Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in a Vaisnava family. His parents were deeplyreligious and had a great influence on him. But it was his mother whose saintliness had greater influence on his personality than anyone else. She had great faith in God, in fasts and prayers as means of physical and mental purification and the same faith was passed on to Gandhi. While in Yarvada jail, he once told Mahadev Desai that if he noticed any purity in him, he had inherited it from his mother . His parents not only inculcated in him the religious faith and values, but also trained him in religious tolerance. Being the followers of Vaishnava sect, they did not visit only the Vaishnava temples, but also the Shivalayas. The Jain monks, Muslim and Parsi friends of his father visited them frequently and their discussions on religious matters made him realize that all religions preached the same values and ideals. He studied the religious scriptures like the Gita, the Ramayana, the Upanishads, the Bible, the Quran, the sayings of Zarathustra etc. Such vast reading into the religious scriptures broadened his view of life and made him realize that different religions were the different ways leading to one Truth i.e., God. He reached the conclusion that (a) all religions are true, (b) that all have some errors in them, (c) that all other religions were as dear to him as Hinduism . Thus, he believed that everyone should respect others' religions as he respects his own and must not try to impose his faith on them. Instead, efforts should be made to help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim a better Muslim and a Christian a better Christian. "We must not pray to God to give our fellows the light he has given us, but must pray to give them the light they need for their development”.

Different religions, according to him, are the beautiful flowers of the same garden or the branches of the same tree . They are thus equally true. "Even as a tree has a single trunk, but many branches and leaves, so there is one true and perfect Religion, but it becomes many, as it passes through the human medium" ," Each person has his own conception of God and thus there can't be one religion for all. Thus, the practical approach would be to promote mutual tolerance and acceptance among them. Instead of criticizing other faiths one must appreciate the good things in them. He once told Mrs... Polak that impressed by Jesus Christ, he once thought of embracing Christianity but after studying Christian scriptures he realized that there was nothing different from the Hindu scriptures and that being a good Hindu would also mean he would be a good Christian . He wished that every cultured person must read the scriptures of other faiths , then only he would be able to show respect towards them. It would help in broadening their view of life as well.

Here he also emphasized that the teachings of the great religions should be studied through the works of the known votaries of the respective religions He says that if one wants to understand the teachings of Bhagvata, he should go through its translation made by a lover of its teachings and not by a hostile critic. Similar should be the approach towards scriptures of other religions. Such study of other religions would not weaken one's faith in his own religion as is feared by some. But it would definitely help him see the 'rock-bottom unity of all religions and afford a glimpse of the universal and absolute truth that lies beyond the dust of creeds and faiths. "

Though having a firm faith in the equal truthfulness of all religions, Gandhi remained a devout Hindu. In Young India he declared that he was a Sanatani Hindu as he believedin the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas and other Hindu Scriptures, in the concept of rebirth and avataras; in the Varnashram Dharma as given in the Vedas in the protection of cow and did not disbelieve in idol worship. He firmly believed in an indefinable mysterious power that pervades everything I feel it, though I don't see it is this unseen power which makes itself felt and yet defies all proof, because it is so unlike all that I perceive through my senses. It transcends the senses.  Though the world is everchanging, this power is changeless and supports the creation, dissolves it and recreates it. This power is God. He is the Supreme Good, Life; Truth and Light He is Ethics, fearlessness and conscience .

God is believed to have innumerable forms and thus as many names. These names are the various attributes given to him by man in his effort to describe God but He is above all these attributes and descriptions. Gandhi believed that if it is at all possible for man to describe God, it can be called Truth. It is his fullest description. He initially used to say that God is Truth, but later he started saying that Truth is God. He described his religion as religion of truth. In Indian Scriptures, God is defined as 'Sat-Chit-Ananda' i.e.,Existence Knowledge and Bliss.Gandhi believed that the term 'Satya' (Truth) has been derived from Sat' (Being). Thus, the two terms stand for one and the same thing-God. There are atheists and sceptics who may raise doubts in the existence of God, but nobody would do so in case of truth. The most ignorant among mankind have some truth in them. We are all sparks of Truth. The sum total of these sparks is indescribable, as unknown Truth which is God. " By finding the Truth one can realize one's own self and destiny and become perfect. He said, 'the instruments for the quest of Truth are as simple as they are difficult. They may appear quite impossible to an arrogant person, and quite possible to an innocent child. The seeker after Truth should be humbler than the dust "To know the Truth, one must love all his fellow beings as oneself. He believed that God does not reside in the clouds, but within us. He can be known by love and Ahimsa and Truth were, according to him, connected in such a way that they could not be separated. To him Ahimsa did not only mean the absence of violence, but also not offending anyone,and not having uncharitable thoughts for anybody including the enemies. He considered Ahimsa a natural attribute of the soul. It is kindled in man's heart by God himself and it is the highest love, the supreme law He could be reached through love towards all. One can find God and be one with him only by service to his creation as he is immanent in it Self-realisation can't be achieved without service to the poor. And to serve others is to have humility. To him humility meant genuine and constant efforts for the service of humanity God is behind all the activities in the entire creation and if one wants to be with him, he must also participate in this activity for the good of all. In addition to service, fasting and prayer were also very dear to him as process of purification He believed that if one is in distress, he must fast and pray. Describing his fasts, he wrote in Harijan on 8" July 1933, "And this fasting relates not only to the palate, but all the senses and organs Complete absorption in prayer must mean complete exclusion of physical activities till prayer possesses the whole of our being and we rise superior to and are completely detached from, all physical functions ". He regarded fasting as a prayer to God. It not only purifies the one who is fasting, but others as well on whose behalf it is done.

