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UNIT 4 RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE AND RELIGIOUS HARMONY

Contents
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Religions in India
4.3 Religious Tolerance in India: A Historical Overview
4.4 Religious Harmony
4.5 Let Us Sum Up
4.6 Key Words
4.7 Further Readings and References

4.0 OBJECTIVES
Tolerance is willingness to accept or allow a thing which one may not agree with, or even
disapproves of. It is ability to suffer or endure something without being harmed. As distinguished
from 'toleration', the act of putting up with something that one may not agree with or disapproves
of, ‘tolerance’ is an attitude of mind to bear or permit something which one does not approve of.
This attitude is applicable only to the one who is in a position of disallowing it, but still refrains
from doing it.
Religious tolerance is no more than the willingness of the adherents of a dominant religion to
accept or allow other religions to exist, although they disagree with those religious beliefs and
practices, look upon them with disapproval as inferior, mistaken or harmful. In the case of
individuals, religious tolerance generally means bearing with other people's religious practices,
although one may not approve of it. It does not imply that one need to believe that other religions
are equally true. It only means that one puts up with the fact that others have the right to hold
their beliefs and practice in the way they do. Within a nation or ethnic group, it is acceptance of
the right for others to hold beliefs that differ from the dominant religion, worship freely
according to these beliefs and even attempt to peacefully convince others to convert to that faith.

However, real religious harmony will be brought about in a nation only when people realize that
'Truth is One but the Paths are Many,' that the goal of all religions is essentially the same despite
their differences in worship-forms, belief-systems, and lifestyles. Further, the people must realize
that we can foster an attitude of open dialogue and mutual exchange of ideas, practices and
patterns of lifestyles, rather than imposing one’s beliefs on others by force.

Of these two kinds of attitudes, namely religious tolerance and religious harmony, it is harmony
between faiths that Gandhi wanted to establish in India rather than simply religious tolerance. In
this unit then you are expected to learn
• To have broad Sketch of the Religions in India
• To overview the religious tolerance of Indian religions
• To validate the grounds for religious harmony

4.1 INTRODUCTION
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Indian history as well as its social fabric is indeed unique in the world. This is only land, perhaps
in the whole of world, whose history goes back to thousands of years before the Christ and yet
has survived the onslaughts of time. While many of its contemporary civilizations like the
Assyrian, Babylonian and Roman have died out in, the Indian culture has managed not only to
survive the ravages of time but also to flourish. Another point of its uniqueness is the multi
religious and multicultural ethos which has not only been tolerated but also maintained with a
constitutional safeguarded.

Religion plays a major role in the Indian way of life. A wide variety of Indian religious customs
and rituals are not only just performed in the country but also they constitute organization of the
social life of the people in the country. Moreover, religion helps people to transmit their values
from one generation to another, and influences the way they interact with the natural
environment. It gives purpose and meaning to life, giving thereby the people of India a scope to
prosper together. It is a matter of great importance to understand how despite the variety of
religions, they are able to be active and vibrant in the day to day life of its adherents, forming the
warp and woof the ordinary life of the people, and organizing their life peacefully and in
harmony. It is significant to know that the national life of the Indian nation, even after the
Partition, did not choose the religion of the majority as the national religion. It is not merely
tolerance of religions but harmony between faiths that is visualized in the Constitution of India.
And that vision, except for a few communal frenzy cropping up now and then, has been kept up
by and large unimpaired till date.

The one who is greatly responsible for creating that vision of religious harmony is certainly
Gandhi. Here it must be noted that Gandhi was not motivated by political expediency. But it was
as a matter of policy, and a voluntary choice that Gandhi worked for establishing in India
religious harmony rather than merely religious tolerance. It is that specific contribution by
Gandhi that forms subject of inquiry in this Unit.

To understand and appreciate Gandhi’s blueprint for such a religious harmony, it may be
necessary for you first to have at least broad sketch of the variety of religions that exist in India.
Next, it will be useful to have at least a historical overview of the interactions with one another
during their long history of nearly five thousand years. In the light of these background-
materials, then, you will be in a position to gauge the grounds Gandhi gives for validating the
religious harmony, not merely religious tolerance.

4.2 RELIGIONS IN INDIA

There is probably no other land in the world which has more diversity of religious and sects than
in India. Apart from having sheltered all the sematic religions, India was also the birthplace of
four great religions (Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism) and has been an important
home to one of oldest religions of the world (Zoroastrianism). Its unique merit lies not merely in
accommodating these religions in its social fabric, but also in assimilating and absorbing many
of the features and waving them all into a synthetic culture.

Hinduism is the most predominant of religion of India. It is not a single religion founded by one
specific prophet or sage nor is it based upon a single book. It is actually a family of religions and
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cultures within whose umbrella numerous sects of religions began to flourish and are still
flourishing with some common traits binding them into a cluster. The most common of such
traits are
• belief in a single supreme Godhead that is present in everything,
• belief in other gods who are aspects of that supreme God,
• belief that the soul repeatedly goes through a cycle of rebirths,
• belief in Karma, a force that determines the quality of each birth, depending on how well
one behaved in a past life.
Most of the Hindus worship at home and have a shrine there or a sacred corner in a small house.
Though Hindu temples are the focus of religious life, yet there is not a strong tradition of
congregational worship. Traditionally Hinduism was not known for seeking to convert people,
although some modern Hindu sects now do seek converts.

