GANDHI SPEAKS
...and some similarities from
'A COURSE IN MIRACLES '
-compiled, rev@angelfire
Mahatma Gandhi achieved freedom for India not by violent force but by ahimsa; harmlessness.The political changes that developed from his example of nonviolence dramatically demonstrates the power of 'Universal Spiritual Principle' in action.
The following are just a few thoughts Gandhi shared about his beliefs, followed by some ideas from 'A Course In Miracles (ACIM) ' that carry a striking resemblance in content.
Gandhi : I own that I have an immovable faith in God and His goodness, and an unconsumable passion for truth and love. But, is that not what every person has latent in him?
ACIM : Jesus speaks, as author of the Course, of your undeniable potential devotion. As He says, the only difference between you and Him is that He has nothing else but God. Which is only potential in you in your current identification with ego-self.
• Gandhi : Work without faith is like an attempt to reach the bottom of a bottomless pit. I can easily put up with the denial of the world, but any denial by me of my God is unthinkable.ACIM : Jesus reminds you several times, that the offerings of the ego seem endless, and that you are free to try as many as you would like. Yet, He assures you that the contentment you seek will never be found in the ego's delusions of duality. That all you are really doing is delaying your homecoming. Whatever your actions be, He asks you not only to keep God and the Sonship in the forefront of your mind, but also to surrender all situations to the Holy Spirit for healing. For healing happens through you, but is not of you.
• Gandhi : The heart's earnest and pure desire is always fulfilled. In my own experience, I have often seen this rule verified.ACIM : Jesus states that all you need is a little willingness to practice the thought system He presents, and the invisible (Holy Spirit) will prove itself to you. Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. When they do not occur something has gone wrong.
• Gandhi : I have learnt through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmuted into energy, even so our anger controlled can be transmuted into a power which can move the world. How I find it possible to control anger would be a useless question, for it is a habit that everyone must cultivate and must succeed in forming by constant practice.ACIM : The idea that feeling anger is never justified is absolute in the Course. If you are to come to know your identity in Christ you must relinquish your interpretations of the cause of your anger and heal its source within your mind.
• Gandhi : A breach of promise shakes me to my root, especially when I am in any way connected with the author of the breach....And if it cost my life I should most willingly give it in order to secure due performance of a sacred and solemn promise.ACIM : You are not to despair because of your limitations. It is your function to escape from them, but not to be without them. For if the Holy Spirit is to be heard by others through you, you must speak their language and understand what needs to be escaped. Be their savior then, for healing does not come to you alone.
• Gandhi : Proneness to exaggerate, to suppress or modify the truth, wittingly or unwittingly, is a natural weakness of man, and silence is necessary in order to surmount it.ACIM : The peace of mind that advanced teachers of God experience is largely due to their perfect honesty and consistency that they hold in their minds. At no level are they in conflict with themselves. A quiet mind is the effect of incorporating the Workbook into your thought system. In the silence of an unconflicted mind God's Voice guides. Do read and reread the subsection "Honesty" in ACIM's Teachers Manual.
• Gandhi : I know the path. It is straight and narrow. It is like the edge of a sword. I rejoice to walk on it. I weep when I slip. God's word is, "He who strives never perishes." I have implicit faith in that promise.ACIM : Jesus recognizes that you will wander away only to return until healing is complete, and cautions you to seek only the experience of God and not let intellectualism delay you.
• Gandhi : I can truthfully say that I am slow to see the blemishes of fellow beings, being myself full of them. Therefore, being in need of their charity, I have learnt not to judge anyone harshly and to make allowances for defects that I may detect.ACIM : What you see in a brother is but a reflection of yourself. Would you condemn yourself for similar actions or non-actions? As you would treat him you but treat yourself. Remember, Jesus says that you either crucify your brother and yourself, or you heal each other in the miracle of love expressed in right-mindedness.
• Gandhi : There are moments in your life when you must act, even though you cannot carry your best friends with you. The " still small voice " within you must always be the final arbiter when there is a conflict of duty.ACIM : "This holy instant would I give to You. Be You in charge. For I would follow You, certain that Your direction gives me peace." (Lessons 361-365)
A final word from Gandhi : I will not be a traitor to God to please the whole world.
Mahatma Gandhi was a living example of the power of principle thinking.
This comparison of Gandhi's writings to the Course is in no way meant to be a definitive interpretation of like concepts. In fact, I hope this writing has encouraged you to make your own associative understandings, and to see how Universal Principle has maintained a timeless, yet individual quality, that extends beyond the perceived boundaries of Nations, and differences of cultures and personalities.
These extracts from the writings of Mahatma Gandhi have been reprinted from a compilation by M.K. Krishnan, Coimbatore, India. (courtesy Navajivan Press)
