on caste 🔗

Gandhi’s position on caste evolved significantly over time. By 1935, his final position was unambiguous: caste had to go. In a November 1935 article in Harijan titled “Caste Has To Go,” he declared that the sooner public opinion abolished caste, the better. This was notably before B.R. Ambedkar published his famous work Annihilation of Caste in 1936.

He argued that untouchability had no warrant in the scriptures and used the Advaita (non-dualist) philosophy to attack it. Since all human beings were part of the same cosmic unity, all were equal. He famously declared: “Hinduism dies if untouchability lives; untouchability has to die if Hinduism is to live.” Gandhi believed that caste was harmful to both spiritual and national growth and openly affirmed his acceptance of inter-caste dining and marriages.

Gandhi as a Sanatani Hindu 🔗

Despite his reformist agenda, Gandhi called himself a Sanatani Hindu. However, his understanding of this term was distinctive. He defined a Sanatani Hindu as one who believes in the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Hindu scriptures, Avatars (incarnations), rebirth, and a purified sense of Varnashrama Dharma.

Gandhi also believed in cow protection, though in a broad, humanitarian sense. He wrote that cow protection represented protection of all that feels-it symbolized compassion for all weak and helpless creatures. Yet he explicitly stated: “I would not kill a human being for protection of a cow, as I will not kill a cow for saving a human life.”

What Gandhi rejected 🔗

Notably, Gandhi stated he did not believe in idol worship, though he accepted it as an aid to worship for those who found images inspiring. He did not accept the exclusive divinity of the Vedas and reserved the right to reject anything in religious texts that contradicted fundamental principles of morality. As a Sanatani Hindu, he was not obliged to accept dogmatic interpretations by pundits. He applied the litmus test of morality to all scriptures-anything repugnant to reason and moral sense had to be rejected.

For Gandhi, anyone practicing untouchability or discriminating against others on grounds of caste could not be a Sanatani Hindu. This was his revolutionary reinterpretation of orthodoxy-true adherence to tradition meant embodying its highest ethical ideals, not perpetuating its social corruptions.

The goal of self-realization and service 🔗

At the heart of Gandhi’s spiritual life was the quest for Moksha-liberation or self-realization. In his autobiography, he wrote with remarkable candor: “What I meant to achieve-what I have been striving and pining to achieve these thirty years-is Self-realization, to see God face to face, to attain Moksha.” All his political and social work, he insisted, was directed toward this ultimate goal.

However, Gandhi’s path to Moksha was distinctive. Drawing from the Karma Yoga tradition emphasized in the Bhagavad Gita, he believed selfless service to all creatures was the most effective path to liberation. The Gandhian path to Moksha meant serving Truth by setting aside personal likes and dislikes and serving humanity equally.

Service as spiritual practice 🔗

Gandhi abhorred religious stagnation, sectarianism, and exclusivity. For him, spirituality could not be divorced from social engagement. He adapted traditional Hindu concepts to his philosophy of social activism-Moksha (liberation), Tapasya (penance), and Yoga all became instruments for social reform and service to the poor. Gandhi wanted to translate politics in terms of spirituality, believing that a person with intense spirituality could touch the hearts of millions through action alone.

The essence of Hinduism, for Gandhi, lay in the first verse of the Ishopanishad: all that exists in this universe is pervaded by God; therefore, renounce attachment and enjoy what is given; do not covet what belongs to another. This became his template for a spiritually grounded yet socially engaged life. True self-realization meant recognizing the divine in every being and serving that divinity through service to humanity.

A religion of truth and transformation 🔗

Gandhi believed Hinduism was not buried in its scriptures but was a living faith. He likened it to the river Ganga-while its source remains pure, it assumes local character as it flows through different regions. This dynamism allowed Hinduism to respond to changing times while remaining rooted in eternal truths. For Gandhi, his understanding of faith was constantly evolving as he encountered new belief systems and engaged with texts from multiple traditions, including the Bible and the Quran.

His vision was of a Hinduism purified of social evils yet enriched by its encounter with other faiths-a tradition that could be truly universal because it demanded nothing less than the realization of Truth through ethical living and compassionate service. Gandhi’s Hinduism was thus simultaneously ancient and revolutionary, rooted in tradition yet open to transformation.

What do you think? Can a religion maintain its essential identity while undergoing radical reform of its social practices? And in an increasingly interconnected world, is Gandhi’s vision of an assimilative, universal Hinduism more relevant than ever?

References

1. https://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/Gandhi-on-moral-basis-on-hinduism.php
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3400300/
3. https://www.shivajicollege.ac.in/sPanel/uploads/econtent/d94aaa587b8297997c7e149a01f1fc84.pdf
4. https://pwonlyias.com/upsc-notes/gandhi-caste-untouchability-reform/
5. https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/opinion/gandhi-denounced-caste-and-untouchability
6. https://gandhistory.in/relevance-untouchability.php
7. https://m.thewire.in/article/caste/who-is-a-sanatani-hindu-heres-what-gandhi-had-to-say
8. https://www.worldpress.org/Asia/3057.cfm
9. https://spot.colorado.edu/~chernus/NonviolenceBook/Gandhi.htm
10. https://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=83523
11. https://www.britannica.com/question/What-were-Gandhis-religious-beliefs