Jainism was very ancient religion of India. It claims a lineage of 24 enlightened beings
(Thirthankaras). Only the last two of them could be historically traced: Parsva (9th century
BCE) and Mahavira (6th century BCE). Of these two, it is Mahavira about whom more reliable
data are available and hence is said to be the founder of the religion as it is known today. Like
Buddhism, Jainism also arose in opposition to the sacrificial Vedic religion, and the Brahmin
domination. It does not advocate belief in God or gods to whom we need to pray. It does not
accept role of priestly class in society. It empowers its followers to be spiritually self-reliant. Its
key idea is ‘everyone is maker of one’s own destiny’ and to be ‘conqueror of self’. The word
"Jaina" is derived from the root word ji meaning to conquer.

Jainism, along with Buddhism, spread throughout India during the period of the Magadha
Empire. Jainism has declined since the 12th century in many regions, but continues to be an
influential religion in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Though
a miniscule minority who practice this faith, it remains a powerfully influential religion even
today. Jainism is the most tolerant of religions. Its unique theory of Anekantavada emphasizing
the many-sided-ness of reality, is very conducive to tolerance of different points of views. Thus
all prejudices are allowed to subside and attitude of accommodation is promoted even with
people of conflicting points of views. This necessarily leads to pursuit of non-violence.

Buddhism is religio-philosophical tradition, founded by Gautama Buddha in the year around

500 before Christ. Buddha, before enlightenment was a prince called Siddharta. 'Buddha' means
'one who has woken up' and the one who awakens others to the knowledge of the world as it
truly is. The misery or suffering is universally felt by the people because they live asleep, never
knowing or seeing life as it really is. Once they are awakened to the real cause of suffering in
one’s desire or attachment, and walk in the eight fold path, they are sure to find release from
suffering.

Buddhism is known for its concrete techniques of the release, non-dogmatic and rational
approach, not concerned so much about the metaphysical realities like God or soul, but
emphasizing the present and giving opportunity for personal transformation. Still more is
appealing is its teaching of universal compassion for the suffering of beings and for the benefit
and welfare of all beings.
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Buddhism does not actively look for converts, but it is thoroughly welcoming to those who do
want to convert. Buddhism can coexist with other faiths.

Sikhism
Sikhism is the youngest of the world's four great monotheistic religions. It began as a relatively
neutral faith system that proposed to include the best practices of Hinduism and Islam. The
formation of its specific character owes to Guru Nanak in the Punjab state in Northwest India, in
the 15th Century and nine other Gurus who succeeded him, one after another. The word "Sikh"
in Punjabi means "disciple". Sikhs are disciples of the Gurus. Guru Nanak, the first Guru, started
the new tradition, though his devotion to almighty God. The last of the 10 Gurus, Guru Gobind
Singh gave the final shape to the tradition, by instituting the khalsa, extolling the heroism of five
men of excellent moral qualities, spiritual fervor and baptizing them and conferring guruship
them as a community, along with the holy Guru Granth. Since then the Khalsa implies the
collective, spiritually-directed will of the community guided by the Guru Granth Sahib.

He is to lead his life according to the Guru's teaching and is to respect but not practise or
participate in non-Sikh religious rites or ceremonies, especially abandoning the caste system. All
Sikhs were taught to treat all in the community as equals; no distinction was to be made between
the different professions or station in life. Sikh men are particularly easy to identify because the
Five Ks:1.Kesh (full beard and uncut hair) 2.Kanga ( a small comb) 3. Kaccha – warrior short
trousers, denoting chastity. 4.Kara ( steel bangle as a sign of restraint and bondage to the
Guru).5.Kirpan ( a sword as a symbol of dignity, power and courage).

The Sikhs attend a religious service once a week at a Gurdwara (temple) place of worship.
Sikhism does not have priests, but most gurdwaras will have a Granthi, or a learned man who is
skilled in reading the scriptures. The Adi Granth, the Sikh scripture is considered to be the
present day embodiment of the Sikh Guru, and so is called the Guru Granth Sahib is treated with
the same respect and devotion as would have been given to a human Guru. Sikhism does not
actively look for converts, but it welcomes those who want to get converted to it.

Judaism
There had been different Jewish communities arriving in India at different times. The Bene Israel
community which lived in the villages of west Maharashtra and Cochin Jews of Kerela were the
first to arrive in India probably shortly after the fall of Jerusalem in the eighth century BCE.
Then Bne Menashe Jews who settled themselves in East India, in Calcutta seem to have arrived
from China and Myanmar (Burma). The ‘Baghdadi Jews’ was a collective name given to those
Jews who had come from Arab countries and Iran in the late 18th century, and those who came
from Iraq and Syria in the 19th century because of persecution over there. They had enriched the
Indian culture with their own traits. The Synagogue of Cochini Jews is there to see in
Mattenchery in Kerala even today.

