CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER IX
THE TEACHING OF JESUS ON ETHICS
A ure of fellowship with God shows itself in a life of love and service.
Fellowship with God is not a selfish emotion which a Bhakta experiences; it no doubt fills him with joy but it flows through him to others in channels of love and service.
We shall now consider some of the consequences for human conduct which arise from a life lived in communion with God.
The Duty of Forgiveness When we study the teaching of Jesus we are impressed by the emphasis which He lays on the duty of forgiveness.
" If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.'*
Prayer is the heart of religion; particularly in moments of prayer we see God and hold communion with Him.
Jesus here teaches that prayer which is so vital to the Christian's life is ineffective if the one who prays has in his heart any grievance or ill-feeling against another.
Often people are bitter against others and remember some hasty word of criticism spoken by them or some hostile action done by them, and this bitterness continues for years.
Jesus teaches that where there are such bitterness and ill-feeling there cannot be real prayer.
They should be immediately set aright.
God is the God of Love.
In prayer we seek to live with Him, know Him as He is and find out His will for us.
This eagerness to come in contact with the God of Love is frustrated if there is any anger or hatred in our mind against others.
Love can only come where there is love.
Love cannot flow into a heart which is filled with animosity.
The heart must be cleansed at once of all ill-feeling if God's abundant love is to stream into it.
We note how much importance Jesus attaches to the duty of forgiveness by making even God's forgiveness depend upon our readiness to forgive others.
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if ye 1 Matthew v. 23, 24.
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forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ?
God is full of love for us.
He is always beckoning us to come to Him and to live with Him.
This call from God never ceases.
Even if we ignore it for months or for years and go far away from Him, enjoying our selfish pleasures,
He is still willing to forgive us if we will only heed His invitation.
There is no limit to the extent to which He will go to redeem us and to take us back into fellowship with Him.
He lays down only one condition and that is our readiness to forgive others.
He is ready to forgive us provided we are ready to forgive others.
By making our willingness to forgive others the one and only condition on which His forgiveness of us depends, Jesus shows us the vital importance of the duty of forgiveness.
He illustrated this with the parable of a cruel servant whose large debt had been cancelled by his master but who insisted on his fellowservant paying up a small debt immediately.*
The moral to which this parable points is almost terrible.
It is that even God's love is checked by our unwillingness to forgive others.
With hatred and ill-feeling we block up the free flow of God's love towards us.
When we realize how the unlimited love of God is thwarted by our hatred and bitterness and our unwillingness to forgive others, we realize the importance of the duty of forgiveness as taught by Jesus.
The Oxford Group Movement, under the leadership of Dr.
Frank Buchman, has made Christians to-day realize once again the great importance of forgiveness.
After his conversion the first thing which Buchman was guided by God to do was to write half a dozen letters to people whom he had wronged or who, he had thought, had wronged him and against whom he had had ill-feelings, asking for their forgiveness.
The Oxford Group Movement makes such reconciliation between people who have been estranged for years, on account of some grievance long nursed, almost the first duty of the Christian life.
Because of their vigorous teaching thousands of Christians have exercised the duty of forgiveness and have come to know the deep joy that comes from it. All of us, whether we belong to the Oxford
Group Movement or not, would do well to profit by this renewed emphasis on what was in the mind of Jesus the essential duty of every Christian.
Forgiveness has to be exercised not merely in personal relations between man and man but also in the wider relations such as * Matthew vi. 14, 15.
* Matthew xviii. 23-35.
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that between Church and Church and nation and nation.
At the present day serious efforts are being made to bring the various Churches together.
This is a most important task.
It is a shame that we Christians, who profess to follow the same Lord, are divided into numerous Churches and that often there is so little good feeling and love among us.
This state of affairs should be remedied as soon as possible.
It is good to note that a great many of the Church leaders are keen about this and are engaged in serious negotiations for the purpose.
One important hindrance to Church Union is the lack of the forgiving spirit.
Members of some Churches might have been slighted or treated differently because their rites and doctrines were not regarded as truly Christian.
Such people bear long in mind these insults, often making them worse by brooding over them; when proposals for Church Union are made they oppose them, not so much on principle as on the fact that once upon a time they were dealt with badly.
Such men should forgive and forget and enter heartily into proposals for uniting the different
Churches.
The duty of forgiveness should be exercised in our social relationships.
I may give an instance.
It was formerly the idea that all criminals should be treated sternly.
The more serious the offence the' more rigorous was the punishment.
People believed that if the punishment was quite severe criminals would learn a bitter lesson and never again offend. We are now coming to realize that such stern penalties do not really serve any good purpose.
The offenders often become worse while they are in prison.
If they are allowed to talk with other prisoners they exchange their grievances over the harsh sentences which have been imposed on them and make plans to commit worse offences after they leave prison.
They, as it were, want to take vengeance on Society for the penalties which have been given to them.
Criminals are now treated more like men.
In some prisons they are given plenty of freedom and every effort is made to teach them a useful trade and to inspire them with new ideals.
If boys and young men offend, they are not sent to prisons where they mix with old and hardened criminals and learn their evil ways but they are sent to Borstal schools where juvenile prisoners are taught honest trades so that when their term is over they may be able to earn their living without getting into evil ways again.
Discharged prisoners are always looked upon with suspicion and find it extremely hard to get jobs after they leave prison; such people are helped by Discharged Prisoners' Aid Societies.
Here
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again the duty of forgiveness is exercised in a new way.
When men commit offences the magistrates and other Government authorities, so to speak, forgive them and help them to reform their ways.
More and more such ways of dealing with criminals should prevail.
A nation must forgive another nation.
When the Great War ended in 1919, in the Treaty of Versailles the Allies punished
Germany as severely as they could.
