Washington: A letter Mahatma Gandhi wrote in 1926 expressing respect for all religions and praising Jesus Christ is up for sale in the US.

"Jesus was one of the great teachers of mankind," the signed letter, dated April 6 and written from Sabarmati Ashram, tells a Christian religious elder in the US: Milton Newberry Frantz.

"In my opinion, difference in creed there must be so long as there are different brains. But what does it matter if all these are hung upon the common thread of love and mutual esteem?"

Typed in faint ink, the letter has been in a private collection for decades and is being sold by the Pennsylvania-based Raab Collection.

"Our research discloses no other letter of Gandhi mentioning Jesus to have ever reached the public market," the Raab Collection said.

Gandhi wrote: "Dear Friend, I have your letter. I am afraid it is not possible for me to subscribe to the creed you have sent me. The subscriber is made to believe that the highest manifestation of the unseen reality was Jesus Christ. In spite of all my efforts, I have not been able to feel the truth of that statement."

He added: "I have not been able to move beyond the belief that Jesus was one of the great teachers of mankind. Do you not think that religious unity is to be had not by a mechanical subscription to a common creed but by all respecting the creed of each?"