Zoroasterianism
The descendants of the disciples of an Iranian Prophet Zoroaster (1400 BCE) left Iran and sought
a new land of religious freedom and settled in North West India around the tenth century during
the Muslim persecution. And they were known as Parsis (Persians). Their main centre in India
today is Mumbai . The Parsis believe in a good God Ahura Mazda, who is opposed to and will
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ultimately defeat evil, Angra Mainyu. . They are fire worshipers. The essential feature of their
religion is physical and moral purity. They are known as have been commercially the most
enterprising people and the most highly educated, industrious and prosperous They are known
for their accommodative and peace loving nature.
Islam
Islam has been present in South India and Sind, through the settlement of Muslim Arab traders,
much before the invasions that came from other Muslim countries via the more warlike north-
western routes, Even with regard to the Northern Islam, it is wrong to think that it has always
indulged in forced conversions. As regards the many conversions that took place through force
also, Islam never interfered with India's multi-religious spectrum. Even when the Muslim rule
was reigning supreme in the major portion of the Subcontinent for nearly six centuries, the local
communities of various religions were not interfered. They all were allowed to retain their
identity as it is evident from the survival of the different calendars that are respectively
associated with Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism as well as Islam.
From around the fourteenth century there arose an altogether new trend, thanks to Hindu Bhakti
and Muslim Sufi traditions. The theme of interreligious tolerance was a persistent theme in the
poetry of Kabir, Dadu, Raidasa, Sena, Mira Bai and others, a circle of preacher-poets in whose
name many sects were founded later all in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

With Akbar the Great the spirit of interreligious harmony got royal sponsorship from the state. In
the late sixteenth century he arranged for meetings between adherents of different faiths,
including Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsees, Jains, Jews and even atheists. Thereby Akbar
made interreligious dialogue a respectable thing, central to participatory governance. He even
made it a rule that 'the pursuit of reason' rather than 'reliance on faith-tradition' would be
followed as the criterion to address difficult problems of social harmony. His pluralist
commitment is clear from the fact that he filled his court with non-Muslim intellectuals and
artists. Not only did Akbar personally championed the pluralist ideals of religions, but he also
made state-tolerance of religious differences a top priority of his reign. He implemented the
policy of religious neutrality that ‘no one would be legally interfered with on account of
religion’. Further by enunciating that ‘anyone would be free to go over to a religion that pleases
him’
Now, the Muslim population is about 9%, the second largest population. Though there may be a
fundamentalist trends among a few Muslims as in any other religion and there is no reason why
their patriotism must be suspected. Even when the option was there to move and have their living
to Pakistan, the Indian Muslims have made an option to be in India secularist nation. And this
itself is to be taken as a proof of their patriotism and their readiness to accommodate with
pluralist ethos of India

Christianity
Christian faith is said to have come to India already by the fourth century. But in the 16th
century a huge number of Christian settlements was created by the Portuguese rule in Goa. The
British, in the beginning their rule, were opposed to the missionaries’ entry to India. However
after a prolonged debate for years in the English Parliament, a missionary clause was passed in
the Charter Act of 1813, after which India witnessed an influx of missionaries. In the name of
reform they encouraged conversion from local religion to Christianity. Thus in 19th century
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many mass conversion movements took place. Even then the growth of Christianity has been
minimal amounting to 2.3 % of Indian population now.

However the Christian influence on the overall reform of India as well as on nation building is
uncontestable specially in fields of education, health services, and selfless and self-sacrificing
service to the poor. Even today 90% of the beneficiaries in almost every educational institution
are from other communities. Similarly it was the Missionaries’ social works that actually set the
developmental trend first in Indian society.

Check Your Progress I

Note: Use the space provided for your answers.

1). Distinguish between ‘religious tolerance’ and ‘religious harmony’

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2). What is the uniqueness of India in respect of religions? Indicate the contribution Gandhi
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3). Mention a few common traits of the ancient Indian religions
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4.) State the contributions of those religions that were born elsewhere to the social fabric of
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4.3 RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE IN INDIA: A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

In the case of India religious tolerance was almost an essential part of the cultural history in the
vast Subcontinent. Most historians accept that the Indo Aryans who had gradually settled
themselves in the North-West of the Subcontinent during a span of nearly a millennium (between
1500 BC and 800 BC ) developed a common cultural life with local variations of which the most
advanced was based upon the teachings of Vedas. The Vedic culture which was simple and
nature-bound began to grow into a complex structure of elaborate religious rites, philosophical
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faith, and intricate legal and social systems. It was dynamic enough to spread towards the East
and to bring even the South under its sphere of influence.

The Vedic culture would have made a sway of the whole subcontinent, but for certain factors.
The over-emphasis on the rites and ascetic practices by the Brhamans was too impractical. The
philosophical approach of the Upanishads was too abstract to appeal to ordinary people, and its
social structure was too rigorous and un-equal to be accepted by all the people with an equal
appeal. The rise of Buddhism and Jainism that struck at the roots of the caste system, moderated
the rigour of asceticism, ritualism proved to be more of a reaction to traditional Hindu culture
became a corrective to Hindu excessiveness.

Perhaps thanks to their influence there arose a reconstructed Hinduism with the Bhagawad Gita
as its spiritual and moral basis and the two Epics as the emotional and the Puranas as its
imaginative, and the Dhrma Shastras of Manu as the legal bases and the six systems as the
abstract and philosophic bases. The multi-pronged emphasis of the reconstructed Hinduism, with
its demands for the minimum of common religious belief and practice, allowing complete
cultural autonomy to the different local people in such things as dress, food, language, and mores
and manners, could easily make a countrywide appeal to all sorts of people, races and language.