They felt that Germany was responsible for all the loss and suffering caused by the war and so they made it as hard as possible for the Germans in that Treaty.
The Germans have never forgiven the Allies for the way in which they were treated at that time.
When I was in Germany some years ago that was the subject of conversation in many circles.
That feeling of bitterness has been steadily fanned by propaganda and it has been the one desire of the Germans to-day to get even with the Allies.
The Allies were wrong in imposing such hard conditions on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles.
The Germans have been wrong in harbouring bitterness and hatred towards the Allies and in seeking all these years to take vengeance upon them.
As long as nations do not forgive each other, the world will be a chaos with wars and preparations for wars.
Jesus lays down the duty of forgiveness clearly and emphatically.
We must 'forgive not only in our personal dealings but also in the political dealings of one nation with another.
Only then His Spirit will permeate the world and the Kingdom of God, in which love is the supreme principle of life, will become a reality among men.
We may now consider some of the difficulties connected with the practice of forgiveness.
People sometimes say that they could forgive if only the offence were a light one; when it is such a grave offence they find it impossible to forgive.
Jesus forgave His enemies while hanging on the Cross.
"And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." * No offence could be more serious than that of the enemies of Jesus.
He had gone about doing good; He had healed and helped the sick and the suffering; His life had been one continuous outpouring of love.
And yet His enemies had joined together, had concocted all sorts of false charges against Him, had Him tried, scourged and insulted, and finally had Him crucified, a form of punishment which was at once the most painful and ignominious in the world.
And yet Jesus prayed for them during that hour of agony.
Time is said to heal many "Luke xxiii. 34.
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wounds.
Many people are ready to forgive after the lapse of a few months or years.
But Jesus forgave when He was passing through the greatest humiliation and pain; He did not wait for time to blur His memory or to soothe His pain.
This wonderful example of the forgiveness of Jesus on the Cross sheds light on another important difficulty.
People sometimes say:
" How can I forgive the person who has spoken ill of me behind my back?
He has not made any apology.
I can only forgive when the one who has offended is really sorry and expresses to me his sincere grief."
Jesus did not wait for any apology from His enemies; He did not make their penitence a condition of His forgiveness; on His own initiative He forgave them completely.
Men sometimes say that they are willing to forgive once or twice but the offence has been repeated so often that they cannot forgive any longer; the limits of their forbearance have been reached ; they are but human and it is too much to expect that they would continue to exercise their patience after the breaking point has been reached.
The teaching of Jesus on this point leaves no room for any doubt or hesitation ; it is absolutely clear and definite.
'' Then came Peter, and said to him, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times?
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven." *
Jesus says here that there should be no limit whatever to our willingness to forgive.
We must forgive as often as the offence is committed.
When we speak of the limit of our patience having been reached we must remember the love of God which forgives us and keeps on forgiving us. We are daily and hourly offending Him.
However hard we may try, we fail. And yet we always draw upon God's love and experience the joy of His forgiveness.
We know that He does forgive the moment we turn back to Him.
He does not keep count of the number of our sins; He does not remember their gravity; He forgives fully and completely whenever we confess them to Him.
Many people make out that if they do not forgive it is not from any sense of personal resentment; they bear no ill-will or grudge against the one who has spoken contemptuously of them.
If they are stiff and stern, it is because they want to teach the offender a really good lesson.
Their only motive is to make him better and not to give expression to their own ill-feeling.
The parable of the prodigal son shows that the best way to 5 Matthew xvili. 21, 22.
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help one who has gone astray is to forgive him.
The father could easily have punished him.
The prodigal son was in a mood to accept punishment; he knew he deserved it.
As a matter of fact he came back prepared to receive a stern treatment.
He did not expect to be taken back as a son; he'only expected to be considered a servant.
And yet the father fully forgave him.
If others hurt us, we should forgive them and that will be the most effective way of helping them not to hurt others in the future.
Christ gives us clear directions as to how we should set about the duty of forgiveness.
'' Bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you." *' We must pray for those who insult us or speak ill of us.
As we pray, a new love for them rises in our heart.
Another way in which we can help is by getting two or three people to talk the thing over.
" And if thy brother sin against thee, go, shew him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
But if he hear thee not, take with thee one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established.
And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church: and if he refuse to hear the church also, let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the publican." * Often difficulties and misunderstandings are cleared by a frank discussion in the presence of two or three friends.
A Christian priest may do a good deal to bring people together; as a peace-maker he has a large sphere of usefulness.
Our forgiveness must be entire and complete.
'"' So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts." ° We cannot have in the heart even the least sense of resentment and say that we have forgiven.
If there is even a little ill-feeling in us, the forgiveness is not complete.
Men and Women The right relation between men and women raises some of the most important problems connected with Christian Ethics.
Jesus was a Sannyasi and never married.
This was not because He despised the body.
Neither in His teaching nor in His life do we find any trace of contempt for the flesh.
In this respect He differs profoundly from the Hindu Bhaktas who have heaped ® Luke xv. 11-32.
7 Luke vi. 28.
* Matthew xviii. 15-17.
® Matthew xviii. 35.
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ridicule on the body.
They have considered the flesh as the source of all sin and suffering and have often spoken contemptuously about it.
The enemies of Jesus said that He was a wine bibber and a glutton. Apparently there was no asceticism in His ways of eating and drinking. He was invited to a wedding ;
He went there and joined in the festivities, thus giving His blessings to the couple who were getting married.
His entire attitude on the subject of women and marriage was excellent and wholesome.
He insisted upon absolute purity of thought in relation to women.
"Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, that every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
And if thy right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell." *° He taught that adultery included even incipient evil thoughts.
The world condemns only outer acts; it does not blame a man if his imagination or his thought is evil.
But Jesus said that even imagination or thought could be evil, for that was the beginning of all trouble.
