166 Mahatma Gandhi Quotes to Ignite Your Revolutionary Spirit Last updated on May 20, 2024
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (born 2 October 1869, Porbandar, Kathiawar Agency, British India – died 30 January 1948, New Delhi, Dominion of India), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian revolutionary, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule and later inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
Top 25 Most Famous Mahathma Gandhi Quotes Be the change that you wish to see in the world. Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. In a gentle way, you can shake the world. An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind. The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong. A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes. Hate the sin, love the sinner. Where there is love there is life.
An ounce of patience is worth more than a tonne of preaching. Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart. 18 Mahathma Gandhi Quotes That Will Instantly Lift You Up I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Glory lies in the attempt to reach one’s goal and not in reaching it. Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes. Nobody can hurt me without my permission.
The future depends on what you do today. I cannot conceive of a greater loss than the loss of one’s self-respect. God has no religion. A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave. I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet. See the good in people and help them. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed. The weak can never forgive, forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. It’s easy to stand in the crowd but it takes courage to stand alone. You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.
Fear has its use but cowardice has none. The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear. Live simply so that others may simply live. We need not wait to see what others do. You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results. In doing something, do it with love or never do it at all. Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it. My life is my message. They cannot take away our self-respect if we do not give it to them. I came alone in this world, I have walked alone in the valley of the shadow of death, and I shall quit alone when the time comes.
Man’s happiness really lies in contentment. He who is discontented, however much he possesses, becomes a slave to his desires. Without action, you aren’t going anywhere. Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Self-respect knows no considerations. There is more to life than increasing its speed. Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn. 18 Mahatma Gandhi Quotes About Freedom, Humanity, and Peace Freedom is never dear at any price. It is the breath of life. What would a man not pay for living? Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love.
To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves. 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. Where love is, there God is also. Service without humility is selfishness and egotism. 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. There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread. The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane. Truth, purity, self-control, firmness, fearlessness, humility, unity, peace, and renunciation - these are the inherent qualities of a civil resister. Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances. Find purpose. The means will follow.
There is no ‘way to peace’, there is only ‘peace’. I offer you peace. I offer you love. I offer you friendship. I see your beauty. I hear your need. I feel your feelings. I must reduce myself to zero. So long as a man does not of his own free will put himself last among his fellow creatures, there is no salvation for him. Truth without humility would be an arrogant caricature. 17 Mahatma Gandhi Quotes on Truth and Honesty I am a humble but very earnest seeker after truth. Permanent good can never be the outcome of untruth and violence. When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall – think of it, always. To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest. Truth is one, paths are many. When you are right, you have no need to be angry. When you are wrong, you have no right to be angry.
The seeker after truth should be humbler than the dust. Truth never damages a cause that is just. In judging myself I shall try to be as harsh as truth, as I want others also to be. "Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth. Truth alone will endure, all the rest will be swept away before the tide of time. Truth is my God. Non-violence is the means of realizing Him. Experience has taught me that silence is part of the spiritual discipline of a votary of truth. Morality is the basis of things and truth is the substance of all morality. My uniform experience has convinced me that there is no other God than Truth. Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.
Truth is by nature self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance, it shines clear. 13 Mahatma Gandhi Quotes About Non-violence The roots of violence: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, politics without principles. Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit. Anger is the enemy of nonviolence and pride is a monster that swallows it up. It’s my conviction that nothing enduring can be built on violence. Nonviolence requires a double faith, faith in God and also faith in man. The very first step in nonviolence is that we cultivate in our daily life, as between ourselves, truthfulness, humility, tolerance, loving kindness. Nonviolence is not to be used ever as the shield of the coward. It is the weapon of the brave. Poverty is the worst form of violence. Whatever the ultimate fate of my country, my love for you remains (to all Brits), and will remain, undiminished. My non-violence demands universal love, and you are not a small part of it. It is that love which has prompted my appeal to you.
Mahatma Gandhi Nonviolence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed. Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary. An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong. 25 Inspirational Mahatma Gandhi Quotes to Get You Through Life Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other is by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment. Carefully watch your thoughts, for they become your words. Manage and watch your words, for they will become your actions. Consider and judge your actions, for they become your habits. Acknowledge and watch your habits, for they shall become your values. Understand and embrace your values, for they become your destiny.
Mahatma Gandhi Infinite striving to be the best is man’s duty; it is its own reward. Everything else is in God’s hands. It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow beings. To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man’s injustice to woman. When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator. Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow men. A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble. Change yourself – you are in control. Love is the strongest force the world possesses. Increase of material comforts, it may be generally laid down, does not in any way whatsoever conduce to moral growth. Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening. I remain an optimist because of my unflinching faith that right must prosper in the end. Relationships are based on four principles – respect, understanding, acceptance, and appreciation. You yourself as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. You can’t change how people treat you or what they say about you. All you can do is change how you react to it. Silence is the best answer to anger. To lose patience is to lose the battle. It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. The good man is the friend of all living things. A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history. Our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world as being able to remake ourselves. Love never claims, it ever gives. Many people, especially ignorant people, want to punish you for speaking the truth, for being correct, for being you. 20 Motivational Mahatma Gandhi Quotes That Will Give You Courage Seek not greater wealth, but simpler pleasure; not higher fortune, but deeper felicity. It is the quality of our work which will please God and not the quantity. What barrier is there that love cannot break? Man should forget his anger before he lies down to sleep. The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within. I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill. The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members. My faith is brightest in the midst of impenetrable darkness. Doubt is invariably the result of want or weakness of faith. True beauty consists of purity of heart. Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into. That service is the noblest which is rendered for its own sake. Gentleness, self-sacrifice and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion. 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. The essence of all religions is one. Only their approaches are different. Imitation is the sincerest flattery. I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people. Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilisation. The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems. The real ornament of woman is her character, her purity. 30 Wise Mahatma Gandhi Quotes to Make You Think Speak only if it improves upon the silence. There are two days in the year that we can not do anything – yesterday and tomorrow. Everyone who wills can hear the inner voice. It is within everyone. A definite forgiveness would mean a definite recognition of our strength. The wise are unaffected either by death or life. These are but faces of the same coin. There is no need of a teacher for those who know how to think. The moment there is suspicion about a person’s motives, everything he does becomes tainted. The greater our innocence, the greater our strength and the swifter our victory. There is force in the universe, which, if we permit it, will flow through us and produce miraculous results. Faith… must be enforced by reason… when faith becomes blind it dies. Do not judge others. Be your own judge and you will be truly happy. If you will try to judge others, you are likely to burn your fingers. A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people. Before the throne of the Almighty, man will be judged not by his acts but by his intentions. For God alone reads our hearts. A man of few words will rarely be thoughtless in his speech; he will measure every word. Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacity. What is imprisonment to the man who is fearless of death itself? There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts. A man’s true wealth hereafter is the good he has done to his fellowmen. One, who abandons all desires, is free from pride and selfishness and behaves as one apart, finds peace. The rich cannot accumulate wealth without the co-operation of the poor in society. Close the day with prayer so that you may have a peaceful night free from dreams and nightmares. Prayer is a confession of one’s own unworthiness and weakness. Nothing has saddened me so much in life as the hardness of heart of educated people. Forgiveness is choosing to love. It is the first skill of self-giving love. In the dictionary of Satyagraha, there is no enemy. In reality there are as many religions as there are individuals. Machinery is the chief symbol of modern civilization; it represents a great sin. For one man cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in any other department. Life is one indivisible whole. Human nature will find itself only when it fully realizes that to be human it has to cease to be beastly or brutal. In the midst of death life persists.