He laid equal emphasis on Prayer and regarded it as the essence of religion. One may pray to God by any of His numerous names, but he must first cleanse his heart. If one prays to Him without any fear, reservations or doubts, He answers the prayers. Prayers are however not a reminder to God but to ourselves that without His blessings no effortcan have the desired effect. It is a call for humility self-purification and inward search ", The prayer can be in any form but it should help us to communicate with the Divine. At Sabarmati Ashram, prayers were offered regularly.

Recitation of the Gita was also a daily practice Gandhi was greatly impressed by its teachings, especially the ideal of selfless work, non-possession, and conquest of the soul over senses and appetites. He found it unmistakable, free from dogmas and a complete moral code. It became an "infallible guide of conduct for him. During all problems and testing times, he would refer to the Gita ". He also had great faith in the Ramayana and the repetition of Ramanama. He believed that taking Ramanama from one's heart, one can get help from an incomparable power, which can remove all sufferings. He also emphasized the importance of silence in life. He once remained completely silent for about two months and then used to go into silence at the prayer time in the evenings Observing silence became a physical and spiritual necessity for him. During this period of silence, he could hold communion with God. ". He was of the view that one must wait in silence before God in order to seek His guidance.

Though Gandhi had faith in various religious practices but he was against the dogmas and superstitions and blind faith. He had faith in Hindu Scriptures but did not believe every word to be divinely inspired. He accepted only those interpretations which appealed to reason .Though he did not disbelieve in idol-worship as it was an aid in worship of God, still he believed that God can't be found merely by idol-worship or visiting the places of worship. He even accepted the importance of a Guru for spiritual development. But he stressed the point that only a perfect gyani' must be made the Guru Imperfect gurus can't lead to spiritual development and it is better to wade through a million errors to Truth, than to entrust oneself to one who knows not that he knows not . 'Vaishnava Jana to tenhe kahiye' was his favourite. It defines the qualities of a true Vaishnav as 'He is true Vaishnava who knows others woes as his own, is always ready to serve others, never boasts, despises nobody, is pure in thought, word and action, treats every woman as his mother, does not tell lies, does not touch others wealth, he is free of all attachments, greed and passion, he is ever enchanting Ramanama-his body itself is pure like places of pilgrimage. This clearly brings out the qualities, he believed, should be present in any person to be called religious in true sense. Thus, for him religion was not limited to the reading of scriptures or chants or idol-worship. It was inseparably linked with morality. He would not hesitate to reject a religious doctrine that was in contrast to reason and morality. For him morality, ethics and religion were one and the same thing. A moral life that is not related to religion is a house built upon sand. 'Similarly, religion that has no reference to morality' is like sounding brass good only for making noise and breaking heads. " If a man is full of vices, he can't claim the favour of God.

One most important feature of Gandhi's religion was that it was a practical one According to him Religion which takes no account of practical affairs and does not help to solve them is no religion. And that is why I am putting a religious matter before you in a practical form . Any action can't be called spiritual in true sense if it is not practical. He believed that the real importance of the various religious symbols is that they could enlighten the hearts of their believers and give them courage and inspiration to achieve their goals. For instance, he had great faith in the Ramayana and used images from it to inspire the people during their struggle for rights in South Africa. He told the people that like Lord Rama, who waged war to punish Ravana and to free his wife Sita, similarly Indians in South Africa must also struggle for their rights . Similarly, while in India, he told hisfollowers that if they surrendered themselves to God with a clear heart and were ready to make sacrifices, Swaraj can be attained soon This Swaraj he called Ramrajya - the kingdom of Righteousness He considered untouchability a blot on Hindu society He stated examples from the Ramayana while criticizing this evil practice. A person who in the present times is regarded as untouchable, took Lord Rama across the river Ganga in his boat. Thus, the Lord does not discriminate among the people. The very idea that God is the purifier of the polluted' does not go well with the practice of untouchability This practice is against the spirit of religion and ethics and thus it is the duty of every Hindu to help in its eradication.

He believed that religion, which brings man face to face with God, must pervade all his actions. That is the reason why he did not favour complete divorce of religion from politics. To him politics was a branch of religion and ethics. To be called truly religious, one must identify himself with the whole of mankind and participating in politics gives an opportunity to do so. He himself had entered politics because of his devotion to truth. Though he believed that religion and politics can't be separated completely .still, he maintained that State should not interfere in the religious life of its citizens as it is a personal matter. The State should look after secular matters only. Everyone should be given freedom to practice his religion freely.