11. My Rama |
To the question how non-Hindus could take part in Ramadhun Gandhiji replied: "I laugh within myself when someone objects that Rama or the chanting of Ramanama is for Hindus only, how can Mussulmans, therefore, take part in it? Is there one God for the Mussulmans and another for the Hindus, Parsis, or Christians? No, there is only one omnipotent, and omnipresent God. He is named variously and we remember Him by the name which is most familiar to us. "My Rama, the Rama of our prayers, is not the historical Rama, the son of Dasharatha - the King of Ayodhya. He is the eternal, the unborn, the one without a second. Him alone I worship, His aid alone I seek, and so should you.1 He belongs equally to all. I, therefore, see no reason why a Mussulman or anybody should object to taking his name. But he is in no way bound to recognize God as Rama. He may utter to himself Allah or Khuda so as not to mar the harmony of the sound. Harijan, 28-4-1946 [1] You may say you do not believe in Him. You do not know that but for His will you
could not draw a single breath. Call Him Ishwara, Allah, God, Ahura Mazda. His
names are as innumerable as there are men. He is one without a second. He alone
is great. There is none greater than He. He is timeless, formless, stainless.
Such is my Rama. He alone is my Lord and Master. |