Thoughts led to words and words easily led to actions.
If evil thoughts were allowed in the mind, sooner or later there would be evil acts.
Modern psychologists have pointed out that sex desires influence a great many of the thoughts and deeds of people.
The followers of Christ should not indulge in reading trashy novels in which the sex motive is prominent, in frequenting talkies with the sex appeal, in gazing on obscene pictures or in talking constantly about sex.
Present day writers on education have shown the necessity for giving information on sex to the young in a clean and scientific spirit.
Growing children and young people generally are curious on matters connected with sex and older people rebuke them and drive the curiosity underground.
When such young people meet their friends who are evil-minded, they get from them with impure relish the information which ought to have been given to them in a detached way by the parent or the teacher.
In the Gospel of St. John a significant story is told about Jesus and a woman who had been taken in adultery.
"And the scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman taken in adultery; and having set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman hath been taken in adultery, in the.very act.
Now in * Matthew v. 27-29.
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the law Moses commanded us to stone such: what then sayest thou of her?
And this they said, tempting him, that they might have whereof to accuse him.
But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.
But when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
And again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.
And they, when they heard it, went out one by one, beginning from the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the midst.
And Jesus lifted up himself, and said unto her, Woman, where are they? did no man condemn thee?
And she said, No man, Lord.
And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn thee: go thy way; from henceforth sin no more." ** This story is not found in many ancient manuscripts.
It has been suggested that the reason for this was that the early Chris- ' tians thought that the treatment of the woman by Jesus was far too lenient; in the Church itself there was strict discipline for any one guilty of adultery; on this account the story seems to have been dropped from many manuscripts.
But scholars are of opinion that the incident is likely to have been quite authentic.
It is certainly characteristic of Jesus.
While He always taught the highest ideal, He was not hard on any one who failed to reach it.
His method of helping sinners was not by rebuking them but by sympathizing with them deeply and urging them not to sin again.
We behave quite differently; we delight to spread scandal about those who go wrong and seek to create a bad name for them; we like to make things as unpleasant and as difficult as possible for them.
Not so Jesus.
His attitude was one of moral compassion and intense suffering.
The words spoken to her "Go and sin no more," in such a spirit of understanding, probably made a new woman of her.
He did not condone her; His words left no doubt at all about His ideal for her future conduct.
His exhortation, given with full trust and hope, was likely to have borne fruit in a clean life.
Jesus taught clearly the sacredness of marriage.
" It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: but I say unto you, that every one that putteth away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, maketh her an adulteress: and whosoever shall marry her when she is put away committeth adultery." "
/ * John viii.g-11.
* * Matthew v.31, 32; see also Mark x. 2-12.
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In India marriages are often arranged for convenience and brides are selected for the amount of the dowry they bring.
A couple who do not know each other are married off by their parents and relations.
This ought not to be. The husband and wife should know each other before their marriage; they should understand each other's ideals and weaknesses.
With such knowledge they are likely to be more faithful to each other and more happy than if they are simply married off by their relations.
Happiness cannot spring from dowries.
When once a couple are married, after coming to know each other fairly well, they should observe the utmost loyalty and faithfulness to each other.
The sanctity of the marriage tie has been well recognized in India.
The devotion of the wife to the husband in India is wonderful.
It forms the theme of some of the best known stories and poems, such as those of Sita, Savitri and Damayanti.
In actual life one sees many instances of complete and devoted loyalty of the wife to the husband.
There should be the same loyalty on the part of the husband to his wife.
The ideal of Christ is such love.and fidelity of the husband and wife to each other.
Jesus associated women with Himself in His ministry.
They went about with Him on His tours helping Him in His spiritual and social work.
This principle was quite new at the time Jesus introduced it into the world.
It has gradually spread all over the world in all spheres of life.
We have now women doing every type of work.
As doctors, as teachers, as politicians and as social workers they are co-operating with men in all departments of life.
Such co-operation, which is really the application on a wide scale of the principle which Jesus introduced in His own public ministry, is a very effective way of removing some of the difficulties connected with relationships between men and women.
As long as unmarried women are secluded and are asked to confine themselves to their domestic occupations, they look upon themselves only as prospective wives. They make themselves as attractive as they can.
When they meet men on social occasions they think of them mainly as possible partners in life.
If, on the other hand, they enter the professions, mix freely with men and co-operate with them the old idea that marriage is the only goal for a woman ceases to dominate.
Common tasks and the sharing of common difficulties and problems bring men and women together and change their attitude towards each other.
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The Practice of Non-violence (Ahimsa) Jesus taught clearly and emphatically that one's enemies should be loved and that evil should not be resisted by violence.
The important passage in which this teaching was given may be quoted in full.
"Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, Resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
And if any man would go to law with thee, and take away thy:coat, let him have thy cloke also.
And whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him twain.
Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy: but I say unto you, Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you ; that ye may be sons of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.
For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the Gentiles the same?
Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." ** Jesus was a perfect example of non-violence in all that concerned Himself personally.
His enemies came to arrest Him and He surrendered Himself to them without making the least resistance.
One of His disciples eager to help Him cut off the ear of Malchus, a servant of the High Priest.
Jesus immediately healed the wound and bade His disciple to sheath his sword, for said He:
"All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." ** While He hung on the Cross going through untold pain, suffering and humiliation, He prayed to God to forgive
His enemies for they knew not what they did.** Another such example of forgiveness is unknown in history.
No one else in the throes of agony on his own initiative forgave his enemies fully and completely and besought God to forgive them on the plea that they did such awful things from their ignorance.
His life had been one of continuous service and goodness and the only requital which His contemporaries made Him was to crucify
Him on the Cross.
Never was there a worse outcome of a life of goodness than this.
