Light from a Holy Man BY Raymond de Souza February 08-14, 1998
Issue | Posted 2/8/98 at 2:00 PM It has been 50 years since 4
million—perhaps 5 million—people filled the streets for the
funeral procession of Mohandas Karanchand Gandhi. The father of
Indian independence deserves his place in history as a political
giant, but animating his politics was a philosophy and moral
example that is even more important than his political
achievements. To honor his memory a half-century later, it
behooves one to remember the whole man. Gandhi remains even
today a figure of some controversy and his legacy has not been
immune from criticism. Yet in the spirit of marking the
anniversary of his death, it is possible to see in Gandhi a
powerful witness to some doctrines that the Church herself
proclaims with ever greater urgency. Gandhi was ignorant of
Christianity. It is reported that when asked about Christianity,
he replied that he only regretted that more Christians did not
practice it. Gandhi preached and lived poverty, s