GANDHI AND KAGAWA A COMPARISON AND A CONTRAST

Northern Advocate, 11 June 1938, Page 12

GANDHI AND KAGAWA A COMPARISON AND A CONTRAST

The Sabbath Hour

Written by Sister E. H. Elliott, of the New Zealand Presbyterian Misv. sion at Jagadrhi, Punjab, India.

TO visit Gandhi in India today one bumps over four miles of rough track from Wardha to the village where he has his home. It is, as he put ft recently in a letter to a friend, “a proper village,” that is without a post office or a store for the sale of foodstuffs and with no ''access to medical aid. A central part of his aim in living there is to be near the outcaste. where he is denied access to the public well, and suffers his normal disabilities under Hinduism, for Gandhi has in recent years thrown all

his uncompromising energy into a battle to reform Hinduism from within, so that it may be purged of the great crime of caste.

One has heard all sorts of conflicting reports about this famous man. “A fool, a scheming politician,” said his enemies. “A saint, the greatest man of his age,” said his devotees.

Gandhi looks just like his pictures. He is of medium height, and is thin to the point of emaciation. His shaved head and wide mouth give him a peculiar appearance, which, however, is relieved by keenly piercing eyes and a sensitive mouth. Gandhi remains a Hindu, yet in many ways no man surpasses him in Christ-like living.

When asked what he considered the secret of real life, he answered that it might be found in the Sermon on the Mount. One need not go beyond that. The Western world, he said, had missed the heart of Jesus’ teaching in that it is obsessed with things, and things have become its God. If people would be truly Christian they must give up all they have and take up a cross. No man has a better right to preach such a doctrine than Gandhi, for he practises it. He was educated in England for the law, and had a large income, when he gave up everything to champion the cause of Indians in South Africa.

He has no personal possessions today. He wears a single homespun cotton garment. He lives in a single roomed cottage and oats the minimum of plain food. Gandhi has been accused of wishing to turn back the

wheels of time by his insistence on hand-spinning and his condemnation of the machine age. Yet when one sees a few of India’s villages one understands a little better the mind of Gandhi. It will be a long time before machinery can reach those village people. Gandhi knows that literally millions of his countrymen have never known what it means to have enough to eat, and he knows that hand looms in every village would ‘often make the difference between starvation and enough to keep body and soul together. Not all Indians agree with Gandhi, but all respect him. He is a Hindu, but Moslems, Parsees and Christians are also among his followers. The embodiment of suffering love, he is devoted to the principles of Jesus. He lives them, and yet—where is that radiance, that sense of victory and power so notable in Kagawa?

v There is nothing ascetic looking about Kagawa. His face is round and full and his eyes shine. One would never guess that he is almost blind, that he was a victim of incipient tuberculosis, and that there is scarcely a sound organ in hi's body. Like Gandhi, Kagawa will not own property, and will not accumulate possessions. The money from the enormous sales of his books goes back into his work in the slums. He wears western style clothes, but they are of the simple type known as “Kagawa suits,” because they are sold at a price within reach of the very poor.

When Gandhi condemns the machine. Kagawa would turn it to Christian uses. He tackles the problems of

slums, poverty and unemployment with the mind of a scientist and the skill of a social expert. He fights Communism with active and intelligent love, and turns labour movements in Japan from Bolshevism to Christian principles. A nation-wide evangelistic campaign, a slum reclamation programme, work among farmers and fisher-folk, organisations for young people, co-operative credit associations, employment agencies, official adviser to the Tokio Social Bureau are but a few ol his interests. In addition, he often speaks three times a day to overflowing houses. When the doctor orders him to rest he

writes another book, ana he has writi ten books on many various subjects. Kagawa is deeply interested in Gandhi, and the two men have much in common. Both live singularly Christ-like lives. Both have given up all worldly possessions. Both abhor violence, and would conquer by love. Both put to shame those of the west who say, “Lord, Lord,” and yet do not the things He said. But there are/ striking differences. Gandhi works through non-co-operation, Kagawa co-operates with the west, with the Government, and' with labour. He. condemns western materialism as strongly as does Gandhi, but he would learn of the west whatever good she holds. Deeper than all else, Gandhi is a Hindu, while Kagawa, in the deepest sense of the word, is a Christian. It is written all over his life.

Gandhi has taken upon himself the burdens of his people. He carries the cross in love, but it weighs heavily. Kagawa likewise takes upon himself the sins of his people, but by his side, and making light the load, there walks a radiant Comrade.

A Prayer

Almighty God, " Whose heart cloth yearn towards all the peoples of the world, we pray that the light of the Gospel may reach every heart. Bless those who lead the people in ether lands that their hearts may be inclined towards Thee. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.