But Jesus, whatever inward pain He might have felt, forgave His enemies fully and prayed to God
* Matthew v. 38-48; cf. Luke vi. 27-38.
* Matthew xxvi. 51-54.
* Luke xxiii. 34.
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on their behalf that He might extend to them His complete forgiveness.
Jesus was never angry or impatient in things which concerned His own personal comfort or honour but He was ruthless in His denunciation of the enemies of God. The cities of Chorazin,
Bethsaida and Capernaum, where His mighty works had been done but where no signs of repentance were seen, were severely condemned by Him.
He was extremely violent in speech about them.** He was also bitter against the Pharisees and the Scribes, the religious leaders of His day.
They were formal and hypocritical, they put on the people burdens too heavy to be borne, they made much of small things and had no true love or devotion.
Jesus was very angry with the Scribes and the Pharisees and often denounced their formalism, hypocrisy, deceitfulness, love of show and lack of true spirituality.
He also practised both violence of speech and violence of action against those who desecrated the temple of God.
' And they come to Jerusalem: and he entered into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and them that bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves; and he would not suffer that any man should carry a vessel through the temple.
And he taught, and said unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? but ye have made it a den of robbers." *'
He was devoted to the temple; to Him it was His Father's house where He and other worshippers drew near to God and held communion with Him.
When He found worldly men turning it into a place of merchandise and polluting it with their wrangle and their deceit, He was angry with them and drove them out with an improvised whip.
Such was His devotion and love to the Father that He felt justified in dealing sternly with those who were the enemies of true religion.
For a person of His loving and tender disposition such rigour was not natural or easy.
But He felt it necessary to practise it because of His devotion to God.
The teaching of Jesus about non-violence is in line with some of the best traditions in India.
The importance given to gentleness, meekness, love and forbearance in the ethical and spiritual teaching of India is closely allied to Christ's teaching about loving one's enemies.
** Matthew xi. 20-24.
™ Mark xi. 15-17.
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We may now give some illustrations of the Hindu teaching about non-violence.
"Those who abstain from injury to all, Who bear with all, and offer an asylum To all mankind, are journeying to heaven." *
" The noble-minded dedicate themselves To the promotion of the happiness Of others—e'en of those who injure them.
True happiness consists in making happy." * " This is the sum of all true righteousness—
Treat others, as thou would'st thyself be treated Do nothing to thy neighbour, which hereafter
Thou would'st not have thy neighbour do to thee.
In causing pleasure, .or in giving pain, In doing good, or injury to others, In granting, or refusing a request, A man obtains a proper rule of action By looking on his neighbour as himself." "°
"Do naught to others which if done to thee Would cause thee pain; this is the sum of duty." **
" Bear railing words with patience, never meet An angry man with anger, nor return Reviling for reviling, smite not him Who smites thee; let thy speech and acts be gentle." *"
"" Conquer a man who never gives by gifts; Subdue untruthful men by truthfulness ; Vanquish an angry man by gentleness ; And overcome the evil man by goodness." ?*
* Hitépadesa, Book I, 66, translated by M. Monier Williams, Indian Wisdom, p. 539.
* Kiratarjuniva of Bharavi, VII, 13, 28, translated by M. Monier Williams, Indian Wisdom, p. 462.
* Mahabharata, XII, 5571, translated by M. Monier Williams, Indian Wisdom, p. 450.
* Mahabharata, V,'1517, translated by M. Monier Williams, Indian Wisdom, p. 446.
® Mahabhahata, V, 1270, 9972, translated by M. Monier Williams, Indian Wisdom, p. 446. i Mahabharata, III, 13253, translated by M. Monier Williams, Indian
Wisdom, p. 444.
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"Treat no one with disdain, with patience Beat Reviling language; with an angry man Be never angry; blessings give for curses." 74
"Wound not another, though by him provoked, Do no one injury by thought or deed, Utter no word to pain thy fellow-creatures." 2°
"* Mercy is the might of the righteous." "° "To injure none by thought or word or deed,
To give to others, and to be kind to all— This is the constant duty of the good.
High-minded men delight in doing good, Without a thought of their own interest ;
When they confer a benefit on others, They reckon not on favours in return." ?* About the second century of the Christian era there lived near
Madras a weaver, Tiruvalluvar by name.
He was a poet and wrote the Aural containing over one thousand and three hundred splendid ethical maxims in Tamil, which are dearly loved and are often quoted in the Tamil country.
The Kural is one of the great books of the world.
Several scholars have borne testimony to its intrinsic worth.
The latest European scholar to appreciate its value is Dr. Albert Schweitzer.
Dr. Schweitzer is a Christian theologian of wide reputation who, hearing Christ's call to service, has gone out to Africa as a medical missionary.
From his hospital on the edge of a primeval forest he has been studying the different religions of the world.
He has recently written an important book on Hinduism under the title Indian Thought and its Development.
In this book he says:
" With sure strokes the Kural draws the ideal of simple ethical humanity.
On the most varied questions concerning the conduct of man to himself and to the world its utterances are characterized by nobility and good sense.
There hardly exists in the literature of the world a collection of maxims in which we find so much lofty wisdom." ** * Taws of Manu, VI, 47, 48, translated by M. Monier Williams, Indian
Wisdom, p. 279.
> Laws of Manu, II, 161, translated by M. Monier Williams, Indian Wisdom, p . 279.
* The Piha Purana, Book I, Chapter I, translated by H. H. Wilson in Vishnu Purana, Vol. I, p. 8.
" Mahabharata, IIL r6aBa, 16796, translated by M. Monier Williams, Indian Wisdom, p. 444
7» A. Schweitzer, Indian Thought, and its Development.
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We find in the Kural some excellent maxims bearing on the subject of non-violence.
" As earth bears up the men who delve into her breast, To bear with scornful men of virtues is the best."