The Islamic contacts that started in the 8th century A.D. through mainly trade were smooth with
the South India and Sind. However the intrusion of Muslim rulers in the North West, towards the
end of 9th century, posed politically many a hostile challenge between 1206 and 1526. However,
at the secular level there resulted a synthetic Indian cultural renaissance, creating "Indo-Muslim"
fusion of cultures, through lasting syncretic monuments in architecture, music, literature and
clothing. It is surmised that the Urdu language (literally meaning "horde" or mass in various
Turkic dialects) was born during this period as a result of the intermingling of the local speakers
of Sanskritic Prakrits with immigrants speaking Persian, Turkic and Arabic under the Muslim
rulers. At the religious level, though there arose religious tolerance, mainly on account of the
preaching of Hindu Bhakti movement as well as the Muslim Sufism. The political policy of the
early Moghul Emperors, especially that of Akbar the Great was conducive to the emergence of
religious tolerance. However the cultural fusion was limited to the urban centres, and did not
penetrate into villages where the Indian populace had concentrated.

With the advent of the Europeans in general, and the British in particular, the modern western
culture became a formidable challenge to the Indian culture(s). With their assumed superiority of
their culture, they downgraded the ‘natives’ as racially, intellectually and culturally and
religiously inferior to themselves. As a reaction to this onslaught of modern civilization, there
arose several reformers from both Hindus and Muslims. The Arya Samaj, Brahmo Samaj, the
Prarthana Samaj, and the Servants of Indian Society among the Hindus.

Among the Indian Muslims, there arose some great men who realized the need of Muslims
acquiring education and scientific temper of modernity. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898)
pioneered modern education for the Muslim community in India by opening the Aligarh a
school, which later became the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College, still later developed into
the Aligarh Muslim University. The British rulers found it an opportunity to woo the Muslim
elite and to stem the tide of the Indian National Congress. This institution played, much against
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the founder’s views, a crucial role in the Partition of India. However, after the Partition, this
university is known for its secular and scientific learning.
Likewise the reforms wrought by Badruddin Tyabji (Tyab Ali) the third President of the Indian
National Congress, was the first to create a secular political consciousness. This he did without
abating a jot of his zeal' for the advancement of the backward Muslims; and it was most
remarkable that he succeeded in obtaining widespread non-Muslim co-operation for it.
Badruddin's all-pervasive intellectual and personal distinction enabled him to exert considerable
influence for worthy causes on the more enlightened Englishmen, without loss of personal or
national dignity. He was not only, as Mahatma Gandhi wrote, "a decisive factor in the
deliberations of the Congress". It is through his influence that the Muslim participation in the
freedom movement became large and nationally he was a pioneer in making it the Indian ideal,
counteracting the Two-Nation theory.

The main aim of all these reformers was reformation of religious and social life of the natives,
either falling back on the glorious past, and thereby affirming the superiority of the Indian
ancient culture, or by injecting modern ideas into the mind of the people and reinterpreting the
past in the light of the modern ideas. In this process their approach consisted in making a
distinction between the religious and the secular on the one hand, and on the other hand they
accused the religion of the rulers as equally in need of reform and even going to the extent of
treating them as untouchables, so that there is nothing to learn from those religions, while
however they were ready to take on the modern ideas and incorporate them into to the socio,
economic fabric of Indian culture, and political fields. There were some other sections of
extremist approach who hated the English rulers both in their political and religious and were
keen on liberating themselves from their bondage through violence and arson.

However it was to the credit of Gandhi to have worked for a basic unity in the diversity of
cultural life as the foundation for a common nationhood. As opposed to all these different
approaches that Gandhi tried to reconstruct the cultural life of India. At the political level Gandhi
brought about a synthesis between the elitists’ Congress and the teeming millions, by changing
into it into a mass based organization. More importantly at the religio-cultural level Gandhi
brought about a wonderful synthesis between the liberal modernists like Rammohun Roy,
Mahadev Govind Ranade, and Gopala Krishna Gokhale and the Hindu extremist like Lokmanya
Tilak and steered a mid-path. This contribution that Gandhi made at the religio-cultural level was
very significant.

What Gandhi envisaged was a common culture as the basis of Indian nationhood in which people
of all religions will be not only not in conflict with one another but also each religion will be
respecting one another, and will be working for the common task of enriching humanity. The
principal feature of the Indian nationhood will be secular in character, not in the western sense of
putting aside the religious influences from the state, but imbuing politics with a spirit of deep
religiousness, expressing itself in equal respect for each one of the religions, that are present in
India. No one religion will be accepted as the official, state religion but all religions would be
allowed to flourish freely in their own respective spheres. It implies that it is no more tolerance
of religious but religious harmony that was aimed at by Gandhi.
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To bring about religious harmony in India, Gandhi thought, the first and foremost requirement
was Hindu-Muslim unity. That is why, in his Charter of Reforms (Constructive Programmes) he
listed Communal Unity as the most basic one. It was indeed a crucial question how to find the
common ground on which the two largest communities in the country, the Hindus and the
Muslims, can meet in order to live fraternally together and work for the common good of the
country which is identical with their common good. Once the Hindu Muslim unity was
established, unity with all other communities could be further strengthened. Gandhi never found
any serious differences between the Hindus and the other minority communities like the
Christians, the Sikhs and the Parsis. That is why Gandhi turned to the question of Hindu-Muslim
unity. Hindu –Muslim unity means not unity only between Hindus and Muslims but between all
those who call India their homes no matter to what faith they belong.

Already in his South African stay he had realized that the two communities had strong prejudices
against each other and there were hardly any relations between them. However, he realized that it
was providential that he went to South Africa under a contract to work with Muslim friends of
his brother. “I really served Hindus through Muslims whose employee I was. Hindu Muslim
unity was part of my very being”. On his return to India, when Gandhi involved himself Hindu-
Muslim unity, he found it more difficult than in South Africa, because the prejudices between the
two communities here had aggravated into a feeling of hostility.

