*4.3. Gandhi and Galatians*

After the Gita, the New Testament is the second corpus of scriptures that plays a main role in the thought, speeches, discussions, and writings of Gandhi. It makes sense that author Margaret Chatterjee started with Gandhi's religious thought in connection with Indian traditions, and followed this immediately with, "The Impact of Christianity on Gandhi" (Chatterjee 1983, pp. 41–57).

In a letter from Gandhi to his son Manilal in Phoenix on 12 April 1914 (Gandhi 1958– 1994, vol. 12, pp. 405–7), he addressed a number of exegetical questions explaining some New Testament texts.

Gal 3:10 reads: "For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written 'Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Torah'" (Dtn 27:26). Gandhi stated that, "mere bookish souls can never attain *moksha*," which in this case means that a literal reading, and doing only what the *shastras* prescribe, is not enough. The hidden significance of them must be clear. According to Gandhi, Paul meant that the acts enjoined by scriptures should be performed, but, and this is going behind the action, faith is needed in Jesus' teachings, as well as action according to these teachings; otherwise, the curse remains. With regard to Jesus' teachings, Gandhi referred without doubt to the Sermon on the Mount and argued for his focus on action by joining Paul in the literal meaning of Dtn 27:26: "those who do (not) uphold the words of this Torah *by carrying them out*." Gandhi compared Gal 3:10 with the Gita and paraphrased BG 2:45: "The Vedas keep on the plane of the three *gunas*, be thou, Arjuna beyond those *gunas*."<sup>32</sup> A subsequent exegesis aimed at the same opposite. Gandhi's analysis turned on Gal 4:22–24: "For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman (Hagar) and one by a free woman (Sarah). But the son of the slave (Ishmael) was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman (Isaak) was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants." The opposition Gandhi saw here is that literally understood scriptures belonged to the slave mother, but that faith (*bhakti*) is the free, heavenly mother (Gandhi 1958–1994, vol. 12, p. 406). In these and other passages, *nomos* meant to Gandhi "the dry knowledge of Scripture", in contrast to *bhakti*, which meant knowing God's grace.