"' Forgiving trespasses is good always; _ Forgetting them hath even higher praise."
" Who wreak their wrath as worthless are despised ; Who patiently forbear as gold are prized."
_" Though others work thee ill, thus shalt thou blessing reap :
Grieve for their sin, thyself from vicious action keep! "
" With overweening pride when men with injuries assail, By thine own righteous dealing shalt thou mightily prevail."
"To punish wrong, with kindly benefits the doers ply ; Thus shame their souls; but pass the ill unheeded by." "°
In recent years Mahatma Gandhi has interpreted the principle of non-violence and applied it to modern conditions in a very wide and effective way.
He says:
"Causes of hatred everywhere obtrude themselves on one's gaze.
The seers of old saw that the only way of dealing with the situation was to neutralize hatred by love."
'* Hatred ever kills, love never dies.
Such is the vast difference between the two.
What is obtained by love is retained for all time.
What is obtained by hatred proves a burden in reality, for it increases hatred. The duty of a human being is to diminish hatred and to promote love."
"T seek entirely to blunt the edge of the tyrant's sword not by putting up against it a sharper-edged weapon, but by disappointing his expectation that I would be offering physical resistance.
The resistance of the soul that I should offer instead would elude him.
It would at first dazzle him and at last compel recognition from him, which recognition would not humiliate him but would uplift him." * Following the ancient ideals of India and the teaching of Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi has courageously taught the wide implications of the duty of non-violence.
Though he is not an avowed follower of Christ, he has interpreted Christ truly and applied His teaching fearlessly to our present-day problems,
* G. U. Pope, The Sacred Kural, 151, 152,
' reShand "D. S. Sarma, The Gandhi Sitras, pp. 34 ane cas 57,
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both national and international.
While all the developments of Mahatma Gandhi's teaching (such as his insistence on the protection of the cow) may not be acceptable to us, we cannot but acknowledge that he has caught, perhaps more than any one else, the true spirit of the teaching of Jesus and the implications of this teaching for our modern life.
Jesus taught that His disciples should love every one, not merely those who loved them.
Even if others speak ill of us or treat us badly we should not be angry or retaliate.
It may be asked whether Jesus laid down this principle only to help us in our personal relationships or whether He meant it to be carried out in the realm of international politics. No doubt the immediate aim of the teaching of Jesus was to guide men in their individual relationships one with the other.
But we are now coming to realize that we cannot have one set of rules for personal conduct and another set of ideals for national or international affairs.
If the principles of truth and love are absolutely important in the personal sphere, they are equally important in the wider spheres of national life and international dealings.
We cannot have a high standard of conduct for our personal relationships and be content with lower ideals in our contacts with different races and nations.
What holds good in the smaller sphere is also true in the larger.
A Christian must practise complete non-violence in his personal dealings.
If another man insults me or injures me I must not retaliate; I must turn off his wrath by soft words and kind deeds. A harsh remark, sometimes made unwittingly, leads to a disastrous quarrel; the words become more and more bitter and as the parties become enraged, words give place to blows and at times even end in murder.
If we remember the teaching of Christ and bear kindly with those who ill-treat us, we avoid all such disastrous consequences.
There is no quarrel, no volley of bitter reports and no blow or wound.
Jesus taught that we should not merely refrain from vengeance but should also actively love our enemies.
The mere absence of retaliation, though it is excellent in itself, does not go far enough.
There should be active love and such active love can only be generated and supported by prayer.
For human nature by itself, unaided by God's grace, is unable to rise to positive love for its enemies.
The principle of love and non-violence should be applied also in the realm. of international politics.
One nation should not hate another nation and there should be no wars to decide matters of dispute.
There has been after the Great War an
THE GOSPEL AND INDIA'S HERITAGE
influential and far-flung movement in favour of abolishing war altogether from human affairs.
In Indian villages to-day if two men disagree about any matter they easily come to blows.
But men of education and refinement do not generally do so.
If there is violent disagreement between them they may go to court.
But public opinion does not approve even of that; there is always an odium attached to washing dirty linen in public.
So, as far as possible, matters of dispute among educated people are decided quietly and decently.
Again, not long ago slavery was a common and widespread institution.
The ownership of slaves was not regarded as wrong.
'There were many good Christians who had slaves and who made them work in their homes or on their fields.
But now this ignoble institution of slavery, which places men and women with spiritual and intellectual possibilities under complete subjugation to their masters who may treat them as chattels, has been abolished from the world; it is agreed at present by all that it is quite against the Christian principle of love to allow or encourage any form of slavery.
In the same way there is a vigorous movement now on foot to abolish wars as a means of settling disputes between different nations.
Wars as they are waged to-day work havoc and destruction on a colossal scale.
Aeroplanes, submarines, torpedoes, bombs, poison gas and all the latest inventions of science are used to spread misery and suffering not only in the fighting lines but also among civilians, including women and children.
Applied science has forged new and: powerful weapons of warfare and has placed them at the disposal of men for harassing and killing their fellow men.
Instead of people becoming more and more civilized, they seem to be relapsing into primitive barbarism and the ways of the jungle.
When the Great War came to a close in 1918 the League of Nations was founded to settle disputes among nations.
The establishment of this representative body roused the hopes of many good folk.
It was believed that a new day had dawned and that thereafter no recourse need be had to wars for settling international disputes.
But as the years passed by it became evident that the League of Nations was not a success.
America never joined the League and Japan and Germany withdrew their membership after 'some years.
When Italy invaded Abyssinia and annexed it, the League of Nations took no effective step to stop Italy. When Japan invaded China, the League of Nations kept quiet. The present League of Nations is as dead as a door nail.
We must not, however, lose hope.
This is the first time
THE TEACHING OF JESUS ON ETHICS
in the history of the world when an international body has been established for such a purpose.
