many respects you can see gandhi sort of taking over that position of father figure for marriage and so they do have a very close relationship despite the differences. the two men were very different not least in their views on religion. narry was a self professed atheist something rare in a country where refusing to express religious belief is a to boon. gandhi was deeply religious he began each meeting with prayer. life in india is permeated by the values of hinduism which assigns a person's caste on the basis of birth. but hinduism has been traditionally because it was a tolerant religion not given to proselytizing.