October 2nd is Mohandas Gandhi’s Birthday, and to honor him, we share 41 quotes of wisdom from him.
Mohandas Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in India. As an adult he became a prominent leader in the Indian Independence Movement against British rule, advocating for nonviolent resistance. His major achievements include leading the Salt March in 1930, the Quit India Movement in 1942, and ultimately helping India gain independence on August 15, 1947.
Through all of his campaigns against the British, he showed his English oppressors the utmost kindness and civility. Despite his unwillingness to harm the British, he and his followers willingly endured violent beatings, broken bones, imprisonment, and even death without retaliating.
Born in 1896, Gandhi lived for 78 extraordinary years, until assassinated by Hindu Nationalists in 1948. They killed him for trying to foster peace and reconciliation between India’s Hindu majority and Muslim minority.
Gandhi’s commitment to truth, nonviolence, and the inherent value of all beings makes him a moral example worthy of following—and many have! His teachings heavily influenced social reformers such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, labor rights leader Cesar Chavez, and others.
Gandhi’s wisdom positively shaped these great leaders, so I know it can positively shape us too, which is why we have created this article of inspiring quotes by him.
Many of the quotes from Gandhi are taken from his book, A Thought for the Day, published in 1968 by the Patiala House in New Delhi, India.
Spirituality
“I strive hard to preserve my physical body. Do I take the same pains to know my soul?”
"The Kingdom of God is nonviolence."
"God has no religion."
"Noncooperation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation with good."
"To see the universal and all-pervading Spirit of Truth face to face one must be able to love the meanest of creation as oneself."
"Mute prayer is my greatest weapon."
Happiness
“True happiness does not come from obtaining what one likes. It comes from cultivating a liking for what one dislikes.”
“He who harps on his woes, multiplies them manifold”
“True happiness does not come from without; it comes only from within.”
When a reporter asked Gandhi to sum up his philosophy in three words, his reply was:
"Renounce and enjoy."
Service
“No man is worthless who lightens the burden of anyone else.”
“Selfless action is a source of strength, for such action is tantamount to the worship of God.”
"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed."
Animal Protection
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
"To my mind the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being. I should be unwilling to take the life of a lamb for the sake of the human body. I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to the protection by man from the cruelty of man."
Conflict and Challenges
"Whenever you are confronted with an opponent. Conquer him with love."
“Nobody progresses without opposition.”
“What matters it if you are rejected by man when God is there to keep you.”
"Nobody can hurt me without my permission."
"Suffering cheerfully endured, ceases to be suffering and is transmuted into an ineffable joy."
Faith
“Man can overcome mountains by faith.”
“He who has God on his side, has all.”
“He who fears, loses.”
Strength
“Physical weakness is not the real weakness. Weakness of the mind alone is the real weakness.”
“Evil thoughts are also a sign of illness. Let us, therefore, guard ourselves against evil thoughts.”
Persistence
“It is only when we put in sustained and determined effort that what is difficult becomes easy.”
“When we know that Death may snatch us away at anytime, what right have we to put off till tomorrow what we can do today?”
Patience
“‘The hasty are ruffled; the slow and steady have composure’—one sees the truth of it every moment.”
“Restlessness and impatience are two diseases and both shorten life.”
“Sweet are the fruits of patience.”
Truth
“God is truth.”
“Truth is God.”
“To believe in something, and not live it, is dishonest.”
Power
An hour before Gandhi was assassinated, a report asked him, “what's the greatest lesson you learned in life?” He answered, “Have nothing to do with power."
Humility
"Reduce yourself to zero."
Oneness
"We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him."
Non-violence
"Non-violence means avoiding injury to anything on earth in thought, word, and deed."
"Devotion to non-violence is the highest expression of humanity's conscious state."
"Non-violence is the greatest and most active force in the world."
"Non-violence in its dynamic condition means conscious suffering. It does not mean meek submission to the will of the evil-doer, but it means the pitting of one's whole soul against the will of the tyrant. Working under this law of our being, it is possible for a single individual to defy the whole might of an unjust empire to save his honour, his religion, his soul and lay the foundation for that empire's fall or its regeneration." (YI, 1-8-1920, p3)
"One person who can express non-violence in life exercises a force superior to all the forces of brutality put together."