WIST Quotations

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The only tyrant I accept in this world is the ‘still small voice’ within me.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Fear has its use but cowardice has none.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

I have learnt through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmuted into energy, even so our anger controlled can be transmuted into a power which can move the world.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

We must become the change we want to see.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Variants:

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

Almost always attributed to Gandhi, but not found in any of his published works. More discussion here.

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Human life is a series of compromises and it is not always easy to achieve in practice what one has found to be true in theory.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

My non-violence does not admit of running away from danger and leaving dear ones unprotected. Between violence and cowardly flight, I can only prefer violence to cowardice. I can no more preach non-violence to a coward than I can tempt a blind man to enjoy healthy scenes. … Nonviolence is infinitely superior to violence. But the message of nonviolence is for those who know how to die, not for those who are afraid of death. If one has not that courage, I want him to cultivate the art of killing and being killed, rather than in a cowardly manner to flee from danger.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

A “no” uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a “yes” merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 12 May 2004 19:29:56 +0000

You must watch my life, how I live, eat, sit, talk, behave in general. The sum total of all those in me is my religion.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 30 Jun 2004 19:43:01 +0000

I have only three enemies. My favorite enemy, the one most easily influenced for the better, is the British Empire. My second enemy, the Indian people, is far more difficult. But my most formidable opponent is a man named Mohandas K. Gandhi. With him I seem to have very little influence.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:14:21 +0000

The best politics is right action.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:26:38 +0000

You should be pioneers in presenting a living faith to the world, and not the dry bones of a traditional faith which the world will not grasp.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

In Mahadev Desai, With Gandhiji in Ceylon (1928)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 14:27:00 +0000

Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words.
Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior.
Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits.
Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values.
Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)

Never specifically cited, and attributed with variations in the language. Also attributed as a Chinese or Buddhist proverb.

Gandhi, Mohandas -- An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1.6 (1929) [tr. Desai (1940)]

Dave — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:28:46 +0000

He who would be friends with God must remain alone or make the whole world his friend.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1.6 (1929) [tr. Desai (1940)]

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Autobiography : The Story of My Experiments with Truth>, ch. 24 (1927)

Dave — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 19:14:04 +0000

Civility does not here mean the mere outward gentleness of speech cultivated for the occasion, but an inborn gentleness and desire to do the opponent good.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Autobiography : The Story of My Experiments with Truth>, ch. 24 (1927)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Ethical Religion, ch. 2 (1930)

Dave — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 12:41:53 +0000

True morality consists not in following the beaten track, but in finding out the true path for ourselves and fearlessly following it.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Ethical Religion, ch. 2 (1930)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Harijan (2 Feb 1934)

Dave — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:55:29 +0000

We are all children of one and the same God and, therefore, absolutely equal.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Harijan (2 Feb 1934)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Harijan (28 Jul. 1940)

Dave — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:59:51 +0000

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

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Harijan (28 Jul. 1940)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Harijan (29 Aug 1936)

Dave — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:28:04 +0000

If I could persuade myself that I should find Him in a Himalayan cave, I would proceed there immediately. But I know that I cannot find Him apart from humanity.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Harijan (29 Aug 1936)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Harijan (29 Mar 1935)

Dave — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:31:41 +0000

I love those who never preach but live the life according to their lights. Their lives are silent, yet most effective, testimonies. Therefore I cannot say what to preach, but I can say that a life of service and uttermost simplicity is the best preaching. A rose does not need to preach. It simply spreads its fragrance. The fragrance is its own sermon. If it had human understanding and if it could engage a number of preachers, the preachers would not be able to sell more rose than the fragrance itself could do. The fragrance of religious and spiritual life is much finer and subtler than that of the rose.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Harijan (29 Mar 1935)

Full text.