Even then he was fully involved in the issue not as a political expedient to win the freedom for
India but a spiritual exercise for the realization of the supreme end of Truth through the unfailing
means of Ahimsa. The problem of Hindu-Muslim unity in India was a challenge to his faith in
Ahimsa ideal. He openly said: “It would be on the question of Hindu-Muslim unity that my
Ahimsa would be put to the severest test”. Thus it is clear that Gandhi’s earnest desire and
ceaseless effort for Hindu-Muslim unity did not originally spring from a political motive but
religious one. If it was merely political, he would have been quite content to bring about a
patched-up truce, an ad hoc alliance between the two communities directed against the common
enemy’s rule. But what Gandhi was aiming was nothing less than true and lasting friendship, a
union of hearts. “It cannot be based upon mutual fear. It must be a partnership between equals
each respecting the religion of others.”

Check Your Progress II

Note: Use the space provided for your answers.
1) Delineate the accommodating nature of the ancient Indo Aryan culture and Examine the
major obstacles for universal acceptance. …………………………………….
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2) Was not Muslim rule suppressive of the local culture?
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3) What was the specific approach of earlier reformers Modern Indian
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4). In what way Gandhi proved different from other Modern Indian reformers
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5). Why was Hindu-Muslim Unity was the most important for establishing religious harmony in
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4.4 RELIGIOUS HARMONY

Gandhi’s basic conviction about the nature of the religion is that every religion constituted a
revelation of truth, in as much as it is supplying a felt-need in the spiritual progress of humanity.
Each of them embodies a common motivating force, namely the desire to uplift the human life
and give it purpose. This is illustrated the fact of saints in each religions, persons of Attainment,
Realization and Perfection. He compared the basic unity of the different religions as the vital sap
of the tree which maintains the different branches and the leaves.

At the same time Gandhi emphasized the diversity of religions, too. There is only one God,
therefore in theory, there should be only one religion. However when God is revealed to human
beings it would become necessarily many and different. Depending upon the different
temperaments of human beings and climatic conditions, God will always be differently
perceived. Again as the one unalloyed Truth, beyond all speech, passes through human medium,
becomes conditioned, limited, and imperfect for no other reason than the human instrumentality
involved in receiving and expressing Truth. What was grasped and expressed by the humans that
are already imperfect, are interpreted by other humans who are equally imperfect. Thus no one
can claim that one’s own expression or interpretation of the ultimate truth is the right one.
Everybody is right from one’s own stand point. But it is impossible that everybody is wrong. In
other words, “all religions are true, and equally imperfect too. They are more or less true.”
Perfection is the exclusive attribute of God and whatever passes through the human touch
becomes imperfect. That all religions have the Truth is proved by the fact of saints, the
exemplars of Attainment and Perfection. That the religions are imperfect is proved by the fact of
many accretions and the superstitions that have grown in each religion.

This basic position of Gandhi regarding the nature of religion and religions has many far
reaching consequences. They may be listed out in the form of following principles. They will
explain the Gandhi’s vision of Religious Harmony.
1. Tolerance
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Granted that every religion has the Truth, no religion can claim superiority over any other. The
one Truth is always seen in fragments, and different angles of vision. Therefore each one has to
show an attitude of toleration of the view point of others, although one may not always
understand other’s view point. Even among the most conscientious people, there will be enough
room for honest differences of opinion in matters of religion, precisely because they are
concerned with the Ultimate Concern. The minimum of the expected rule of conduct in any
civilized society is mutual tolerance.
Here, tolerance does not mean indifference towards one’s own faith, but it gives us a spiritual
insight which is far from fanaticism. Knowing the true nature of religion and religions, one
breaks down the barriers between faith and faith. By cultivating tolerance for other faiths, one
may get a truer understanding of one’s own faith. Certainly tolerance does not mean tolerating
evil, false or wrong faiths. In the context of the principal faiths of the world, it only means
accepting common fundamentals found in all religions.
2. Respect for Other Faiths:
Tolerance may imply a gratuitous assumption of the superiority of one’s own position and the
inferiority of the others’. On the contrary, if one accepted that each faith has the glimpse of the
Truth, in its own way, supplying the felt need of the humanity, just in the same way as my
religion has supplied the same to me, then I should be able to respect it even though it is not
mine. It means, acceptance of the basic unity among religions, as outlined by Gandhi, namely
that the sum total of a faith with its particular frame work of cult, creed and code is as good and
helpful to its followers as the sum total of another faith to its own followers to attain perfection
within its own frame work. It is not a stance of compromise in a multi religious society, but it is
a fundamental verifiable truth about religions, through the great saints produced by all the
principal faiths.
This is further reiterated by Gandhi through his own experience. When he read the sacred books
of different faiths for his own satisfaction, with an attitude of equimindedness towards them all,
he said he became sufficiently familiar with Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and
Hinduism. In reading these texts, he had the slightest desire to criticize any of those religions
merely because they were not my own, but read each sacred book in a spirit of reverence, and
found the same fundamental morality in each.
The acceptance of the doctrine of Equality of Religions does not abolish the distinction between
religion and irreligion. We do not propose to cultivate toleration for irreligion. That being so,
some people might object, that there would be no room left for equimindedness, if everyone took
his own decision as to what was religion and what was irreligion. If we follow the law of Love,
we shall not bear any hatred towards the irreligious brother. On the contrary, we shall love him,
and therefore either we shall bring him to see the error of his ways, or he will point out our error,
or each will tolerate the other's difference of opinion. If the other party does not observe the law
of love, he may be violent to us. If however we cherish real love for him, it will overcome his
bitterness in the end. All obstacles in our path will vanish, if only we observe the golden rule,
that we must not be impatient with those whom we may consider to be in error, but must be
prepared, if need be, to suffer in our own person
3. Equimindedness:
If one accepts that the attitude of respect, far beyond tolerance, it becomes a necessary
requirement for true followers of religions to show equal respect and reverence for the followers
of other religions also. “We must have innate respect for other religions as we have for our own.
Mind you not mutual toleration, but equal respect.” It is this attitude Gandhi, expresses it as
 12

