today is distinctly and beyond controversy a part of his Hindu heritage." "अमरीकी लोग अन्हें समझे बिना अनकी बातें करते हैं। गांधी भीसामी हैं ही नहीं । वे खुद यह दावा नहीं करते। अनमें जो कुछ भी है असके बहुत थोड़े हिस्सेके लिओ वे मीसाके अपदेशोंके प्रणी हैं । हममेंसे कुछ लोग अमरीकाको यह समझानेकी कोशिश करते हैं कि गांधी खुद न जानते हो, मगर वे हैं सचमुच मीसामी । मैं असा कुछ नहीं मानता । वे तो रोम रोममें हिन्दू हैं । भीताजी धर्मके बारेमें गांधीने कुछ भी जाना या सुना होगा, अससे पहले ही वे तो प्राणी मात्रके प्रति अहिंसाको मानते रहे हैं। वे बचपनसे अहिंसाको अपने धर्मका अक असूल मानते हैं। यह अन्हें गुनकी माताने सिखाया था । यह स्पष्ट और निर्विवाद है कि आज जिस अहिंसाके सिद्धान्त पर वे भितना ज्यादा जोर देते हैं, वह अन्हें हिन्दू धर्मसे विरासतमें मिला है।" यह कह कर - और यह सही बात है ---- मुहम्मदअलीने अक बार जो बात कही थी वही बहुत सौम्य भाषामें यह पक्का ओसाजी बापके बारेमें कहता है : "Let us be done with the idea that Christianity is the only religion that can produce good men. The question is when other religions have done their best, can Christianity, at its best, surpass them? We believe so. Mr. Gandhi is quite certainly a better Hindu than I am a Christian -- that is, he practises his religion in a much better fashion than I do mine. He is probably as high a type as his religion can produce, while I am a very poor advertisement for mine. But that is not the question. It is not at all fair to judge the relative worth of Christianity and Hinduism by comparing Christians like me with Mr. Gandhi. The real question is, can Christianity at its best produce a higher type of man than Hinduism ? If not, then we ought all to become Hindus. And if Hinduism can produce a type worthy to be compared with Christ himself, then why strive to make the Hindus Christian ?." I would by no means seek to deny Gandhi is a great soul'. I believe that he is so. But from what knowledge I can get from my reading, I most certainly say that I do not think him as great a soul as very many of the Christian saints have been. I also fully believe that we have many better men in the Christian church today, although their virtues have not been so highly publicized. ४५