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Harijan (6-Jul-1947)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Harijan (6-Jul-1947)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Last Phase, Vol. II (written 1948, published 1958)

Dave — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:01:38 +0000

I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Last Phase, Vol. II (written 1948, published 1958)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- M. K. Gandhi: Speeches and Writings (1918)

Dave — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:38:02 +0000

All progress is gained through mistakes and their rectification. No good comes fully fashoned, out of God’s hand, but has to be carved out through repeated experiments and repeated failures by ourselves. This is the law of individual growth. The same law controls social and political evolution also. The right to err, which means the freedom to try experiments, is the universal condition of all progress.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
M. K. Gandhi: Speeches and Writings (1918)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Non-Violence in Peace and War, Vol. 2 (1949)

Dave — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 16:31:15 +0000

Truth never damages a cause that is just.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Non-Violence in Peace and War, Vol. 2 (1949)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism, Speech to the London Vegetarian Society (20 Nov. 1931)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

It ill becomes us to invoke in our daily prayers the blessings of God, the Compassionate, if we in turn will not practice elementary compassion towards our fellow creatures.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism, Speech to the London Vegetarian Society (20 Nov. 1931)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Young India (10 Nov. 1928)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

He who cannot protect himself or his nearest and dearest or their honor by non-violently facing death, may and ought to do so by violently dealing with the oppressor. He who can do neither of the two is a burden.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Young India (10 Nov. 1928)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Young India (20 Oct 1927)

Dave — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:45:05 +0000

Faith does not admit of telling. It has to be lived and then it becomes self-propagating.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Young India (20 Oct 1927)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Young India (23 Sep 1926)

Dave — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:24:42 +0000

The golden rule of conduct, therefore, is mutual toleration, seeing that we will never all think alike and we shall see Truth in fragment and from different angles of vision. Conscience is not the same thing for all. Whilst, therefore, it is a good guide for individual conduct, imposition of that conduct upon all will be an insufferable interference with everybody’s freedom of conscience.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Young India (23 Sep 1926)

Full text.

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Young India (4 Aug 1920)

Dave — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:58:36 +0000

The still small voice within you must always be the final arbiter when there is a conflict of duty.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Young India (4 Aug 1920)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Young India (4 Aug. 1920)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Young India (4 Aug. 1920)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Young India (Bulletin) (2 Oct 1930)

Dave — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:08:31 +0000

Even as a tree has a single trunk but many branches and leaves, there is one religion —- human religion -— but any number of faiths.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Young India (Bulletin) (2 Oct 1930)

Some versions omit "-- human religion --". Full text.

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Attributed

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

First, they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Attributed

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Bombay Provincial Cooperative Conference (17 Sep 1917)

Dave — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 17:02:57 +0000

As in law so in war, the longest purse finally wins.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Bombay Provincial Cooperative Conference (17 Sep 1917)

See also Taft, DeFoe.

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Harijan (1 Jun 1947)

Dave — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:10:46 +0000

There can be no rule of God in the present state of iniquitous inequalities in which a few roll in riches and the masses do not get enough to eat.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Harijan (1 Jun 1947)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Harijan (11 May 1947)

Dave — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 13:05:34 +0000

The essence of true religious teaching is that one should serve and befriend all. … It is easy enough to be friendly with 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.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Harijan (11 May 1947)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Harijan (19 Nov 1938)

Dave — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:30:32 +0000

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

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Harijan (19 Nov 1938)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Harijan (2 Mar 1940)

Dave — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 14:43:20 +0000

Let no one say that he is a follower of Gandhi. It is enough that I should be my own follower. I know what an inadequate follower I am of myself, for I cannot live up to the convictions I stand for. You are no followers, but fellow students, fellow pilgrims, fellow seekers, fellow workers.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Harijan (2 Mar 1940)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Harijan (30 Sep 1939)

Dave — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:35:45 +0000

At the time of writing I never think of what I have said before. My aim is not to be consistent with my previous statements on a given question, but to be consistent with truth as it may present itself to me [at the] given moment. The result has been that I have grown from truth to truth.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Harijan (30 Sep 1939)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Harijan (6 Feb 1939)

Dave — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 17:04:11 +0000

If one takes care of the means, the end will take care of itself.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Harijan (6 Feb 1939)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Harijan (7 Apr 1946)

Dave — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 12:17:24 +0000

Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Harijan (7 Apr 1946)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Young India (11 Aug 1920)

Dave — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 16:24:56 +0000

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Young India (11 Aug 1920)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Young India (12 May 1920)

Dave — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 20:15:29 +0000

If I seem to take part in politics, it is only because politics encircle us today like the coil of a snake from which one cannot get out, no matter how much one tries. I wish therefore to wrestle with the snake.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Young India (12 May 1920)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Young India (13 Jan 1927)

Dave — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:28:19 +0000

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

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Young India (13 Jan 1927)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Young India (13 Oct 1921)

Dave — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:57:30 +0000

Fearlessness is the first requisite of spirituality. Cowards can never be moral.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Young India (13 Oct 1921)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Young India (17 Jul 1924)

Dave — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 13:22:47 +0000

As the means, so the end.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Young India (17 Jul 1924)

Compare to this.

