Manilal Chhotalal Parekh (1885–1967), a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

convert to

Anglican church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, was an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, and the founder of ''Hindu Church of Christ'' - free from

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

influence - opposing Western and institutional nature of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He developed a new syncretistic

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

Yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297–299, 331 ...

model, identifying himself as a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

disciple of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

- although, Jesus never knew of

Yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

, Parekh credited him with being a Yogi by birth. He authored several books, especially ''A Hindu's Portrait of Christ'' that constructed a portrait of

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

from a

point of view.

Biography

Early life

Parekh was born in 1885 at

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...

of western

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, in a family already following

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

and

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

, specifically followed by his father. It is said that his illness drew him closer to God in 1903; consequently, he read the entire

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

and a book about

Swami Narayana Swaminarayan (IAST: '; 3 April 1781 – 1 June 1830), also known as Sahajanand Swami, was a yogi and ascetic believed by followers to be a manifestation of Krishna or the highest manifestation of Purushottama, around whom the Swaminarayan Sam ...

Gujarati language Gujarati ( ; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people. Gujarati is descended from Old Western Rājasthāni, Old Gujarati (). In India, it is one of the 22 Languages with ...

. Prior to that, at the age of fifteen, he seems to have already read ''The Use of Life'' written by

John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury (30 April 1834 – 28 May 1913), known as Sir John Lubbock, 4th Baronet, from 1865 until 1900, was an English banker, Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician, philanthropist, scientist and polymath. Lubbock worked ...

, and also

The Imitation of Christ ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

influencing him in moral and spiritual attraction at a younger age. After entering the University in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, he was influenced and introduced to

through Christ-centric writings of

Keshub Chunder Sen Keshub Chandra Sen (; also spelled Keshab Chunder Sen; 19 November 1838 – 8 January 1884) was an Indian philosopher and social reformer who attempted to incorporate Christian theology within the framework of Hindu thought. Born a Hindu i ...

, a renowned leader of

Brahmo Samaj Brahmo Samaj ( ) is the societal component of Brahmoism, which began as a monotheistic reformist movement during the Bengal Renaissance. It was one of the most influential religious movements in India and made a significant contribution to ...

; later, he served at ''Church of New Dispensation'', founded by Keshub Chunder Sen, for some years. He was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

to an Anglican church in

on 6 February 1918, and thereby embraced

. He considered himself as "Christian Hindu", having interpreted

as a name ermderived from river

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dis ...

in both national and cultural context, rather than religious context.

Hindu-Christian baptism

He was

baptised Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

into the

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, as he believed that he had no right to preach

without openly professing to be a disciple of Christ - he took

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

considering it as "a purely spiritual sacramental, signifying the dedication of the new disciple of Christ." He felt that any new disciple or convert of Christ ought to remain within his community and considered

in India as "joining community which stands as a distinct social and political body with its own airs and aspirations which are very often antithetical and far from Christian"; hence, he lived as a

, consciously Christian, but in Hindu surroundings like

Brahmabandhab Upadhyay Brahmabandhav Upadhyay (born ''Bhavani Charan Bandyopadhyay'') (11 February 1861 – 27 October 1907) was an Indian Bengali theologian, journalist and freedom fighter. He was closely attached with Keshub Chandra Sen, classmate of Swami Vi ...

, Narayan Vaman Tilak, and

Pandita Ramabai Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati ( Marathi: ; 23 April 1858 – 5 April 1922) was an Indian social reformer and Christian missionary. She was the first woman to be awarded the titles of '' Pandita'' as a Sanskrit scholar and '' Sarasvati'' after being ...

- all these were said to be Hindus by birth, but claimed to remain

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

. He denounced the Westernized church, as he felt it had become more communal body that was more political and social, rather than spiritual; furthermore, he felt culturally Church was "anti-national," and lost its identity as Christian. He did not believe that the Christian Church as set up in Europe would be able to adapt to the Indian way of life, eg, with the culture of vegetarianism being a normal way of life in India. Sermon Central website, ''A Jain Believer In Christ - Manilal C. Parekh'', by B. D. B Moses dated July 31, 2003
/ref>

Hindu Church of Christ

Having studied the

, he interpreted the victory of

in accepting the

Cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

in a non-violent way; he considered the Christian church as the invention of

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...

and denounced the Christian church to had become a civil community, instead of a spiritual fellowship. According to him: Having disillusioned by the westernized and materialistic attitude of the Church, he severed his ties with missions and churches, but remained committed to

, portraying himself as "Hindu disciple of Christ." As he was not comfortable and against the traditional concept of the Church as a separate religious community, he more or less kept loose association with Anglican church; instead, he advocated the ''House Church'' as a fellowship within the framework of Hindu cultural, and social categories. He founded the ''Hindu Church of Christ'' which he saw as being free from the Western concept of Church; furthermore, he named his home in Rajkot as ''Oriental Christ House''.

