Spiritual Formation: Gandhi and Loving God as Truth 
Spiritual formation:
Gandhi and loving God as truth
As one puts oneself in the way of God, several theological questions necessarily arise: what is God? How does one engage, experience, and enter into the way of God? For the Christian seeker, the questions become more specific: is this God the sky God Yahweh? Is Jesus of Nazareth the incarnation of this God? Is God only interested in self-described 'Christians,' or is he for all? For Mohandas K. Gandhi, Hindu spiritual seeker, Indian political leader, and pastoral guide for millions around the world, the answer is simple: God is truth. Though at first glance this statement almost seems to manage to bring the question into the realm of the empirical, one finds that the question quickly becomes more complicated. What, after all, is truth? As Gandhi himself says, "...as long as I have not realized this Absolute Truth, so long must I hold by the relative truth as I have conceived it. (1971, p. xiv)" Our own conceptions of this relative truth must be built on our own personal experiences. Whether these experiences are informed by scripture, prayer and reflection, mentors, or other influences, the conception of truth that they help to construct will shape our approach to our spiritual lives, to pastoral care, spiritual direction, and every aspect of our ministries. That loving God as truth was a practical approach for Gandhi seems clear, whether or not it will be equally practical for myself personally, and in my own ministry, is the question I will attempt to answer in this essay. Gandhi's autobiography, "The Story of My Experiments With Truth," was originally published in two installments, the first in 1927, the second in 1929. Born in 1869, Gandhi had lived a very eventful sixty years by the time of the publication of the second installment. He had grown up in Porbandar, Gujerat State, India, he had been educated in London as a lawyer, championed the civil rights of Indian
Gandhi and loving God as truth
As one puts oneself in the way of God, several theological questions necessarily arise: what is God? How does one engage, experience, and enter into the way of God? For the Christian seeker, the questions become more specific: is this God the sky God Yahweh? Is Jesus of Nazareth the incarnation of this God? Is God only interested in self-described 'Christians,' or is he for all? For Mohandas K. Gandhi, Hindu spiritual seeker, Indian political leader, and pastoral guide for millions around the world, the answer is simple: God is truth. Though at first glance this statement almost seems to manage to bring the question into the realm of the empirical, one finds that the question quickly becomes more complicated. What, after all, is truth? As Gandhi himself says, "...as long as I have not realized this Absolute Truth, so long must I hold by the relative truth as I have conceived it. (1971, p. xiv)" Our own conceptions of this relative truth must be built on our own personal experiences. Whether these experiences are informed by scripture, prayer and reflection, mentors, or other influences, the conception of truth that they help to construct will shape our approach to our spiritual lives, to pastoral care, spiritual direction, and every aspect of our ministries. That loving God as truth was a practical approach for Gandhi seems clear, whether or not it will be equally practical for myself personally, and in my own ministry, is the question I will attempt to answer in this essay. Gandhi's autobiography, "The Story of My Experiments With Truth," was originally published in two installments, the first in 1927, the second in 1929. Born in 1869, Gandhi had lived a very eventful sixty years by the time of the publication of the second installment. He had grown up in Porbandar, Gujerat State, India, he had been educated in London as a lawyer, championed the civil rights of Indian