Gandhi's only letter on Jesus Christ is for sale
The letter can be bought for US$ 50,000 from the Raab Collection. It is dated 1926 and belonged to a private collection until the 1960s. In it the Mahatma says that Christ "was one of the great teachers of mankind".
New Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The Mahatma Gandhi’s only letter on Jesus Christ is for sale.
The Raab Collection, which holds some rare documents from great historical figures like Napoleon, George Washington and Charles Darwin, is selling the letter for US$ 50,000.
According to the Collection’s president, Nathan Raab, “It a powerful, emotional letter."
Famous for his non-violence, Gandhi writes that Jesus "was one of the great teachers of mankind" and that he respected the creed of each religion.
The letter, which is dated 6 April 1926 and was written at the Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat, is addressed to Milton Newberry Frantz, a Christian religious elder in the United States.
The text is typewritten, with an unaffected signature. Some words have been crossed out and changed with a pen by Gandhi himself.
The letter belonged to a private individual until the 1960s, Nathan Raab said, and is the only known letter to have reached the public market in which the famous Hindu leader mentions the nature of Christ.
The letter is Gandhi’s response to the American Christian elder, who had written to him asking him to read a recent publication he had penned about Christianity.
“Dear Friend, I have your letter. I am afraid it is not possible for me to subscribe to the creed you have sent me. The subscriber is made to believe that the highest manifestation of the unseen reality was Jesus Christ. In spite of all my efforts, I have not been able to feel the truth of that statement. I have not been able to move beyond the belief that Jesus was one of the great teachers of mankind.”
With respect to inter-faith harmony, the letter goes on to say: “Do you not think that religious unity is to be had not by a mechanical subscription to a common creed but by all respecting the creed of each? In my opinion, difference in creed there must be so long as there are different brains. But who does it matter if all these are hung upon the common thread of love and mutual esteem?”
.png)
02/10/2007