equimindedness to all religions. “I believe in sarva dharma sama bava.” Gandhi does agree that
there would be some things one does not understand. But he it is a mistake hastily to imagine,
that anything that we cannot understand is necessarily wrong. Falling back upon his own
experience, Gandhi says: “Some things which I did not understand first have since become as
clear as daylight. Equimindedness helps us to solve many difficulties and even when we criticize
anything, we express ourselves with a humility and a courtesy, which leave no sting behind them
4. Diversity Not Overlooked:
Just because Gandhi emphasized the unity of religions, as a consequence of which the respect of
religions and attitude of equimindedness, it does not mean that he ignored the actual diversity of
religions. To have equal regard for religions did not mean for Gandhi to adopt other’s view as
one’s own. It only means one tries to understand other’s view point, the light in which others
look upon the religion. Further it means that we should not emphasis too much on the points of
differences so as to instigate hatred among one another but it only means that we should
emphasis the points of agreement rather than the diversity. But in no way Gandhi deluded the
differences of religions. Here he was quite different from the common attitude of the Hindu
populous that all religions are rivers going to the oceans. The popular way of understanding
these statements may lead to the indifferentism of religions, in the sense that everything is
considered as one and the same. As against such a popular view, Gandhi, while emphasizing the
unity of religions, would equally emphasis the unique points of each religion. Therefore for him
the diversity of religions are to be equally taken note of.
5. Defects of Religions Not Ignored :
While Gandhi acknowledges the presence of truth in every great religion, he is equally conscious
of the numerous defects and degradations of all religions. When he expects people to cultivate
the attitude of respect for other religions, he does not imply that we should be blind to the faults
of other religions. He only expects the followers of each religion to be alive to the defects of
their own faith and make an attempt to overcome those defects first and foremost, at the instance
of their encounter with other religions. “Seeing that it takes all my resources in trying to bring
my practice to the level of my faith and in preaching the same to my co-religion is, I do not
dream of preaching to the followers of other faiths.” Gandhi finds the maxim involved in such a
conduct: judge not least you be judged.
6. Irreligion not to be condoned
The acceptance of the doctrine of Equality of Religions does not abolish the distinction between
religion and irreligion. We do not propose to cultivate toleration for irreligion. If so, it may be
asked, where would be any room left for equimindedness, if everyone took his own decision as
to what was religion and what was irreligion? To such an objection Gandhi says: “If we follow
the law of Love, we shall not bear any hatred towards the irreligious brother. On the contrary, we
shall love him, and therefore either we shall bring him to see the error of his ways, or he will
point out our error, or each will tolerate the other's difference of opinion. If the other party does
not observe the law of love, he may be violent to us. If however we cherish real love for him, it
will overcome his bitterness in the end. All obstacles in our path will vanish, if only we observe
the golden rule, that we must not be impatient with those whom we may consider to be in error,
but must be prepared, if need be, to suffer in our own person
7. Every Religion to Grow:
Granted that every religion is bound to be imperfect, it follows that every religion is always
subjected to a process of growth. Since the truth or God, conceived by us, is bound to be
imperfect and pluralistic, there is always a need to re-interpret, re-new and re-juvenate. In this
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respect, then every religion is bound to constantly grow from imperfection to perfection from
less perfection to greater perfection, from untruth to truth and from periphery to the center. In
this aspect also Gandhi’s affirmation of equality of religions is different from the popular
understanding of equality of religions expressed in such statements as ‘all religions are paths to
God or all are rivers flowing to the ocean.’
8. Learning from one another:
Gandhi, while emphasizing the need of every religion to grow from imperfection to perfection,
he also suggested some means for such a growth. One of the principal suggestions is that when a
religion encounters other religions, you should be ready to learn from the noble elements of other
religions rather than criticizing other religions and condemning them. In fact it should enrich
itself by blending into it all the acceptable features of other faiths. In fact such a thing is even a
matter of duty, which each religion to discharge according to Gandhi. Otherwise it is fanaticism
to imagine that you cannot accept anything form other faiths.
9. Reverential Study of Other Scriptures:
One of the best ways to learn from other religions according to Gandhi is a reverential study of
others’ scriptures. Once he remarked: “I have recommended to my Christian friend a prayerful
and sympathetic study of others’ scriptures of the world.” Likewise he also told the Hindus:
“your lives will be incomplete unless you reverently study the teachings of Jesus.” Giving his
own example, Gandhi says: “When I was turning over the pages of the sacred books of different
faiths for my own satisfaction, I became sufficiently familiar for my purpose with Christianity,
Islam, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Hinduism…Refreshing my memory of those days, I do not
find I ever had the slightest desire to criticize any of those religions merely because they were
not my own, but read each sacred book in a spirit of reverence, and found the same fundamental
morality in each.
10. Complementarity of Religions
Thus according to Gandhi, each faith would prove complementary to other, provided that the
followers of each religion were not indifferent to their religion, but rather tried to live seriously
their own faith commitment, while at the same time take seriously the truth value of other faiths
as well. In fact all the important faiths were held by Gandhi to be complementary to one another,
in no case to be exclusive. We may not have fully understood the true meaning of the inter-
dependence and inter-relation of different faiths, may be because we are too indifferent
representatives of our own faiths. If only we became seriously genuine seekers of truth, by
following our respective faiths, we would have already seen interdependence and interrelation of
various faiths.

