How did Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi frame his own practice as a Vaishnavite and a ‘sanatani’ Hindu?

Gandhi’s attestation of his unquestioned fidelity to Hinduism is often expressed in the form of a series of incisive affirmations. These are usually in the form of a list, beginning with a formal allegiance to the Vedas and the shastras and often concluding with the addition of a contemporary theme like cow-protection as part of Hinduism. There are times, though, when this declaration of affiliation is emotive, almost lyrical. And yet, it never obscures the defining framework of his understanding of Hinduism.

“But Hinduism is a living organism liable to growth and decay, and subject to the laws of Nature. One and indivisible at the root, it has grown into a vast tree with innumerable branches. The changes in the seasons affect it. It has its autumn and summer, its winter and spring. The rains nourish and fructify it too. It is and is not based on scriptures. It does not derive its authority from one book. The Gita is universally accepted, but even then it only shows the way. It has hardly any effect on custom. Hinduism is like the Ganges, pure and unsullied at its source, but taking in its course the impurities in the way. Even like the…

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