Mahatma Gandhi Quotes

It is derogatory to the dignity of mankind, it is derogatory to the dignity of India, to entertain for one single moment hatred towards Englishmen.

To die in the act of killing is, in essence, to die defeated.

I have repeatedly stated that satyagraha never fails and that one perfect satyagrahi is enough to vindicate Truth.

All religions were, at bottom, one, though they differed in detail and outward form like the leaves on a tree.

I would far rather that India perished than that she won Her freedom at the sacrifice of truth.

Democracy is an impossible thing until the power is shared by all, but let not democracy degenerate into mobocracy.

... man was not born a carnivorous animal, but born to live on the fruits and herbs that the earth grows. I know we must all err. I would give up milk if I could, but I cannot. I have made that experiment times without number. I could not, after a serious illness, regain my strength, unless I went back to milk. That has been the tragedy of my life. But the basis of my vegetarianism is not physical, but moral. If anybody said that I should die if I did not take beef tea or mutton, even on medical advice, I would prefer death. That is the basis of my vegetarianism.

Khadi work without the mastery of the science of khadi will be love's labour lost in terms of Swaraj.

Simplicity is the essence of universality.

You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results.

Hinduism has made marvelous discoveries in things of religion, of the spirit, of the soul. We have no eye for these great and fine discoveries. We are dazzled by the material progress that Western science has made. Ancient India has survived because Hinduism was not developed along material but spiritual lines.

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

It is difficult, but not impossible, to conduct strictly honest business.

Violent means will give violent freedom.

Khaddar delivers the poor from the bonds of the rich and creates a moral and spiritual bond between the classes and the masses.

Every labourer is worthy of his hire. No country can produce thousands of unpaid whole-time workers.

The real love is to love them that hate you, to love your neighbor even though you distrust him.

Education in the understanding of citizenship is a short-term affair if we are honest and earnest.

I may not unnerve myself while I can struggle against evil.

I would like to bury myself in an Indian village, preferably in a Frontier village.

It dawned upon me that fasting could be made as powerful a weapon of indulgence as of restraint

Nonviolence does not admit of running away from danger... . Between violence and cowardly flight I can only prefer violence to cowardice.

A satyagrahi loves his so-called enemy even as he loves his friend. He has no enemy.

A rose will smell as sweet by any other name, but it must be the rose of liberty that I want and not the artificial product.

That parrot's non-co-operation with the cage, with its master, will live for ever because it looks upon renunciation, non-co-operation, as a joy.

I can not give you the reference of Ram Chandar or Krishna, because they were not historical figures. I can not help it but to present to you the names of (Hazrat) Abu Bakar (RA) and (Hazrat) Umar Farooq (RA). They were leaders of a vast Empire, yet they lived a life of austerity.

I understood . . . that those who desired salvation should act like the trustee who, though having control over great possessions, regards not an iota of them as his own.

Literacy is not the end of education nor even the beginning.

Disobedience to be civil has to be open and nonviolent.

The goal ever recedes from us. The greater the progress the greater the recognition of our unworthiness. Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.

No confirmed satyagrahi is dismayed by dangers, seen or unseen, from his opponent's side.

My nationalism, fierce though it is, is not exclusive, is not devised to harm any nation or individual.

Shraddha means self-confidence and self-confidence means faith in God.

My religion teaches me to love all equally.

Few men are wantonly wicked.

Unexampled bravery, born of nonviolence, coupled with strict honesty shown by a fair number of Muslims, is sure to infect the whole of India.

Every moment of my life I realize that God is putting me on my trial.

So far as I can see the atomic bomb has deadened the finest feeling that has sustained mankind for ages.

That atomic energy though harnessed by American scientists and army men for destructive purposes may be utilised by other scientists for humanitarian purposes is undoubtedly within the realm of possibility. ... An incendiary uses fire for his destructive and nefarious purpose, a housewife makes daily use of it in preparing nourishing food for mankind.

I do feel that spiritual progress does demand at some stage that we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants.

Healthy discontent is the prelude to progress.

In the midst of darkness, light persists.

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

See the good in people and help them.

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.

Even Ramanama is by itself lifeless, but it has become a living symbol of the deity because millions of people have consecrated it.

Khaddar is an activity that can absorb all the time of all available men and women and grown-up children, if they have faith.

My fast is, among other things, meant to qualify me for achieving that equal and selfless love.