The Words of Gandhi
In 2015 I read an anthology of the writings of Mahatma Gandhi (this particular edition was edited by Louis Fischer, and I highly recommend it. You can purchase it here. All page numbers noted below are from this compilation.).
I closed the pages of this book with renewed dedication to justice and the work of God. What struck me most about Gandhi's teachings was his dedication to "peace at any price save that of truth" (234). Since reading The Essential Gandhi, I've found myself focusing daily on the importance of truth and how that importance should guide my actions.
Because of the political climate this election year brings, I can't help but look at how the wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi informs present social issues. Many current movements hinge on the philosophies of Gandhi and another revolutionary you may have heard of, Martin Luther King Jr, making now an excellent time to review what made the mahatma great.
As I was reading I kept finding quotes that I loved so much I wanted to frame. It became clear very soon, however, that if I framed all of the good Gandhi quotes there wouldn't be a scrap of visible wallpaper left in my apartment by the time I finished. So, I'm sharing them with all of you via blog post.
I'll highlight elements that clearly influenced leaders like MLK and Bernie Sanders (just sayin', most of this will sound very familiar to anyone following Sanders' campaign) in bold. I think it's fun to see how Gandhi directly influenced in the 20th century, and influences in the 21st, political rhetoric-- especially in the cases where we have still, after nearly 100 years, failed to live up to Gandhi's dream of a better world.
The quotes (since there are many) are divided by category of teaching
Without further ado, here are my favorite Gandhi quotes!
"Let good news as well as bad pass over you like water of over a duck's back. When we hear any, our duty is merely to find out whether any action is necessary, and if it is, to do as an instrument in the hands of Nature without being affected by or attached to the result..." (Young India, November 17, 1921)
"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? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away." (Letter to an English Friend Muriel Lester, 1932)
"Do not undertake anything beyond your capacity and at the same time to 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." (Letter to Narandas Gandhi, 1947)
"It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow beings." (pg.39)
"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." (Young India, December 26, 1924)
"Let us... honor our opponents for the same honesty of purpose and patriotic motive that we claim for ourselves. ... I believe in trusting. Trust begets trust." (Young India, June 4, 1925)
"Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow men." (Ethical Religion, p.68)
"...Individuality... lies at the root of all progress." (Letter to a friend, 1932)
"Whenever I see an erring man, I say to myself I have also erred, when I see a lustful man I say to myself so was I once, and in this way I feel a kinship with everyone in the world and feel that I cannot be happy without the humblest of us being happy." (274)
"...It is quite proper to resist and attack a system, but to resist and attack its author is tantamount to resisting and attacking one-self. For we are all tarred with the same brush and are children of one and the same Creator, and as such the divine powers within us are infinite. To slight a single human being is to slight those divine powers and thus to harm not only that being, but with him, the whole world." (from Experiments, Part V, Chapter 25, p. 366)
"... This mad rush for wealth must cease, and the laborer must be assured not only of a living wage but of a daily task that is not a mere drudgery." (Young India, November 13, 1924)
"Claiming the right of free opinion and free action as we do, we must extend the same to others." (Young India, March 30, 1921)
"No special legislation without a change of heart can possibly bring about organic unity. And when there is a change of heart, no such legislation can possibly be necessary... Even a most autocratic Government will find itself unable to impose a reform which its people cannot assimilate." (Young India,1927)
"Even though I have to face the prospect of being a minority of one, I humbly believe I have the courage to be in such a hopeless minority." (Young India, March 2, 1922)
"'I am alone, how can I reach seven hundred thousand [Indian] villages?' This is the argument pride whispers to us. Start with the faith that if you fix yourself up in one single village and succeed, the rest will follow..." (204)
"A devotee of Truth may not do anything in deference to convention. He must always hold himself open to correction, and whenever he discovers himself to be wrong, he must confess it at all costs and atone for it." (The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Part IV, Chapter 39, pg. 293)
"We have a rare opportunity of learning the virtue of patience in prison life." (Letter to Mira Behn, 1932)
I closed the pages of this book with renewed dedication to justice and the work of God. What struck me most about Gandhi's teachings was his dedication to "peace at any price save that of truth" (234). Since reading The Essential Gandhi, I've found myself focusing daily on the importance of truth and how that importance should guide my actions.
Because of the political climate this election year brings, I can't help but look at how the wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi informs present social issues. Many current movements hinge on the philosophies of Gandhi and another revolutionary you may have heard of, Martin Luther King Jr, making now an excellent time to review what made the mahatma great.
As I was reading I kept finding quotes that I loved so much I wanted to frame. It became clear very soon, however, that if I framed all of the good Gandhi quotes there wouldn't be a scrap of visible wallpaper left in my apartment by the time I finished. So, I'm sharing them with all of you via blog post.