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Young India (17 Jun 1926)

Dave — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 15:20:46 +0000

Strength of numbers is the delight of the timid. The valiant in spirit glory in fighting alone.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Young India (17 Jun 1926)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Young India (18 Dec 1924)

Dave — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 04:28:54 +0000

Terrorism set up by reformers may be just as bad as Government terrorism and it is often worse because it draws a certain amount of false sympathy.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Young India (18 Dec 1924)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Young India (2 Feb 1921)

Dave — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:16:51 +0000

Intolerance betrays a want of faith in one’s own cause.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Young India (2 Feb 1921)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Young India (22 Sep 1920)

Dave — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 05:32:43 +0000

Terrorism and deception are weapons not of the strong but of the weak.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Young India (22 Sep 1920)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Young India (25 Jun 1925)

Dave — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 13:01:16 +0000

No sacrifice is worth the name unless it is a joy. Sacrifice and a long face go ill together.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Young India (25 Jun 1925)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Young India (26 Mar 1931)

Dave — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 13:18:04 +0000

No human being is so bad as to be beyond redemption.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Young India (26 Mar 1931)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- In Young India (9 Mar 1992)

Dave — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:56:16 +0000

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

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
In Young India (9 Mar 1992)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Letter (1947-08-29) to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur

Dave — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 01:20:06 +0000

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.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Letter (1947-08-29) to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur

Quoted in Louis Fischer, Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World, ch. 31 (1954)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Letter to Narandas Gandhi (10 Jul 1932)

Dave — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:19:28 +0000

Do not undertake anything beyond your capacity and at the same time do not harbor the wish to do less than you can. One who takes up tasks beyond his powers is proud and attached. On the other hand, one who does less than he can is a thief.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Letter to Narandas Gandhi (10 Jul 1932)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Press statement (5 Sep 1939)

Dave — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:40:51 +0000

I have become disconsolate. In the secret of my heart I am in perpetual quarrel with God that He should allow such things to go on. My non-violence seems almost impotent. But the answer comes at teh end of the daily quarrel that neither God nor non-violence is impotent. Impotence is in men. I must try on without losing faith even though I break in the attempt.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Press statement (5 Sep 1939)

On the impending war in Europe.

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Remark (1942)

Dave — Wed, 05 May 2010 15:00:31 +0000

I am very imperfect. Before you are gone you will have discovered a hundred of my faults, and if you don’t, I will help you to see them.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Remark (1942)

To Louis Fischer, The Life of Mahatma Gandhi, ch. 38 (1950)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Remark (Jul 1946)

Dave — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:44:54 +0000

A civilization is to be judged by its treatment of minorities.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Remark (Jul 1946)

In L. Fischer, The Life of Mahatma Gandhi, ch. 43 (1950)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Speech to students, Agra, in Young India (19 Sep 1929)

Dave — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 17:49:31 +0000

All of your scholarship, all your study of Shakespeare and Wordsworth would be vain if at the same time you did not build your character and attain mastery over your thoughts and your actions.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Speech to students, Agra, in Young India (19 Sep 1929)

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Speech, All-India Radio (1948-01-16)

Dave — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:15:02 +0000

Do not worry about what others are doing. Each of us should turn the searchlight inward and purify his or her own heart as much as possible.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Speech, All-India Radio (1948-01-16)

Two weeks before his death. In Louis Fischer, The Life of Mahatma Gandhi, Part 3, ch. 9 "The Last Fast" (1957).

Gandhi, Mohandas -- Statement at his sedition trial (1922-03-18)

Dave — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 23:23:04 +0000

In my humble opinion, noncooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good.

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Statement at his sedition trial (1922-03-18)

Following the riots in Chauri Chaura, India, on 5 February 1922, which killed 22 police officers, Gandhi was arrested for sedition for articles he'd written against the British government in India, in what is called the "Great Trial of 1922." After this statement he was sentenced to six years (serving two).

Gandhi had previously used the same phrase in "The Poet's Anxiety," Young India (1921-06-01), reprinted in Gandhi's Satyagraha, ch. 69 (1961).

(Note: searching out this quotation is complicated by the varied and evolving spellings of non-co-operation, non-cooperation, and noncooperation.)