Mahatma Gandhi

Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it.

Nobody can hurt me without my permission.

Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.

If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide.

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.

All compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Any compromise on mere fundamentals is a surrender. For it is all give and no take.

Let us all be brave enough to die the death of a martyr, but let no one lust for martyrdom.

The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.

Anger is the enemy of non-violence and pride is a monster that swallows it up.

You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.

In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.

A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.

The essence of all religions is one. Only their approaches are different.

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.

We may stumble and fall but shall rise again; it should be enough if we did not run away from the battle.

Self-respect knows no considerations.

Jesus is ideal and wonderful, but you Christians - you are not like him.

Those who know how to think need no teachers.

Justice that love gives is a surrender, justice that law gives is a punishment.

Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession.

To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.

Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.

Fear has its use but cowardice has none.

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?

Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being.

The real ornament of woman is her character, her purity.

Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.

I wear the national dress because it is the most natural and the most becoming for an Indian.

The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within.

The spirit of democracy is not a mechanical thing to be adjusted by abolition of forms. It requires change of heart.

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.

Ours is one continued struggle against degradation sought to be inflicted upon us by the European, who desire to degrade us to the level of the raw Kaffir, whose occupation is hunting and whose sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with, and then pass his life in indolence and nakedness.

Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.

No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.

An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so.

There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.

A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.

A principle is the expression of perfection, and as imperfect beings like us cannot practise perfection, we devise every moment limits of its compromise in practice.

Faith... must be enforced by reason... when faith becomes blind it dies.

Glory lies in the attempt to reach one's goal and not in reaching it.

To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.

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.

Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is important that you do it.

Prayer is a confession of one's own unworthiness and weakness.

There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.

A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.

Action expresses priorities.

A man is but the product of his thoughts, what he thinks he becomes.

An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.

Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French.