Gandhi Vs Parekh

Parekh, who had met

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

, co-authored ''Mahatma Gandhi An Essay in Appreciation'' with R.M. Gray. Like Gandhi, Parekh mulled over the concept of ''Swadharmagraha'', naming it as ''Hindu Swadharmagraha'', insisting on the religion of one's birth; however, Parekh differed from Gandhi, preferring to create an

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

religion - composed of various estdoctrines and beliefs. Accordingly, Parekh conceptualised ''Hindu Swadharmagraha'' giving more space to Christ and

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

s of foreign religions, as God's own messengers. Like Gandhi, he affirmed that full spiritual fellowship was possible without breaking the

Caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

-system; furthermore, he defended and advocated the practice of caste system in the Indian churches. Gandhi, being a non-Christian, acknowledged the moral excellence of

and the relevance of his teachings, with or without a personal commitment to him - however Gandhi did not convert to

. Parekh, a convert from non-Christian religion to Christianity, personally committed to

with conversion by retaining his former religious identity - therefore seeing himself as belonging to multiple religions. Gandhi directed his

apologetic Apologetics (from Greek ) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their fai ...

against the claims that Christianity is a superior religion, while Parekh tried to fuse together Christianity and all other theistic religions retaining Hindu identity. Gandhi preferred an ethical model of Jesus and was more interested in his teachings rather than historical Jesus, while Parekh formulated his own

ascetical Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

Jesus-Yogi model. Parekh didn't use religion for political reasons, while Gandhi blended religion into politics - both Gandhi and Parekh, however, supported

Harijan Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

oliticslike eating with them and worshipping with them, with no regard to education in any of their doctrines.

Jesus yogi model

Parekh believed that

had achieved the highest communion with God, and asserted that Jesus' power to do miracles can be achieved by every human being through the practice of

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

. In his book, ''A Hindu's Portrait of Jesus Christ'', he considered the risen Christ as fully human than the historical Jesus. He credited Jesus with being a

yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297–299, 331 ...

by birth, although nowhere it is mentioned that Jesus knew nor followed yoga technique.

A Hindu's Portrait of Christ

He published ''A Hindu's Portrait of Jesus Christ'' in 1953 at Rajkot and proclaimed as "My most humble tribute to Jesus Christ, whose 'Hindu disciple' i have been for the last forty years." This book is by and large considered as a profound study of Jesus Christ by any Hindu in a systematic way in dealing with Jesus' life and meaning. His portrait of Jesus is largely drawn from

Synoptic Gospels The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...

, following the Markan Chronology of events.

Salient points

* Regarding the

Virgin birth of Christ In Christianity and Islam, it is asserted that Jesus of Nazareth was conceived by his mother Mary solely through divine intervention and without sexual intercourse, thus resulting in his virgin birth. In accordance with these beliefs, Jesus had ...

, he says "The Hindus have treated it as a pious myth." * He sees Jesus as a great preacher or prophet, certainly beyond

Mahavira Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...

and

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

, as he turned instinctively to the poor and the despised, the outcaste and the sinner. * He denounces the

Fourth Gospel The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven " signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the resurrection ...

(aka

Gospel of John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...

) denying Jesus' raising of

Lazarus Lazarus may refer to: People *Lazarus (name), a surname and a given name * Lazarus of Bethany, a Biblical figure described as being raised from the dead by Jesus * Lazarus, a Biblical figure from the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus * Lazar ...

, however, he had no doubt that Jesus worked miracles. According to him, the body of Jesus was not raised, but remained where it was; however, the

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

was only in ''appearance'' like that of

. * Regarding the death of Christ, he observes "There is no doubt, however, that we are here face to face with the greatest tragedy enacted on the earth." * He sees Jesus as more than an

Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

a, but a bit less than God.

Works

* ''Sri Swami Narayana : (a gospel of Bhagwat-dharma, or, God in redemptive action)''. * ''Mahatma Gandhi An Essay in Appreciation'' (with R. M. Gray) (1925) * ''Rajarshi Ram Mohan Roy'' (1927) * ''The Brahma Samaj : a short history''.Google Books website, ''Manilal Chhotalal Parekh''
/ref> * ''Keshub Chunder Sen: His Relation to Christianity''. * ''The gospel of Zoroaster: (the Iranian Veda)'' (1939) * ''Jharathustano dharma: Irānīyana Vedadharma'' (1942) * ''Sri Vallabhacharya: Life, teachings and movement, a religion of grace'' (1943) * ''Christian Proselytism in India - A Great and Growing Menace'' (1947) * ''A Hindu's Portrait of Christ: A Gospel of God's Free Gift of His Sonship'' (1953) Amazon website, ''Manilal Chhotalal Parekh''
/ref>

References

External links

A Jain Believer in Christ - Manilal C. ParekhThe State Of Bombay vs Shastri Yagna Purushadasji on 3 October 1958
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parekh, Manilal Chhotalal 1885 births 1967 deaths Indian Christian theologians Gujarati people Christian and Hindu interfaith dialogue People in interfaith dialogue World Christianity scholars