Mahatma Gandhi

When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it - always.

Imitation is the sincerest flattery.

A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do, nothing else.

Peace between countries must rest on the solid foundation of love between individuals.

God has given me no control over the following moment. I am concerned about taking care of the present.

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.

Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is.

Justice that love gives is a surrender, justice that law gives is a punishment.

We have to handover the earth, the air, the land and the water to the children at least as it was handed over to us.

God lives, but not as we. His creatures live but to die. But God is life. Therefore, goodness is not an attribute. Goodness is God.

Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment.

I wish to change there minds, not kill them for weaknesses we all posses.

Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress.

Civilization is the encouragement of differences.

Nothing has saddened me so much in life as the hardness of heart of educated people.

One can measure the greatness and the moral progress of a nation by looking at how it treats its animals.

A leader is useless when he acts against the promptings of his own conscience.

All compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Any compromise on mere fundamentals is a surrender. For it is all give and no take.

In matters of conscience the law of the majority has no place.

Morality is contraband in war.

Each one prays to God according to his own light.

An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.

Spiritual relationship is far more precious than physical. Physical relationship divorced from spiritual is body without soul.

I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and Non-violence are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as vast a scale as I could.

Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy.

When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.

It is any day better to stand erect with a broken and bandaged head, then to crawl on one's belly in order to be able to save one's head.

Poverty is the worst form of violence.

The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within.

Purity of personal life is the one indispensable condition for building up a sound education.

You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.

Satisfaction lies in the effort not in the attainment full effort is full victory.

I claim that human mind or human society is not divided into watertight compartments called social political and religious. All act and react upon one another.

Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment.

A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.

Healthy discontent is the prelude to progress.

The main purpose of life is to live rightly, think rightly, act rightly. The soul must languish when we give all our thought to the body.

Those who know how to think need no teachers.

I would heartily welcome the union of East and West provided it is not based on brute force.

Faith... must be enforced by reason... when faith becomes blind, it dies.

The spirit of democracy is not a mechanical thing to be adjusted by abolition of forms. It requires change of heart.

Everyone who wills can hear the inner voice. It is within everyone.

Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas, in order to appear consistent, drives himself into a false position.

I believe in equality for everyone except reporters and photographers.

Action is no less necessary than thought to the instinctive tendencies of the human frame.

Moral authority is never retained by any attempt to hold on to it. It comes without seeking and is retained without effort.

But for my faith in God I should have been a raving maniac.

No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.

There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.

Man's nature is not essentially evil. Brute nature has been know to yield to the influence of love. You must never despair of human nature.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.

I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles, but today it means getting along with people.

Violent men have not been known in history to die to a man. They die up to a point.

We should meet abuse by forbearance. Human nature is so constituted that if we take absolutely no notice of anger or abuse, the person indulging in it will soon weary of it and stop.

It is easy enough to be friendly to one's friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business.

Fear of death makes us devoid both of valour and religion. For want of valour is want of religious faith.

It is my own firm belief that the strength of the soul grows in proportion as you subdue the flesh.

Gentleness, self-sacrifice and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion.

Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.

A coward is incapable of exhibiting love, it is the prerogative of the brave.

Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men.

Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is important that you do it.

Only he can take great resolves who has indomitable faith in God and has fear of God.

One's own religion is, after all, a matter between oneself and one's Maker, and no one else's.

An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so.

As human beings our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves.

Non-violence and truth are inseparable and presuppose one another.

God is, even though the whole world deny him. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.

Where love is there God is also.

There is an orderliness in the universe, there is an unalterable law governing everything and every being that exists or lives. It is no blind law, for no blind law can govern the conduct of living beings.

Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into.

The pursuit of truth does not permit violence on one's opponent.

My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God. Non-violence is the means of realising Him.

Increase of material comforts, it may be generally laid down, does not in any way whatsoever conduce to moral growth.

Unwearied ceaseless effort is the price that must be paid for turning faith into a rich infallible experience.

Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it.

If I had no sense of humor I would long ago have committed suicide.

A vow is a purely religious act which cannot be taken in a fit of passion. It can be taken only with a mind purified and composed and with God as witness.

An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.

I believe that a man is the strongest soldier for daring to die unarmed.

Non-violence is the article of faith.

The moment there is suspicion about a person's motives, everything he does becomes tainted.

The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problem.

Action expresses priorities.

A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.

Religion is a matter of the heart. No physical inconvenience can warrant abandonment of one's own religion.

That service is the noblest which is rendered for its own sake.

To deprive a man of his natural liberty and to deny to him the ordinary amenities of life is worse then starving the body, it is starvation of the soul the dweller in the body.

What is true of the individual will be tomorrow true of the whole nation, if individuals will but refuse to lose heart and hope.

There is more to life than increasing its speed.

Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening.

A man who was completely innocent offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.

Anger is the enemy of non-violence and pride is a monster that swallows it up.

For me every ruler is alien that defies public opinion.

Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.

Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.

Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.

Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.

Capital as such is not evil, it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed.

