Religion and Truth: Selections from “All Men Are Brothers” by Mahatma Gandhi Ji (vegetarian), Part 1 of 2

Born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the man who came to be known as the “Great-Souled,” or Mahatma Gandhi Ji was an exemplary spiritual practitioner and visionary leader of India. The beloved Mahatma Gandhi Ji sometimes spoke about desired changes in government. However, he would meditate and fast to encourage a nonviolent and beneficial outcome. He thus became an example of peaceful change for an entire country. In his book, “All Men Are Brothers,” Mahatma Gandhi Ji humbly reflects on his own life and inner realizations as a way to illustrate the unity of our global spiritual family. Now we would like to share with you Mahatma Gandhi’s eloquent thoughts from the book “All Men Are Brothers.”

“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. Let me explain what I mean by religion. It is not the Hindu religion which I certainly prize above all other religions, but the religion which transcends Hinduism, which changes one's very nature, which binds one indissolubly to the truth within and whichever purifies. It is the 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.”

“There is an indefinable mysterious Power that pervades everything. I feel it, though I do not see it. It is this unseen power which makes itself felt and yet defies all proof, because it is so unlike all that I perceive through my senses. It transcends the senses. But it is possible to reason out the existence of God to a limited extent.”

“To me God is Truth and Love; God is ethics and morality; God is fearlessness. God is the source of Light and Life and yet He is above and beyond all these. God is conscience. He is even the atheism of the atheist... He transcends speech and reason... He is a personal God to those who need His personal presence. He is embodied to those who need His touch. He is the purest essence. He simply is to those who have faith. He is all things to all men. He is in us and yet above and beyond us...”