The failure of the League of Nations does not mean that never again can there be an effective organization to settle the quarrels among nations.
From our experience of the present League of Nations it may be possible to establish another more powerful body for deciding matters of dispute among different countries.
After the Great War, hundreds of Peace organizations sprang up all over the world to educate public opinion that there should
. be no wars among nations and that questions of dispute between them should be settled by peaceful means.
These organizations steadily grew in number; their membership ran into millions; men and women, especially young men and women, of all classes and creeds joined them.
It was widely taught that non¢violence was a more effective way than violence, that love should prevail among nations as well as among individuals, that the way of love should be followed whatever the consequences might be and that people should be prepared to suffer for the sake of righteousness and love.
Just as Jesus followed the way of the Cross in order to redeem men from their sin and suffering, so His followers must be prepared to suffer in order to end wars.
It looked from the rapidly spreading Pacifist Movement as if a new day had actually dawned when love and not might would decide the destinies of nations.
The outbreak of the present war has shattered all these hopes.
But the words of Mahatma Gandhi probably reflect the feelings of a good many thinking people all over the world.
"I have become disconsolate. In the secret of my heart, I am in perpetual quarrel with God that He should allow such things to go on.
My non-violence seems almost impotent.
But the answer comes at the end of the daily quarrel that neither God nor non-violence is impotent.
Impotence isin men.
I must try on, without losing faith, even though I may break in the attempt." * The Race Problem The world to-day is torn by racial conflicts.
In Germany the Jews are cruelly persecuted. The African races are exploited for cheap labour. America and Australia do not welcome Asiatic immigrants. The Arabs resent the return of the Jews to Palestine.
Here in India the Harijan problem is acute.
Probably the Harjans (seventy millions in number) were a different race of people who were subjugated and taken into Hindu society long ago.
The Hindu, September 5, 1939.
THE GOSPEL AND INDIA'S .HERITAGE
All these centuries they have been allowed to follow only menial and dirty occupations.
Now when progressive Hindus are working for their uplift there is much opposition from orthodox quarters.
The economic motive is the most important factor which brings about racial conflicts.
The Arabs do not want the Jews in Palestine because they think that the Jews will hold the jobs and do the work which they ought to be doing.
Asiatic im_ migrants are hated in the new countries like the United States of America and Australia because the Europeans who have already settled there are afraid that, Asiatic labour being cheap, they will not be able to earn much money as wages or as profits.
This desire to get as much money for oneself and not to share it with others is completely contrary to Christ's teaching.
He taught that no man can serve both God and mammon."
No nation can make money for itself at the expense of other nations and claim to love God.
Jesus also taught that man does not live by bread alone but by. every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.** He made it clear that the love of money is a dangerous thing and that he who builds all his hopes on wealth and prosperity is a fool.** Whoever wants to follow Christ truly must be prepared to share his possessions with others.
The present policy of nations owning colonies and governing them primarily in their own interests and not in the interests of the inhabitants of the colonies is not Christian.
Colonies are prized because they produce raw material such as cotton for factories or because they serve as markets in which the finished goods from factories are sold.
Nations which have colonies do not want to give them up and other nations which do not have them are constantly coveting them.
Causes such as these lead to modern wars with all their incalculable suffering and misery.
There are many excellent Christians who, in their own individual spheres, are unselfish and are prepared to share what they have with others.
The same spirit of unselfishness does not inspire the policies of Christian governments.
The teaching of Jesus about love should be applied not only within the family and the town but also all over the world.
The Christian Church is the salt of the earth; it has to set up a high ideal before men and to persuade them to follow it courageously and to the utmost limits.
° Matthew vi. 24.
*° Matthew iv. 4.
"Luke xii. 13-21.
THE TEACHING OF JESUS ON ETHICS
Racial conflicts are also due to differences in racial origins, languages, cultures and customs.
One of the biggest racial problems in the world is in the United States of America where the negroes are treated very differently in many of the states from the European settlers.
The negroes are the descendants of the slaves who were taken over to America and. who were emancipated after the Civil War.
The facts that they came from a different country, that they belonged to a different race and that their ancestors were slaves handicap the negroes even to-day.
Even if they are well-educated and possess sterling qualities of heart, the taint is still on them.
Men are essentially conservative and they look with suspicion on any one who speaks a different language, comes from a different country and follows different customs.
The parable of the good Samaritan shows us the ideal relationship which ought to exist between men of different races.*°
Christ taught that every man should love his neighbour as himself.
When He was asked to explain who a neighbour was, He told this inimitable parable. Whoever showed mercy to a needy person was that person's neighbour.
A traveller was attacked on the way by robbers, plundered of his possessions and left half-dead. A Priest and a Levite who passed by paid no attention to the man; they were only interested in carrying out the rites and ceremonies of religion. A Samaritan, who saw the wounded traveller, bandaged him up and entrusted him to the care of a near-by inn keeper.
There was a good deal of ill-feeling between the Jews and the Samaritans at the time of Jesus.
Partly on religious and partly on racial grounds the Jews and the Samaritans were always in conflict.
The Jews would not even pass through the country of the Samaritans; such was the tension between the two races.
Jesus rose far above this ill-feeling.
He made a member of this despised Samaritan race the hero of His parable and invested him with some of the finest qualities of character known to us such as unselfishness, generosity, courage and willingness to serve at all cost.
A neighbour, Jesus taught, was any one who was in need.
We are often willing to help those who belong to our country and are in trouble.
But that is not true neighbourliness.
Real love is not confined to the limits of one's own country, race, language or customs.
In those days there were not the same opportunities for travel as to-day.
In the course of His brief ministry Jesus met but few people of different races.
It is interesting to see how He moved © Luke x. 25-37.
