Quotes to inspire and reflect

Purity of mind and idleness are incompatible.

Rights that do not flow from duty well performed are not worth having.

Poverty is the worst form of violence.

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 than the one derived from fear of punishment.

Personally, I hold that a man who deliberately and intelligently takes a pledge and then breaks it, forfeits his manhood.

Peace is its own reward.

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.

Non-violence is the article of faith.

Non-co-operation with evil is as much a duty as is co-operation with good.

No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.

Never has man reached his destination by persistence in deviation from the straight path.

Nobody can hurt me without my permission.

Morality is contraband in war.

Morality is the basis of things and truth is the substance of all morality.

Moral authority is never retained by any attempt to hold on to it. It comes without seeking and is retained without effort.

Monotony is the law of nature. Look at the monotonous manner in which the sun rises. The monotony of necessary occupation is exhilarating and life-giving.

Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow men.

Man’s happiness really lies in contentment.

Love never claims, it ever gives. Love ever suffers, never resents, never revenges itself.

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.

Just as the body cannot exist without blood, so the soul needs the matchless and pure strength of faith.

Just as a man would not cherish living in a body other than his own, so do nations not like to live under other nations, however noble and great the latter may be.

I will not let anyone walk through my mind with dirty feet.

I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.

It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.

It is the action, not the fruit of action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.

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.

It is easy to stand in the crowd, but it takes courage to stand alone.

It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.

I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles, but today it means getting along with people.

I reject any religious doctrine that does not appeal to reason and is in conflict with morality.

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

Intolerance betrays want of faith in one’s cause.

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

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.

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

In a gentle way, you can shake the world.

Infinite striving to be the best is man’s duty; it is its own reward.

If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.

I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won’t presume to probe into the faults of others.

If one has no affection for a person or a system, one should feel free to give the fullest expression to this disaffection so long as one does not contemplate, promote, or incite violence.

If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time.

I cannot teach you violence, as I do not believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before anyone, even at the cost of your life.

I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill.

Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress.

Hatred can be overcome only by love.

Golden fetters are no less galling to a self-respecting man than iron ones: the sting lies in the fetters, not in the metal.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.