I'll highlight elements that clearly influenced leaders like MLK and Bernie Sanders (just sayin', most of this will sound very familiar to anyone following Sanders' campaign) in bold. I think it's fun to see how Gandhi directly influenced in the 20th century, and influences in the 21st, political rhetoric-- especially in the cases where we have still, after nearly 100 years, failed to live up to Gandhi's dream of a better world.
The quotes (since there are many) are divided by category of teaching
- Improving the Self
- Non-violence
- Politics
- Equality
- Religion
- Change
- Prison
- Death
Without further ado, here are my favorite Gandhi quotes!
Improving the Self
"Let good news as well as bad pass over you like water of over a duck's back. When we hear any, our duty is merely to find out whether any action is necessary, and if it is, to do as an instrument in the hands of Nature without being affected by or attached to the result..." (Young India, November 17, 1921)
"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? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away." (Letter to an English Friend Muriel Lester, 1932)
"Do not undertake anything beyond your capacity and at the same time to 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." (Letter to Narandas Gandhi, 1947)
"It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow beings." (pg.39)
"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." (Young India, December 26, 1924)
"Let us... honor our opponents for the same honesty of purpose and patriotic motive that we claim for ourselves. ... I believe in trusting. Trust begets trust." (Young India, June 4, 1925)
"Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow men." (Ethical Religion, p.68)
"...Individuality... lies at the root of all progress." (Letter to a friend, 1932)
"Whenever I see an erring man, I say to myself I have also erred, when I see a lustful man I say to myself so was I once, and in this way I feel a kinship with everyone in the world and feel that I cannot be happy without the humblest of us being happy." (274)
Non-Violence
"Is man divine or brutish, when, for the sake of a strip of land, he makes himself responsible for the loss of precious lives?"(pg.70)
"Brute force will avail against brute force only when it is proved that darkness can dispel darkness." (cited Indian Opinion, July 12, 1913)
"I do believe that where there is a choice only between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence. Hence it was that I took part in the Boer War... and [World War II]. Hence also do I advocate training in arms for those who believe in the method of violence. I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honor than that she should in a cowardly manner become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonor.
"But I believe non-violence is infinitely superior to violence, forgiveness is more manly than punishment... But... forgiveness only when there is the power to punish... A mouse hardly forgives a cat when it allows itself to be torn to pieces by her." (pg. 137)
"He alone is truly non-violent who remains nonviolent even though he has the ability to strike." (Young India, May 20, 1925)
"...I can conceive occasions when it would be my duty to vote for the military training of those who wish to take it. For I know [everyone] does not believe in non-violence to the extent I do. It is not possible to make a person or a society non-violent by compulsion." (pg. 180)
"Differences of opinion should never mean hostility. ...as I am a follower of the Gita I have always attempted to regard those who differ from me with the same affection as I have for my nearest and dearest." (Young India, March, 1927)
"I see neither bravery nor sacrifice in destroying life or property for offence or defence. I would far rather leave, if I must, my crops and homestead for the enemy to use than destroy them for the sake of preventing their use by him. There is reason, sacrifice and even bravery in so leaving my [property] if I do so not out of fear, but because I refuse to regard someone as my enemy." (Harijan, March 22, 1942)
Politics
"A semi-starved nation can have neither religion nor art nor organization." (Young India, February 17, 1927)
"...It is quite proper to resist and attack a system, but to resist and attack its author is tantamount to resisting and attacking one-self. For we are all tarred with the same brush and are children of one and the same Creator, and as such the divine powers within us are infinite. To slight a single human being is to slight those divine powers and thus to harm not only that being, but with him, the whole world." (from Experiments, Part V, Chapter 25, p. 366)
"I don't pretend to lead or have any party, if only for the reason that I seem to be constantly changing and shifting my ground. ...I must respond to varying conditions and yet remain changeless within." (Young India, August 20, 1925)
"... This mad rush for wealth must cease, and the laborer must be assured not only of a living wage but of a daily task that is not a mere drudgery." (Young India, November 13, 1924)
"Claiming the right of free opinion and free action as we do, we must extend the same to others." (Young India, March 30, 1921)
"No special legislation without a change of heart can possibly bring about organic unity. And when there is a change of heart, no such legislation can possibly be necessary... Even a most autocratic Government will find itself unable to impose a reform which its people cannot assimilate." (Young India,1927)
"There is no reason to believe there is one law for families and another for nations." (cited Hind Swaraj, Chapter 8, pp.56-57)
"...Physical force is wrongly considered to be used to protect the weak. As a matter of fact, it still further weakens the weak, it makes the dependent upon their so-called defenders or protectors..." (Indian Opinion, January 5, 1910)
"I have always hesitated to advise anything I may not myself be prepared to follow." (Young India, September 29, 1921)
"To be loyal to an organization must not mean subordination of one's settled convictions. Parties may fall and parties may rise; if we are to attain freedom our deep convictions must remain unaffected by such passing changes." (Young India, December 8, 1921)
