Reflecting on what Gandhi, a confirmed Hindu took from the life and teachings of Jesus are very illuminating for a Christian. Now I highlight just two of the key lessons Gandhi took from Christianity: the teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and the symbol of the Cross.
During his childhood, advocates of India’s various religions, Sikhs, Muslims, Jains, were all welcome in Gandhi’s house. As a child, Gandhi was put off only by Christianity. Christian missionaries stood on the corner of his grade school loudly deriding the gods and beliefs of Hinduism. Converts to Christianity were “denationalized,” and “Britishzed.” Christianity was “beef and brandy.” It was the religion of the “sahib.”
As a young adult, he began to study various religions including his own. He was studying for the bar exams in London when he was given the New Testament to read. He later wrote that the Sermon on the Mount went straight to his heart the verses that Jesus said, "but I say to you, resist not evil: but whosoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man take away your coat, let him have your cloak as well,’ delighted me beyond measure” .
The Sermon on the Mount inspired him for the rest of his life.
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