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Samantha Eckrich
Dr. John Eby
Jesus and Gandhi
22 May, 2013
Analytical Synthesis of Jesus and Gandhi: A Personal Reflection on a Sunrise
Refer to the following picture as you read the description below.

Beginning at the base of the image is the deep blue of an ocean, the kind of blue that
clothes the heavens when you gaze upward on a clear summer night, giving you the feeling that
its immense depth could swallow you whole if you were to stare for a moment longer. Gradually
moving upward across the water, fragments of delicate pink light dance gently across the

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flickering movement of the waves. At the horizon is a vibrant explosion of color and light
spilling outward across the sky; the exotic hot pink of the orchid, the wholesome golden-orange
of the summer squash, and a daring red streaking across the warm yellows and pinks like the ripe
veins of a sliced nectarine. Encircling the scene is the wispy movement of a distant cloud. Its
form arduously contorts and twists like a winding serpent, contracting and relaxing in a rhythmic
movement across the color-splattered sky. Throughout the whole photograph these mediums of
color and form curve and merge into each other. Some provide contrast and emphasis; others
combine into new figures and hues, while still others become steadily absorbed by the solid blue
template of the sky at dawn. At the center of the image is the source of this enthusiastic boasting
of nature: the sun. All the objects around the sun; the atmosphere, clouds, and sea; simply reflect
the brilliance of the suns light. Each photon rebounds from the water molecules and particles in
the air in a distinctive fashion so that you see each shape and color in a particularly characteristic
way. This creates the uniqueness of each individual element of the kaleidoscopic scene, yet the
entire visual appeal derives from this one central font of light.
This sunrise has a deeper meaning to me than the description illustrated above. Being an
especially visual learner, I was attracted to the analogy of varied national flags representing the
diverse nature of each world religion. They contain similar colors and patterns to each other, but
ultimately the unique combination of these components creates something entirely individual to
that belief. Buddhism is not Hinduism plus Islam. Buddhism is Buddhism and Hinduism is
Hinduism and Islam is Islam. Similar to how siblings have closely-related genetics yet are still
entirely independent beings from one another, religions are a collection of related precepts that
make up the specific personalities of each faith.

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I believe this idea of something containing within it an array of traits that together create
a larger picture is entirely relevant to not just religions, but the many perspectives and
philosophies discussed in this course. For me they coalesce into a grander composition, at the
heart of which is this somewhat ambiguous (at least at first) notion of peace that has frequented
our class discussions. A flag analogy, however, cannot do justice to the intricate and meaningful
web of thought that makes up my current perception of peace. That is why a sunrise has been
chosen to portray this occurrence. The complex blend of contour and pigment presented in the
above image supplies a more realistic representation of my interpretation of peace. In addition,
the sunrise analogy has a source of this exquisite diversity of perspectivesthe sunwhich I
believe to be God, specifically the Holy Spirit. It is his light that shines upon each of these
concepts we discussed in class, reflecting onto my mind an assortment of colorful impressions
that are synthesized into my overall understanding of peace and nonviolence. These various
contributors of thought include Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Farm, the life and
teachings of Gandhi, and my more recent understanding of the teachings of the Catholic Church.
The first color, or resource of thought, I wish to address is the rich purple of the Catholic
Church, specifically the newer growth in my understanding of this entity that has been such an
fundamental part of my development as a person. I believe purple to be suitable metaphor for
the Church for a number of reasons. Like the Catholic Church, purple has a unique depth to it
unmatched by other colors. It is rich and meaningful, containing within it the warmth of red and
tranquility of blue harmoniously wrapped together in a single expression of color. Similarly, I
have discovered Catholicism to be filled with an ancient fullness of meaning and complexity.
One can never cease to penetrate deeper into the vast pool of wisdom that exists within it. That
is why it is so significant to my personal progress in understanding peace. Through the

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discussions in this course, I have been able to tunnel deeper into this source of knowledge,
specifically the Churchs all-inclusive nature and the role of communion.
Before this class and even before coming to college, I had the basic insight that it is
necessary to love all people if I am to be Catholic, but I lacked an understanding of the
extensiveness of this teaching, especially as it applies to peace and nonviolence. Michael Himes
writes in his chapter Church that
We cannot possibly claim to love God and be out of communion with one another. The more
profound, the richer, the wider, the deeper, the more embracing the community, the better our
experience of mutual love, the deeper our commitment to one another, the greater is our
experience of God (Himes, 45).