Truth stands even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.

Non-violence requires a double faith faith in God and also faith in man.

I have worshipped woman as the living embodiment of the spirit of service and sacrifice.

The real ornament of woman is her character, her purity.

Culture of the mind must be subservient to the heart.

Prayer is not an old woman's idle amusement. Properly understood and applied it is the most potent instrument of action.

Providence has its appointed hour for everything. We cannot command results, we can only strive.

Man should forget his anger before he lies down to sleep.

There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.

To believe in something and not to live it is dishonest.

Violent means will give violent freedom. That would be a menace to the world and to India herself.

As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, keep it.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.

To lose patience is to lose the battle.

Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong.

Those who cannot renounce attachment to the results of their work are far from the path.

Truth is by nature self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear.

Self-respect knows no considerations.

In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.

All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth.

The essence of all religions is one. Only their approaches are different.

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism, or the holy name of liberty or democracy?

I object to violence because when it appears to do good the good is only temporary, the evil it does is permanent.

God sometimes does try to the uttermost those whom he wishes to bless.

We do not need to proselytise, either by our speech or by our writing. We can only do so really with our lives. Let our lives be open books for all to study.

It is the quality of our work which will please God and not the quantity.

Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.

Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.

There are people in the world so hungry that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.

Before the throne of the Almighty man will be judged not by his acts but by his intentions. For God alone reads our hearts.

I will far rather see the race of man extinct, than that we should become less than beasts by making the noblest of God's creation, woman, the object of our lust.

I have also seen children successfully surmounting the effects of an evil inheritance. That is due to purity being an inherent attribute of the soul.

It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow beings.

Though we may know Him by a thousand names, He is one and the same to us all.

It is better to be violent if there is violence in our hearts than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence.

It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.

If patience is worth anything it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm.

There is nothing that wastes the body like worry and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.

Let us all be brave enough to die the death of a martyr, but let no one lust for martyrdom.

If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.

Morality is the basis of things and truth is the substance of all morality.

A religion that takes no account of practical affairs and does not help to solve them is no religion.

Is it not enough to know the evil to shun it? If not, we should be sincere enough to admit that we love evil too well to give it up.

It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.

What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.

Every formula of every religion has in this age of reason to submit to the acid test of reason and universal assent.

I reject any religious doctrine that does not appeal to reason and is in conflict with morality.

Measures must always in a progressive society be held superior to men who are, after all, imperfect instruments working for their fulfillment.

A weak man is just by accident. A strong but non-violent man is unjust by accident.

Are creeds such simple things like the clothes which a man can change at will and put on at will? Creeds are such for which people live for ages and ages.

I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won't presume to probe into the faults of others.

I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps.

Let everyone try and find that as a result of daily prayer he adds something new to his life, something with which nothing can be compared.

I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the present. God has given me no control over the moment following.

Morality which depends upon the helplessness of a man or woman has not much to recommend it. Morality is rooted in the purity of our hearts.

If co-operation is a duty, I hold that non-co-operation also under certain conditions is equally a duty.

I do all the evil I can before I learn to shun it? Is it not enough to know the evil to shun it? If not, we should be sincere enough to admit that we love evil too well to give it up.

We may have our private opinions, but why should they be a bar to the meeting of hearts?

We win justice quickest by rendering justice to the other party.

Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err.

A policy is a temporary creed liable to be changed, but while it holds good it has got to be pursued with apostolic zeal.

The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still, small voice of conscience.

Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good.

Nonviolence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed.

We may never be strong enough to be entirely nonviolent in thought, word and deed. But we must keep nonviolence as our goal and make strong progress towards it.

Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession.

The law of sacrifice is uniform throughout the world. To be effective it demands the sacrifice of the bravest and the most spotless.

Just as a man would not cherish living in a body other than his own, so do nations not like to live under other nations, however noble and great the latter may be.

Rights that do not flow from duty well performed are not worth having.

Interdependence is, and ought to be, as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being.

I know to banish anger altogether from one's breast is a difficult task. It cannot be achieved through pure personal effort. It can be done only by God's grace.

The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

Prayer is a confession of one's own unworthiness and weakness.

Intolerance betrays want of faith in one's cause.

Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest.

Non-violence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart and it must be an inseparable part of our being.

Man lives freely only by his readiness to die, if need be, at the hands of his brother, never by killing him.

Man falls from the pursuit of the ideal of plan living and high thinking the moment he wants to multiply his daily wants. Man's happiness really lies in contentment.

When restraint and courtesy are added to strength, the latter becomes irresistible.

Religion is more than life. Remember that his own religion is the truest to every man even if it stands low in the scales of philosophical comparison.

There is no principle worth the name if it is not wholly good.

A principle is the expression of perfection and as imperfect beings like us cannot practice perfection, we devise every moment limits of its compromise in practice.

God as Truth has been for me a treasure beyond price. May He be so to every one of us.

Commonsense is the realised sense of proportion.

Non-violence, which is the quality of the heart, cannot come by an appeal to the brain.