Check Your Progress III

Note: Use the space provided for your answers.

1) What are Gandhi’s views regarding nature of religion and religions?

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2) Elucidate the meaning of “Equality of Religions”
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3) How could religions grow and be complementary to one another

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Conclusion
In short then, a real interreligious harmony would emerge in a multi religious society when its
members realize the basic unity of the various religions as well as the importance of the diversity
and the need to promote a spirit of equimindedness to one another and the need to learn from one
another and to be complementary to one another. What is unique of Gandhi is that establishes all
these as part of his quest for Truth. Synthesizing two models of God – theistic God and
impersonal Absolute – Gandhi speaks of God both as personal and as absolute Truth. It is with
reference to that Absolute Truth that he validates all religions as equal paths to truth and calls for
more positive love and respect towards all than just religious tolerance.
4.5 LET US SUM UP
I.1. While ‘Religious tolerance’ is no more than the willingness of the adherents of a dominant
religion to accept or allow other religions to exist, although they disagree with those religious
beliefs and practices, look upon them with disapproval as inferior, mistaken or harmful,
‘Religious harmony’ implies that each religion accepts and respects the other religions on the
basis of this realization 'Truth is One but the Paths are Many,' and acceptance of the fact that
the goal of all religions is essentially the same despite their differences in worship-forms, belief-
systems, and lifestyles.
2. Religion plays a major role in the Indian way of life. It is a matter of uniqueness that despite
the variety of religions, they are able to be active and vibrant in the day to day life of its
adherents, forming the warp and woof of the ordinary life of the people, and organizing their life
peacefully and in harmony. Already from the ancient times India has been promoting or at least
tolerating diversity of religions. Apart from having sheltered all the sematic religions, India was
also the birthplace of four great religions (Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism) and has
been an important home to one of oldest religions of the world (Zoroastrianism). Its unique merit
lies not merely in accommodating these religions in its social fabric, but also in assimilating and
absorbing many of the features and waving them all into a synthetic whole. But it is to the credit
of Gandhi that he was greatly responsible for creating that vision of religious harmony in the
Indian Republic. Here it must be noted that Gandhi was not motivated by political expediency.
But it was as a matter of policy, and a voluntary choice that Gandhi worked for establishing in
India religious harmony rather than merely religious tolerance.
3. Already Hinduism, the most predominant of religion of India, is a family of religions and
cultures within whose umbrella numerous sects of religions began to flourish and are still
flourishing with some common traits binding them into a cluster. Although Jainism and
Buddhism grew s independent religious yet, they all share some kind of umbrella with the
following features. The most common of such traits are belief in the supremacy of human being
 15

with a transcendental element within, that the soul, purity of soul in itself but polluted by the
karmaic particles, belief in Karma, a force that determines the quality of each birth, depending on
how well one behaved in a past life. repeatedly goes through a cycle of rebirths, and the
emphasis on human effort with or without the grace of God.
3. Islam never interfered with India's multi-religious spectrum. Even when the Muslim rule was
reigning supreme in the major portion of the Subcontinent for nearly six centuries, the local
communities of various religions were not interfered, but rather they all were allowed to retain
their identity as it is evident from the survival of the different calendars have been continuing to
exist. Especially during the rule Akbar the Great, interreligious dialogue became a respectable
thing, 'the pursuit of reason' was made the criterion to address difficult problems of social
harmony rather than 'reliance on faith-tradition'. His pluralist commitment is clear from the fact
that he filled his court with non-Muslim intellectuals and artists. As regards Christianity, the
influence it has exerted on the overall reform of India as well as on nation building is
uncontestable especially in fields of education, health services, and selfless and self-sacrificing
service to the poor. Even today 90% of the beneficiaries in almost every educational institution
are from other communities. Similarly it was the Missionaries’ social works that actually set the
developmental trend first in Indian society.
II.1.The Vedic culture was dynamic enough to accommodate with the local culture and spread
towards the East and even the South. However the factors that impeded its growth were: over-
emphasis on the rites and ascetic practices, the too abstract approach of the Upanishads, and the
too rigorous social structure to be accepted by all the people with an equal appeal. However with
the rise of Buddhism and Jainism that struck at the roots of the caste system, moderated the
rigour of asceticism, ritualism, the ancient Hinduism began to reconstruct itself with its demands
for the minimum of common religious belief and practice, allowing complete cultural autonomy
to the different local people in such things as dress, food, language, and mores and manners,
could easily make a countrywide appeal to all sorts of people, races and language. This is how
the ancient Hindu culture became the most tolerant religion.

