“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi
This is a collection of my favorite Mohandas Gandhi quotes. When I think of Gandhi, I think of non-violence, compassion, conviction, truth, service and sacrifice.
He set the gold standard for leading with heart. Gandhi may not be with us in body, but he’s with us in spirit as his life was his message.
His words of wisdom continue to ring true …
Top 10 Mahatma Gandhi Quotes
- “Imitation is the sincerest flattery.” — Mahatma Gandhi
- “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi
- “I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.” — Mahatma Gandhi
- “In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.” — Mahatma Gandhi
- “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” — Mahatma Gandhi
- “My life is my message.” — Mahatma Gandhi
- “Nobody can hurt me without my permission.” — Mahatma Gandhi
- “Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.” — Mahatma Gandhi
- “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” — Mahatma Gandhi
- “Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.” — Mahatma Gandhi
Great Mahatma Gandhi Quotes on Action
“A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Action expresses priorities.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Action is no less necessary than thought to the instinctive tendencies of the human frame.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Glory lies in the attempt to reach one’s goal and not in reaching it.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problem.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“The moment there is suspicion about a person’s motives, everything he does becomes tainted.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Unwearied ceaseless effort is the price that must be paid for turning faith into a rich infallible experience.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Great Mahatma Gandhi Quotes on Anger
“Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Anger is the enemy of non-violence and pride is a monster that swallows it up.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Man should forget his anger before he lies down to sleep.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Great Mahatma Gandhi Quotes on Compassion, Love, and Heart
“A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Culture of the mind must be subservient to the heart.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Justice that love gives is a surrender, justice that law gives is a punishment.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
““The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“We may have our private opinions but why should they be a bar to the meeting of hearts?”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Where there is love there is life.“
— Mahatma Gandhi
Great Mahatma Gandhi Quotes on Conviction and Will
“A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Everyone who wills can hear the inner voice. It is within everyone.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“It is any day better to stand erect with a broken and bandaged head then to crawl on one’s belly, in order to be able to save one’s head.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is important that you do it.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of conscience.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Great Mahatma Gandhi Quotes on Flaws, Faults, and Errors
“An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.“
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“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.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won’t presume to probe into the faults of others.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Great Mahatma Gandhi Quotes on Fear
“Fear has its use but cowardice has none.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Fear of death makes us devoid both of valor and religion. For want of valor is want of religious faith.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Great Mahatma Gandhi Quotes on Freedom
“Freedom is never dear at any price. It is the breath of life. What would a man not pay for living?”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Great Mahatma Gandhi Quotes on Humanity and Goodness
“There is no principle worth the name if it is not wholly good.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“To deprive a man of his natural liberty and to deny to him the ordinary amenities of life is worse then starving the body; it is starvation of the soul, the dweller in the body.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“We win justice quickest by rendering justice to the other party.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“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
Great Mahatma Gandhi Quotes on Living
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“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.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide.
Imitation is the sincerest flattery. “
— Mahatma Gandhi
“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Man falls from the pursuit of the ideal of plan living and high thinking the moment he wants to multiply his daily wants. Man’s happiness really lies in contentment.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is important that you do it.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Providence has its appointed hour for everything. We cannot command results, we can only strive.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Purity of personal life is the one indispensable condition for building up a sound education.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Rights that do not flow from duty well performed are not worth having.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“The main purpose of life is to live rightly, think rightly, act rightly. The soul must languish when we give all our thought to the body.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Those who know how to think need no teachers.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“We do not need to proselytize either by our speech or by our writing. We can only do so really with our lives. Let our lives be open books for all to study.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Great Mahatma Gandhi Quotes on Peace, Gentleness, and Non-Violence
“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.“
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Gentleness, self-sacrifice and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Non-violence and truth are inseparable and presuppose one another.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Non-violence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our being.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Non-violence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Non-violence requires a double faith, faith in God and also faith in man.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Non-violence, which is the quality of the heart, cannot come by an appeal to the brain.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Peace is its own reward.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“We may never be strong enough to be entirely nonviolent in thought, word and deed. But we must keep nonviolence as our goal and make strong progress towards it. “
— Mahatma Gandhi
Great Mahatma Gandhi Quotes on Religion and Faith
“All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth.“
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Each one prays to God according to his own light.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Every formula of every religion has in this age of reason, to submit to the acid test of reason and universal assent.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Faith… must be enforced by reason… when faith becomes blind it dies.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“I believe in the fundamental truth of all great religions of the world.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“I reject any religious doctrine that does not appeal to reason and is in conflict with morality.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“It is easy enough to be friendly to 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.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“One’s own religion is after all a matter between oneself and one’s Maker and no one else’s.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Spiritual relationship is far more precious than physical. Physical relationship divorced from spiritual is body without soul.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“The essence of all religions is one. Only their approaches are different.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Great Mahatma Gandhi Quotes on Service
“Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“That service is the noblest which is rendered for its own sake.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Great Mahatma Gandhi Quotes on Truth
“Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and Non-violence are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as vast a scale as I could.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“The pursuit of truth does not permit violence on one’s opponent.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Truth is by nature self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Truth never damages a cause that is just.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“What is true of the individual will be tomorrow true of the whole nation if individuals will but refuse to lose heart and hope.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Please share your favorite insight, quote, or lesson from Gandhi.
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