It was difficult before to see how I could consistently love everyone but at the same time feel
very little friendship or unity with those whom I disagreed withan attitude that previously led
me to cooperate with some forms of violence in the world like war or self-defense. According to
Himes and ultimately the Church, we cannot possibly hope to love others if we do not first
accept them as they are and become more embracing. This is not to say that we should
commend actions that are inherently destructive, but we must relentlessly strive to see the good
of others and act upon this realization so that we may have communion with them. This is the
kind of communion that McBrien refers to as being a way to God through others and the kind of
communion that demands the ultimate sacrifice of oneself, even if that means refraining from
violence in order to achieve it. From a personal standpoint, I feel that I must love others in the
broadest and most inclusive extent if I am to celebrate my Catholic faith and nurture my
relationship with God who so lovingly embraces my own weakness and humanity. This is the
fragment of insight into the depth of the Church that I have discovered through this course.

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Gandhi and his teachings also have a considerable amount to offer on the topic of peace.
The color red is a fitting comparison to the way I perceive these ideas. Red can be
characteristically intimidating, just as learning about something as foreign and unknown as
Hinduism provoked an unconscious fear when I was first exposed to the religion early on in the
semester. There is something almost threatening about red, and I believe I held some slight
reservations when the topic of Hinduism and Gandhis teachings were initially proposed.
However, upon increased contact and growth in knowledge, Gandhi and his religion became
beautiful and vibrant to me like the scarlet tendrils that creep across the sky in the sunrise
picture. One Gandhian concept that helped me define peace was detachment and how that
relates to nonviolence. The reason violence is often considered legitimate by many good
intentioned people (and previously by myself) is because the apparent alternative, whatever that
may be, seems so horrendous that any and all means to prevent that action from taking place
must be utilized. However, Gandhi and his prospect of detachment argue especially in his
writings on the Bhagavad Gita that one should be detached from results. Whether the outcome
of a situation be positive or negative, it is more important to act morally in every circumstance
despite what end-effect actually occurs. I see this as a teaching of freedom because it permits
one to consistently act in a peaceful way without there ever being a necessity for violence, and
thus the red surge of color assumes its role in the venture for peace.
The third color I wish to analyze is the lively yellow of the Catholic Worker Farm and its
founder and inspiration, Dorothy Day. I can recall at the beginning of the year feeling
invigorated by the Farms radical lifestyle and passionate dedication to a higher moral standard
than most U.S. citizens. Yellow is the color of youthful energy. In the sunrise, it acts like
electricity sending ribbons of light across the scene and illuminating the sky. I am greatly

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motivated by the countercultural and adventurous spirit which drives their movement. The most
influential of their philosophies on my perception of peace is Imago Dei, which states that all
people are made in Gods image. Essentially the entire farms work centers around this concept
in a practical, livable manner. Dorothy Day emphasizes Personalism, or the inherent dignity of
all humans, in her writings on social teaching. I have been able to observe how Imago Dei
impacted the everyday choices of the Farm, Days lifestyle, and how it pertains to peace and
nonviolence. If each person truly harbors a piece of the divine within, then to desecrate someone
with an act of violence is an offense to not just that person, but the supernatural goodness within
them bequeathed by the Creator. McBrien would define this as Sacramentality, or seeing God in
all things. In addition, as Yoder describes in What Would You Do?, this innate dignity suggests
that all people are equal before God, meaning that even an aggressor must be considered as
valuable as oneself and all people. This way of thinking is quite uncommon in our society, but is
tremendously exciting to me and earns the part of the yellow swathes of color and light in the
sunrise.
All these perspectives organized together have helped lead me to the conclusion that in
order to love God and others, I must embrace peace through the method of nonviolence.
Concepts like Communion, detachment, and Personalism are essential components to this
reasoning. This portrait of peace I have synthesized through the various perspectives presented
in class is truly a carnival of color and activity in my mind. The integration of these ideas is like
the sunrise, proudly displaying its diverse array of philosophical elements. One notable feature
about this image is that although the time of day is undistinguishable, I have chosen for it to
occur at morning when the dawn of a new day is emerging behind the horizon. This symbolizes
the hopeful nature of peace; hope in myself that a personal transformation may transpire and

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hope in the world that the unity in diversity that takes place in a sunrise may be present on a
universal level, full of the intricacy and complexity that humanity uniquely possesses as a whole.