“I felt that God could be realized only through service. And service for me was the service of India, because it came to me without my seeking, because I had an aptitude for it.”
―
Mahatma Gandhi
“The more efficient a force is, the more silent and the more subtle it is.”
―
Mahatma Gandhi
“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
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.”
―
Mahatma Gandhi
“The Gita has sung the praises of Knowledge, but it is beyond the mere intellect; it is essentially addressed to the heart and capable of being understood by the heart.”
―
Mahatma Gandhi
“for every Christian feels the same, however vaguely he may do so. Socialism, Communism, Anarchism' Salvation Armies, the growth of crime, freedom from toil, the increasingly absurd luxury of the rich and increased misery of the poor, the fearfully rising number of suicides-are all indications of that inner contradiction which must and will be resolved. And, of course, resolved in such a manner that the law of love will be recognized and all reliance on force abandoned.”
―
Mahatma Gandhi
“Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.”
―
Mahatma Gandhi
“I believe that our copying of the European dress is a sign of our degradation, humiliation and our weakness, and that we are committing a national sin in discarding a dress which is best suited to the Indian climate and which, for its simplicity, art and cheapness, is not to be beaten on the face of the earth and which answers hygienic requirements. Had it not been for a false pride and equally false notions of prestige, Englishmen here would long ago have adopted the Indian costume.”
―
Mahatma Gandhi
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
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Mahatma Gandhi
“Third-class passengers are treated like sheep and their comforts are sheep’s comforts.”
―
Mahatma Gandhi
“soulless soul-force and that its severe discipline has made it merely mechanical. I suppose both—the critics and I—are wrong. It is, at best, a humble attempt to place at the disposal of the nation a home where men and women may have scope for free and unfettered development of character, in keeping with the national genius, and, if its controllers do not take care, the discipline that is the foundation of character may frustrate the very end in view. I would venture, therefore, to warn enthusiasts in co-operation against entertaining false hopes. With Sir Daniel Hamilton it has become a religion. On the 13th January last, he addressed the students of the Scottish Churches College and, in order to point a moral, he instanced Scotland's poverty”
―
Mahatma Gandhi
“Toute ma vie, j'ai été habitué à ce que les autres se trompent sur mon compte. C'est le lot de tout homme public. Il lui faut une solide cuirasse; car s'il fallait donner des explications pour se justifier quand on se méprend sur vos intentions, la vie deviendrait insupportable. Je me suis fait une règle de ne jamais intervenir pour rectifier ce genre d'erreur, à moins que ne l'exige la cause que je défends. Ce principe m'a épargné bien du temps et bien des tracas.”
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Mahatma Gandhi
“Let it be granted, that according to the letter of the Gita it is possible to say that warfare is consistent with renunciation of fruit. But after forty years’ unremitting endeavour fully to enforce the teaching of the Gita in my own life, I have in all humility felt that perfect renunciation is impossible without perfect observance of ahimsa in every shape and form.”
―
Mahatma Gandhi