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Imanii JonesCWV 101Joe Stanley15 August 2014Role Model Review Mahatma Gandhi had a non-violent Hindu worldview. His worldview encompassed many issues because he was a civil rights leader. The way he went against authority to get justice for many civil liberties paved the way for modern activists. His nonviolent nature was the basis of many different civil rights leaders doctrines, most notably Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez. Nowadays, Mahatma Gandhis tactics are the go-to for nonviolent displays of defiance. Gandhi had a peaceful nature, making him a credible role model and great person to aspire to be. His legacy is one that defined a generation and swayed many generations to come. So many of his quotes and doctrines are relatable and used today. Mahatma Gandhi had many opinions on many topics such as the nature of God, sexuality, and social issues. Mahatma Gandhis attitudes and opinions about the nature of God were not totally unlike to the Christian worldview. There are major differences, however, because he was a devote Hindu. He was known for following the doctrine Ahimsa which translates harmlessness (Polinska, 2007). He had a peaceful nature that advocated tolerance for other religions. One author states, Whether ahimsa (or harmlessness) in Hinduism, compassion for all beings in Buddhism, or love of enemy in Christianity, unconditional love signifies the principal concern of these spiritual thinkers (Polinska, 2007). This way of life directly translates to his passive defiance towards the Indian government of his time and also resonates with his tolerance of the Christian belief. There is no doubt that his God and the Christian God are completely separate. He in no way conformed to the Christian belief although he was very tolerant and understanding of it. He is directly quoted in his newspaper Harijan saying, I do not regard God as a person. Truth for me is God, and God's Law and God are not different things or facts, in the sense that an earthly king and his law are different. Because God is an Idea, Law Himself. Therefore, it is impossible to conceive God as breaking the Law. He, therefore, does not rule our actions and withdraw Himself (Gandhi, 1940). This is completely different from the Christian worldview believing that Jesus is God and he will return as he has done before. He states that Gods laws are not facts and God is only an idea or law itself. The Christian worldview upholds that God made us in his image and he is an actual being having Jesus as a son. God is a separate being from his law or the bible because he created it/them according to the Christian worldview. Just because God is not tangible for the Christian does not make him figurative. He is a literal God and evident in all things. Gandhi is also quoted in Harijan saying that, The laws of nature are changeless, unchangeable, and there are no miracles in the sense of infringement or interruption of nature's laws. But we, limited beings, fancy all kinds of things and impute our limitations to God (Gandhi, 1940). We know this is not parallel to the Christian belief because Jesus, the son of God, preformed miracles, went against nature, and resurrected from the dead. Gandhi describes God as one who protects the balance of life and does not necessarily answer prayers. As Christians, this is completely opposite because God truly does answer prayers and says he will. There are similarities despite Gandhi having said all this. He states in Young India, 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. For in His boundless love God permits the atheist to live. He is the searcher of hearts. He transcends speech and reason. He knows us and our hearts better than we do ourselves. He does not take us at our word for He knows that we often do not mean it, some knowingly and others unknowingly.(Gandhi, 1925). On one hand he said that God is the source of light and life which is not unlike the Christian worldview. On the other hand, he states that he does not take our word literally which is not like the Christian worldview. We know that we our actions and words are directly heard by God and God does punish bad deeds. He is a merciful God and allows repentance, but that is a persons individual responsibility.Mahatma Gandhi had some surprising conservative opinions about sexuality. He believed that sex should between husband and wife, man and woman only. His belief even encompassed the notion that sex should be for procreation only. This belief was mainly out of respect for women as he believed that women should not be objects for sexual pleasure only child rearing as opposed to the Christian belief that sex should be for procreation only because it is sinful otherwise. He states in his newsletter Harijan, I take it that the wisest among the protagonists of contraceptive restrict their use to married women who desire to satisfy their and the husbands' sexual appetite without wanting children. I hold this desire as unnatural in the human species and its satisfaction detrimental to the spiritual progress of the human family (Gandhi, 1936). This statement is the same as the Christian belief. The use of contraceptives is sinful because it suggests sex for pleasure and not for procreation. To Gandhi, this was not right and sinful even for married couples and this is parallel to the Christian belief as well. There were many social issues that Mahatma Gandhi worked had to bring suffrage to. He was especially drawn to civil rights and womens rights. He was most known for his work in South Africa and his home country, India. He swathe injustices that the South African government enacted on their people in regards to labor laws. He organized many civil disobedience displays. After returning to India, he noticed some civil injustices against the Indian people. He called these three civil injustices evil and they included British colonialism in India, Hindu and Muslims intolerances towards one another, and the caste system that was so evident at that time in India. He is quoted saying, In my humble opinion, non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good (Gandhi, 1942) at his trial for writing anti-government articles. His stance on protecting civil liberties is like the Christian stance because we know that there are instances in the bible where people went against authority because that authority was wrong. For example, in Daniel 3:1-30, three men were spared by God for not worshipping a false idol and going against their king. We also know from Daniels story that going against authority is necessary when that authority is wrong. He refused to not pray three times a day due to a law and was persecuted. He was spared by God as well. In Christianity we also say that It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God (Mark 10:25, King James Version). While God wants us to be submissive to authority that protects us, there are clear examples of when it is alright to go against said power. Gandhi saw the injustice of the poor people versus the rich in India; a permanent caste system. He upholds that it is wrong to be lavish and fought for the civil liberties in his country and he did so nonviolently. Mahatma Gandhi had very similar ideals to Christianity but he also has some different ideas when it came to the question of who God is. This is the main difference in his worldview as opposed to the Christian worldview. He lived a very peaceful and admirable life and I can consider him a personal role model because of how he shaped our world today. Arguably, of course, one can say that Gandhi paved the way for most modern day peaceful civil rights leaders. His doctrine is the go-to for how to get what one wants and what is right with nonviolent displays of disagreement

ReferencesPolinska, W. (2007). Christian-Buddhist Dialogue on Loving the Enemy. Buddhist-Christian Studies, (27), 89-107.Gandhi, M. (1940, March 23). Harijan, p. 55Gandhi, M. (1937, April 17). Harijan, p.87Gandhi, M. (1925, March 5). Young India, p.81Gandhi, M. (1936, May 2). For Women Reformers. Harijan.Gandhi: "Non-Violence Is the First Article of My Faith. Speech. 1942Mark. (10:25). In King James Bible.