Henry Polak and his wife Millie Graham Polak were quite to close to Gandhi. They actually formed members of his household in South Africa. Mr. Polak, then a young lawyer and editor of a journal, "Critic," presented John Ruskin's book "Unto the Last" to Gandhi which greatly influenced him. John Newman's "Lead Kindly Light" was Gandhi's favorite prayer. Ms. Millie has given affectionate and intimate recollections of Gandhi household and her conversations with Gandhi on many matters. Following excerpts are from her book, "Mr. Gandhi, the Man" which gives Gandhi's religious belief and deep insight of other religions.

"Is Mr. Gandhi a Christian?", a visitor asked Millie. Ms. Millie asked for further clarification whether she meant one converted to Christianity or one who believed in the teachings of Christ. The visitor emphatically told she meant former. She was talking about him with some friends and they were wondering that Gandhi knew Christian scriptures so well, and fond of quoting words of Christ frequently and hence her friends thought he must be a Christian.

Ms. Millie brooded over. What the visitor said was true. Mr. Gandhi frequently quoted the sayings and teachings of Jesus. The lesson of the "Sermon on the Mount" seemed to constantly in his mind, and was a source of guidance and inspiration to him. There was beautiful picture of Jesus Christ that adorned the wall over his desk. (There was no picture of the Buddha or of Krishna in the office, and only three other pictures were to be seen on the walls. One was of Justice Ranade, the great Indian social reformer. Another was of Annie Besant, ever eager to defend the downtrodden and to denounce injustice. The third picture was of Sir William Wilson Hunter, editor of "Imperial Gazetteer of India" who had very strongly written against the system of Indian indentured labor which he called as "semi-slavery," and at home there was photograph of Dadhbhai Naoroji, grand men and women who were fighting for liberation of the oppressed and so were dear to Mr. Gandhi's heart. But in the center of his office room was the face of Christ.)

When asked why he did not embrace Christianity, Gandhi has said that he had studied the scriptures and was tremendously attracted. But eventually he came to the conclusion that there was nothing really special in the scriptures which he had not got in his own, and "to be a good Hindu also meant that I would be a good Christian. There was no need for me to join your creed to be a believer in the beauty of the teachings of Jesus or try to follow His example," he said.

"What do you think is the essential lesson for man in the teaching of Christianity?" Gandhi asked Millie. "I could think of two or three. But one that stands out strongest is "One is your Master Christ and all ye are brethren," said Millie. "Yes," replied Gandhi, "and Hinduism teaches the same great truth and Mohammedanism and Zoroastrianism, too."

Derived from Millie Graham Polak's book Gandhi, The Man.

by Jyotsna Kamat

Why did Mahatma Gandhiji hate "Christianity"?

Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most respected leaders of modern history. A Hindu, Gandhi nevertheless admired Jesus and often quoted from the Sermon on the Mount. Once when the missionary E. Stanley Jones met with Gandhi he asked him, "Mr. Gandhi, though you quote the words of Christ often, why is that you appear to so adamantly reject becoming his follower?"

Gandhi replied, "Oh, I don't reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ."

Apparently Gandhi's rejection of Christianity grew out of an incident that happened when he was a young man practising law in South Africa. He had become attracted to the Christian faith, had studied the Bible and the teachings of Jesus, and was seriously exploring becoming a Christian. And so he decided to attend a church service. As he came up the steps of the large church where he intended to go, a white South African elder of the church barred his way at the door. "Where do you think you're going, kaffir?" the man asked Gandhi in a belligerent tone of voice.

Gandhi replied, "I'd like to attend worship here."

The church elder snarled at him, "There's no room for kaffirs in this church. Get out of here or I'll have my assistants throw you down the steps."

From that moment, Gandhi said, he decided to adopt what good he found in Christianity, but would never again consider becoming a Christian if it meant being part of the church.

How we treat those others tells the people MORE about what we believe, and what following Jesus means to us than all tracts we pass out, or all the fine sermons we deliver.