2. Though Muslims posed politically many a hostile challenge between 1206 and 1526, at the
secular level there resulted a synthetic Indian cultural renaissance, creating "Indo-Muslim"
fusion of cultures, through lasting syncretic monuments in architecture, music, literature and
clothing. The Urdu language (literally meaning "horde" or mass in various Turkic dialects) was
born during this period as a result of the intermingling of the local speakers of Sanskritic Prakrits
with immigrants speaking Persian, Turkic and Arabic under the Muslim rulers. At the religious
level, though there arose religious tolerance, mainly on account of the preaching of Hindu Bhakti
movement as well as the Muslim Sufism. The political policy of the early Moghul Emperors,
especially that of Akbar the Great was conducive to the emergence of religious tolerance.

3. As a reaction to this onslaught of modern civilization, there arose several reformers from both
Hindus and Muslims. Among the Hindus the Arya Samaj, Brahmo Samaj, the Prarthana Samaj,
and the Servants of Indian Society. Among the Indian Muslims, there arose some great men Sir
Syed Ahmad Khan. Likewise the reforms wrought by Badruddin Tyabji (Tyab Ali) who realized
the need of Muslims acquiring education and scientific temper of modernity.
The approach of the early reformers consisted in making a distinction between the religious and
the secular, in accusing the religion of the British rulers as boastful and forcibly imposing on the
local etc, while however they were ready to take on the modern ideas and incorporate them into
 16

to the socio, economic fabric of Indian culture, and political fields. The extremists hated the
English rulers both in their political and religious and worked for liberation through violence and
arson.
4. The uniqueness of Gandhi is that he differed both from the earlier reformers as well as the
extremists. What Gandhi envisaged was a common culture as the basis of Indian nationhood in
which people of all religions will be not only not in conflict with one another but also each
religion will be respecting one another, and will be working for the common task of enriching
humanity. The principal feature of the Indian nationhood will be secular in character, not in the
western sense of putting aside the religious influences from the state, but imbuing politics with a
spirit of deep religiousness, expressing itself in equal respect for each one of the religions, that
are present in India. No one religion will be accepted as the official, state religion but all
religions would be allowed to flourish freely in their own respective spheres. To put it
differently, it is no more tolerance of religious but religious harmony that was aimed at by
Gandhi.
5. The Hindus and the Muslims were not only two largest communities in the country, but also
they were more antagonistic with one another. Once the Hindu-Muslim unity was established,
unity with all other communities could be further strengthened. Gandhi never found any serious
differences between the Hindus and the other minority communities like the Christians, the Sikhs
and the Parsis. That is why Gandhi turned to the question of Hindu-Muslim unity.
III.1. About the nature of the religion, Gandhi said that every religion is a revelation of truth, in
as much as it is supplying a felt-need in the spiritual progress of humanity, embodies a common
motivating force, namely the desire to uplift the human life and give it purpose, as illustrated by
certain persons of Attainment, Realization and Perfection.
However when God is revealed to human beings it would become necessarily many and different
depending upon the different temperaments of human beings and climatic conditions. Again the
one unalloyed Truth, beyond all speech, when passes through human medium, becomes
conditioned, limited, and imperfect humans, for no other reason than the human instrumentality
involved in receiving, expressing, and interpreting it. In other words, “all religions are true, and
equally imperfect too. They are more or less true.”
2. Equality of religions simply means the basic unity among religions, namely that the sum total
of a faith with its particular frame work of cult, creed and code is as good and helpful to its
followers as the sum total of another faith to its own followers to attain perfection within its own
frame work. Each religion has the Truth as is proved by the fact of saints in religions, and is
equally imperfect in the sense that the Truth is received, expressed through the imperfect
medium of human language and is interpreted by further imperfect humans.
3. Granted that every religion is imperfect, there is always a need to re-interpret, re-new and re-
juvenate, is bound to constantly grow from imperfection to perfection, from less perfection to
greater perfection, from untruth to truth and from periphery to the center. This growth can be
accelerated by learning from one another, through reverential study of the Holy Scriptures of
other religions, and adopting the acceptable features of other religions, and never approaching
other religion with a critical outlook as muchas on one’s own religion.
4.6 KEY WORDS
Toleration, Tolerance, Harmony, Karma, Thirthankaras, Anekantavada, Buddha, Sikh,
AdiGranth, Gurudwara, Ahura Mazda, Angra Mainyu, Dharma Shahstras, Urdu, Constructive
 17

Programmes, Communal Unity, Unity of Religions, Plurality of Religions, Equality of Religions,

Equimindedness, Complementarity of Religions
4.7 FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES
S.Abid Husain. Gandhiji and Communal Unity. New Delhi: Orient Longmans for Gandhi Peace
Foundation, 1969.
A.Pushparajan. “Gandhi’s Trans-religious Concept of Truth.” in Ed. George Karuvelil.
Romancing the Sacred? Towards an Indian Christian Philosophy of Religion. ACPI Books 8.
Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2007. pp. 373 – 406.

A.Pushparajan. From Conversion to Fellowship: The Hindu Christian Encounter in the

Gandhian Perspective. Dialogue Series 6. Allahabad: St. Paul Publications, 1990.

A.Pushparajan. Jnanadeepa: Pune Journal of Religious Studies. Vol.7. No.2. July 2004. pp. 29-
43.

M.K. Gandhi. In Search of the Supreme. Vol.III. Ed. V.B Kher. Ahmedabad: Navajivan
Publishing House, 1962.

Kachappilly, Joy. Gandhi and Truth: An Approach to the Theology of Religion. New Delhi:
Akansha Publishing House, 2005.