Quote collection
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"Don't talk about it. The rose doesn't have to propagate its perfume. It just gives it forth, and people are drawn to it. Live it, and people will come to see the source of your power."
"I shall die, but I will not kill."
"In fact, it is more correct to say that Truth is God, than to say that God is Truth."
"I came in contact with every known Indian anarchist in London. Their bravery impressed me, but I felt that their zeal was misguided. I felt that violence was no remedy for India's ills, and that her civilisation required the use of a different and higher weapon for self-protection. - Hind Swaraj"
"The devotion of such titans of spirit as Lenin to an Ideal must bear fruit. The nobility of his selflessness will be an example through centuries to come, and his Ideal will reach perfection."
"All have not the same capacity. I would allow a man of intellect to earn more, I would not cramp his talent."
"The only tyrant I accept in this world is the 'still small voice' within me. And 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."
"Faith alone is the sun of life."
"[He] alone is truly nonviolent who remains nonviolent even though he has the ability to strike."
"In the secret of my heart I am in perpetual quarrel with God that He should allow such things [as the war] to go on. My non-violence seems almost impotent. But the answer comes at the end of the daily quarrel that neither God nor non-violence is impotent. Impotence is in men. I must try on without losing faith even though I may break in the attempt."
"That which looks for mercy from an opponent is not non-violence."
"If we were to drive out the English with the weapons with which they enslaved us, our slavery would still be with us even when they have gone."
"It is the law of love that rules mankind."
"If I was to be their real teacher and guardian, I must touch their hearts, I must share their joys and sorrows, I must help them to solve the problems that faced them, and I must take along the right channel the surging aspirations of their youth."
"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."
"It was only in South Africa that I got over this shyness, though I never completely overcame it. It was impossible for me to speak impromptu. I hesitated whenever I had to face strange audiences and avoided making a speech whenever I could. Even today I do not think I could or would even be inclined to keep a meeting of friends engaged in idle talk."
"The story of the creation and similar things in it did not impress me very much, but on the contrary made me incline somewhat towards atheism."
"But the fact that I had learnt to be tolerant to other religions did not mean that I had any living faith in God."
"You can't hurt me without my permission."
"...service can have no meaning unless one takes pleasure in it. When it is done for show or for fear of public opinion, it stunts the man and crushes his spirit. Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served."