Mahatma Gandhi inspired Martin Luther King Jr. and many others after him, having an impact well beyond his lifetime. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is coming soon. Let’s take a look at non-violence and the words of Gandhi, a man able to inspire so many to follow that course.
Left: Mahatma Gandhi (Wikimedia Commons) Right: Martin Luther King Jr. (Phil Stanziola, NYWT&S, Via Library of Congress)
1. “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
2. “You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.”
3. “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
4. “The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problem.”
5. “An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.”
6. “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.”
Copy of an image in ‘The Vegetarian,’ a London newspaper where Gandhi was referenced in an article in June 13, 1891. It was probably taken a week earlier when he was called to the bar at the age of 21. (Wikimedia Commons)
7. “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
8. “A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.”
9. “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
10. “First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win.”
11. “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”
12. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
13. “You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.”
14. “If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”
15. “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.”
16. “There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no causes that I am prepared to kill for.”
(Wikimedia Commons)
17. “Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one’s weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
18. “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
19. “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.”
20. “Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong.”
Gandhi as a youth in the Boer War. (Wikimedia Commons)
ALSO SEE: Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes: 33 Quotes on Education, Courage, Love, Racism, Violence, and Service
Friends Read Free