THE GOSPEL AND INDIA'S HERITAGE
with them. He appreciated the goodness and depth of faith of a Roman army officer.** He met a Samaritan woman of doubtful character and taught her some of the highest truths in religion.*"
This poor Samaritan woman was despised for her sex, race and character.
And yet Jesus, breaking through the barriers of convention, talked with her freely and frankly and gave her some profound spiritual instruction.
The Greeks had heard of Him as a great teacher and sought a personal interview with Him.
He welcomed them also and spoke to them on the subject of self-sacrifice and death as the way to a deeper and more real life.*° Jesus, then, came in contact with men of three races, each with a different history and prestige. The Romans had conquered the Jews and were ruling Palestine with an iron rod; most of the Jews hated the Romans, because of their oppression and tyranny.
But Jesus was prepared to see goodness and faith in a member of the race held in such universal contempt.
The Greeks possessed great .culture and deep philosophy and He welcomed them and taught them what they most needed to know.
The Samaritans possessed neither the social prestige of the Romans nor the intellectual greatness of the Greeks.
But Jesus opened His treasures wide and gave lavishly from them to one of the Samaritans.
Both as individuals and as groups, the followers of Christ should show in their relations with other races the same magnanimity and generosity and love as Jesus showed.
The Christian Church has now woke up to the tremendous importance of the racial problem.
It is not enough that Christians should be unselfish and loving in their family, in their church or in their town.
The Christian duty of love is far wider.
It must permeate the policies of Government in their treatment of alien races in foreign lands.
In these democratic days when people have votes and have a share in the government of their country, each man has a definite responsibility which he cannot shirk.
No doubt some have greater influence than others and the consequent responsibility is far more.
But every one has some influence, even though it may be of a limited character, and it must be used for introducing the Christian principle of love into the relationships among different races.
Only when Christians, both as individuals and as governments, rise above the limitations
* Luke vii. 1-10.
*™ John iv. 1-42.
* John xii. 20-36.
THE TEACHING OF JESUS ON ETHICS
of language and race and nation and practise the Golden Rule of Christ everywhere can they claim to be the followers of Him who said: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
The Distribution of Wealth At present there are enormous differences between the rich and the poor.
It is being recognized to-day that these enormous differences are not really Christian and that the Christian Church should preach that all the wealth which is in the world should be distributed evenly and justly.
For a long time the Church regarded the present arrangements in the world by which some people are very rich and others are very poor as ordained by God.
An excellent parish priest I knew taught the children every Sunday to sing in the Children's
Service :
"The rich man in his castle, The poor man at his gate, God made them, high or lowly, And order'd their estate."
The Church has been blamed, and rightly, as being on the side of the rich.
Often the influential members of Churches who give most of the money needed for Christian work are wealthy folk and the religious leaders do not want to speak on matters which are likely to annoy them.
For this reason most modern Communists and Socialists have nothing to do with the Church; they think that it is not impartial and just on the subject of how the wealth which is available in the world should be distributed.
Jesus Himself was a poor man, born in the working class; He had to work hard with His hands all through the day to earn a living. When He became a religious teacher He gave up
His regular occupation as a carpenter and went about from place to place, depending upon God for His daily needs.
He and His disciples had a common purse which was replenished by His friends.
They lived as a small community and we may be sure that they used the money which was placed at their disposal in the most economic way, meeting only their most urgent needs such as plain food and simple clothes and not wasting their money on comforts and luxuries.
To understand the teaching of Jesus about wealth we must keep clearly in mind His own mode of life.
From the parable of the talents * we gather that Jesus is * Matthew xxv. 14-30.
THE GOSPEL AND INDIA'S _HERITAGE
quite aware of the wide variety in the intellectual and moral gifts of men; some possess five talents, some two and others only one.
Jesus does not question the wisdom of God in equipping different men so diversely.
As to why some men should be much cleverer than others or why some should be much more self-restrained and careful in conduct than others has always perplexed human thought.
On this question Jesus does not say anything in the parable.
But He urges every man to make the utmost use of the talents entrusted to him and to multiply them by industry and'care.
While the reference of the parable is primarily to intellectual and spiritual gifts, we may say that, by implication, Jesus here commends the men who by care and industry increase the wealth which is entrusted to them.
The parable of the vineyard "° shows that in the opinion of Jesus money rewards are not always proportionate to the work done.
The value and the quality of work is often computed by people in terms of money.
So much work, so much money ; the better the work the more the money.
But the workers in the vineyard of whom Jesus spoke were not paid thus.
Some of them worked all through the day bearing the burden and heat of the day and others began work later in the day and did perhaps one or two hours of labour but in the end all were equally paid.
This shows that, according to Jesus, there is no real connexion between the value of work and the payment which is made.
Every one should do his best regardless of what he is paid; this holds true of intellectual as well as of manual workers.
The popular idea that if really good work has to be turned out higher wages should be paid is not accepted by Jesus.
These two parables do not, however, mean that no efforts should be made to distribute more justly the wealth now produced in the world.
Often in a large factory where thousands of people work, the bulk of people are paid poor wages and are asked to do difficult work for long hours while all the profits are carried away by a few wealthy share-holders. Many thinking people to-day feel that the profits made in a factory should not be distributed so unevenly and unjustly.
Jesus laid down the great law: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." * This law should be applied widely; it should be observed not merely in the family but wherever human beings work together.
Ina factory, for instance, where thousands of workers are employed * Matthew xx. 1-16.
" Matthew xxii. 39.
THE TEACHING OF JESUS ON ETHICS
there would be no doubt differences in salaries and wages.
Men are so differently endowed.
Some do good work and others are inefficient; some receive a long training for doing the more intelligent types of work whereas others are only capable of unskilled forms of labour for which little or no training is necessary.