"We want freedom for our country but not at the expense or exploitation of others, not so as to degrade other countries." (169)
"It is not nationalism that is evil, it is the narrowness, selfishness, exclusiveness which is the bane of modern nations which is evil. Each wants to profit at the expense of and rise on the ruin of the other." (170)
In response to the phrase 'the means justify the ends', "As the means, so the end. There is no wall of separation between means and end... If we take care of the means we are bound to reach the end sooner or later..." (173)
Equality
"My work will be finished if I succeed in carrying conviction to the human family that every man or woman, however weak in body, is the guardian of his or her self-respect and liberty." (274)
Referring to the Caste system in practice in India (underline added for emphasis), "It is a sin to believe anyone else is inferior or superior to ourselves. We are all equal. It is the touch of sin that pollutes us and never that of a human being. None are high and none are low for one who would devote his life to service." (Yeravda [British] Prison, August 14, 1932, in The Diary of Mahadev Desai)
"Why is there all this morbid anxiety about female purity? Have women any say in the matter of male purity? We hear nothing of women's anxiety about men's chastity. Why should men arrogate to themselves the right to regulate female purity? It cannot be superimposed from without. It is a matter of evolution from within and therefore of individual self-effort." (Young India, November 25, 1926)
"Every man has an equal right to the necessaries of life even as birds and beasts have..." (Young India, March 26, 1931)
"I cannot picture to myself a time when no man shall be richer than another. But I do picture to myself a time when the rich will spurn to enrich themselves at the expense of the poor and the poor will cease to envy the rich." (Young India, October 7, 1926)
"A civilization is to be judged by its treatment of minorities." (280)
Religion
"Our innermost prayer should be that a Hindu should be a better Hindu, a Moslem a better Moslem and a Christian a better Christian. ... I broaden my Hinduism by loving other religions as my own..." (Young India, January 19, 1928)
"My effort should never be to undermine another's faith but to make him a better follower of his one faith. " (184)
"Mine is not an exclusive love. I cannot love Moslems or Hindus and hate Englishmen. For if I love merely Hindus and Moslems because their ways are on the whole pleasing to me, I shall soon begin to hate them when their ways displease me, as they may well do any moment. A love that is based on the goodness of those whom you love is a mercenary affair..." (Young India, August 6, 1925)
"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 else's freedom of conscience..." (Young India, September 23, 1926)
"True morality consists not in following the beaten track but in finding out the true path for ourselves and fearlessly following it." (Ethical Religion, Chapter 2, p. 38)
"There is no such thing as religion overriding morality. Man, for instance, cannot be untruthful, cruel and incontinent and claim to have God on his side." (Young India, November 24, 1921)
"I do not believe the spiritual law works on a field of its own. On the contrary, it expresses itself only through the ordinary activities of life. It thus affects the economic, the social and the political fields." (Young India, September 3, 1935)
"Patience with evil is really trifling with evil and with ourselves..." (Young India, October 20, 1927)
"God is love, not hate." (Congress Party Presidential Address, 1924)
"It is a tragedy that religion for us means today nothing more than restrictions on food and drink; nothing more than adherence to a sense of superiority and inferiority... Birth and observance of forms cannot determine one's superiority and inferiority. Character is the only determining factor." (Speech to a women's meeting, Harijan tour, August, 1934)
"I do not believe that an individual may gain spiritually and those who surround him suffer. ... I believe in the essential unity of man and... of all that lives. Therefore, I believe that if one man gains... the whole world gains with him, and if one man fall, the whole world falls to that extent. I do not help opponents without at the same time helping myself and my co-workers..." (Young India, December 4, 1924)
"No action which is not voluntary can be called moral. So long as we act like machines there can be no question of morality." (Letter to a friend, 1932)
"I trust men only because I trust God." (Young India, December 4, 1924)
Change
"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." (Young India, September 20, 1928)"Even though I have to face the prospect of being a minority of one, I humbly believe I have the courage to be in such a hopeless minority." (Young India, March 2, 1922)
"'I am alone, how can I reach seven hundred thousand [Indian] villages?' This is the argument pride whispers to us. Start with the faith that if you fix yourself up in one single village and succeed, the rest will follow..." (204)
"A devotee of Truth may not do anything in deference to convention. He must always hold himself open to correction, and whenever he discovers himself to be wrong, he must confess it at all costs and atone for it." (The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Part IV, Chapter 39, pg. 293)
Prison: Gandhi spent over 2,200 days in prisons in South Africa and India
"A prison should be a house of correction and not punishment. [Why] should a forger have fetters on his legs in prison? The fetters will not improve his character." (Diary entry June 17, 1932)
Death
"No one can escape death. Then why be afraid of it? In fact, death is a friend who brings deliverance from suffering." (318)
"People die only to be born again. Sorrow therefore is entirely uncalled for." (Letter to a friend, March, 1932)
"It is better to leave a body one has outgrown. To wish to see dearest ones as long as possible in the flesh is a selfish desire." (Letter to Mira Behn, 1931)
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