Some have no cash whereas others contribute the necessary capital to run such an enterprise.
It is not meant that the profits from the factory should be divided equally among all the people connected with it. This would be unjust in view of the different types of work they do and of the different degrees of efficiency with which they do them.
But the large profits which are taken away by the share-holders should be reduced considerably so that all the workers in the factory are paid better wages, eat better food, live in cleaner homes, have more leisure for enjoyment and are able to give their children the education they need.
At present in the world the opportunities for education, for healthy living and for enjoyment are so varied.
Some have all the means which they desire in order to enjoy themselves and to give their children a good education whereas others have to struggle hard day in and day out and are not provided with even the bare necessities of life.
In the Kingdom of God, which Christ came to establish in the world, such differences in opportunities and in enjoyments cannot be regarded as just.
If every Christian were really to practise the precept of Jesus:
' Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," the wealth which is created in the world would be divided more justly among the different people.
Jesus insists on the need for detachment both among the poor and among the rich.
The poor are incessantly worried about the problem of how to meet their daily needs.
Their house rent has to be paid, their food has to be bought, their clothes have to be stitched and their children have to be educated.
If there is illness in the house medicines have to be provided for and money is also needed for occasional enjoyment.
'These are the utmost necessities of life.
Millions of men and women in the world today are living on the edge of poverty.
All their time and energy is consumed in meeting their various urgent needs.
To such Jesus speaks of the importance of detachment.
"TI say unto you, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.
Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment?" ® God provides even for the needs of birds and of plants.
Will "" Matthew vi. 25.
THE GOSPEL AND INDIA'S HERITAGE
He not provide for human beings who are so much more valuable than they?
Often peace and joy are not dependent on an abundance of means.
Many poor people are really happy because they believe in a Loving God who will look after them.
They know that God is their Father and that He is intimately concerned with all living creatures in the universe.
'There is nothing so small that escapes His attention.
Many wealthy people with abundance of means, on the other hand, are worried | and anxious, both about the present and about the future, because they do not believe in a Loving God.
They have no faith to support them.
The future is all dark, dreary and uncertain.
With or without money, peace and joy are found wherever there is real faith.
The parable of the rich fool shows the folly of attaching too much weight to wealth and prosperity.** As far as we know the rich fool was not unjust in his dealings with others; he did not follow doubtful methods of business.
His main weakness, for which he was rebuked by God, was his utterly worldly outlook.
He thought that the abundance of goods which he possessed was everything.
In his spiritual ignorance he believed that eating and drinking and making merry constituted the whole of life; that there could be anything higher or nobler seemed to have completely escaped his thought.
The need for detachment is constantly taught in India.
Rabindranath Tagore tells the story of a disciple who took a pair of costly bangles set with precious stones to the Sikh Guru,
Govinda.
As the teacher examined one of the bangles it slipped from his hand and fell into a stream.
The disciple was quite distressed and immediately plunged into the water in search of the bangle.
After a long and vain hunt he returned to the teacher, exhausted and dripping with water, and asked him to show where that bangle had fallen.
With supreme disdain the teacher threw the bangle which he had in his hand into the water and said: "It is there." *4 Jesus calls some of His disciples to absolute poverty.
" And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils: freely ye received, freely give. Get you no gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses; no wallet for your journey, neither two ° coats, nor shoes, nor staff: for the labourer is worthy of his "Luke xii. 13-21.
"Rabindranath Tagore, Fruit Gathering, pp. 14, 15.
THE TEACHING OF JESUS ON ETHICS
food." *° The call here is to complete renunciation.
Those who want to follow Jesus closely must give up all their ties of family, friendship and wealth, take up the Cross as He did and walk in His footsteps.
In the Christian Church thousands of ascetics (Sannyasis) have given up everything and followed Him.
Obviously all Christians cannot obey the call.
The world has to go on, people have to toil, houses have to be built, lands have to be cultivated, clothes have to be made and all this implies that the followers of Christ have useful and important work to do in making life possible.
The monastic movement on a wide scale in the Christian Church failed; this was made clear at the time of the Reformation.
It is not likely that the Christian Church will return in any large measure to the ideal of Monasticism.
But some earnest and sincere disciples of Christ will accept this tremendous challenge of Jesus and live a life of complete renunciation.
'They will demonstrate to the world the absolute importance of the spiritual life and by their radiant faith and utter self-sacrifice make millions of others who are in the world, living the normal family life, devote themselves more earnestly to the service of God.
Jesus did not believe in class-war.
He was known as a friend of publicans.
The publicans of His day would correspond to the capitalists and government officials of our day.
Though they were wealthy and could exert considerable power, they were held in contempt by the people.
They were regarded as the tools of oppression which the Roman Government used.
Contrary to popular feeling, Jesus associated closely with them.
He took the publican Matthew into the intimate circle of His twelve disciples.
He went as a guest to the house of a rich publican, Zacchaeus.
There was a frank and friendly spirit in the conversation which took place on the occasion.**
Zacchaeus spoke freely what was in his mind and Jesus likewise made clear His own attitude.
Such a conversation would have been possible only when the two persons who were engaged in it moved with each other on terms of confidence and affection. Jesus ministered mostly among the poor; He sought in every way to relieve their suffering and misery.
But at the same time He did not boycott the rich; He had no bitterness against them; He did not rouse the people to conflict with them.
His close friendship with Lazarus, who had apparently a home of his own, is another
Matthew x. 7-10.
* Luke xix. 2-10.
THE GOSPEL AND INDIA'S HERITAGE
evidence of His attitude towards the rich.
He was willing to associate with women of substance, who provided for His needs and for the needs of His band of disciples.
This free and happy comradeship between Him and His rich women disciples is yet another evidence of the fact that He was no red revolutionary, hating everything connected with wealthy folk.