Remembering Bapu: Here are some top quotes by the Mahatma on Gandhi Jayanti
As we get ready to remember Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on Gandhi Jayanti and mark his birth anniversary on October 2, here are some of his most remembered quotes.
Mahatma Gandhi, India's Father of the Nation, is one of the best known and most influential leaders of all time. Born in Porbandar, Gujarat, Gandhi studied law and later began to organise boycotts against British institutions in peaceful forms of civil disobedience.
Eventually, he employed non-violent resistance to lead a victorious campaign for India's independence from British rule with his principles of Ahimsa and satyagraha.
Gandhi was called the Mahatma as he was a spiritual leader, and even today, he is revered and remembered as a guru, a brilliant political strategist, a thinker, and a philosopher.
The occasion of Gandhi Jayanti is usually celebrated with prayer services and tributes all over the country — including at his memorial in Raj Ghat in New Delhi — where he was cremated. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these celebrations will be held online and virtually.
As we celebrate his 151st birth anniversary, YSWeekender brings you some of the most famous quotes of the Father of the Nation.
A scene from the film 'Gandhi' (Pic credit: https://www.sbs.com.au/movies)
On life and living
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
“Change yourself – you are in control.”
“The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.”
“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.”
"My life is my message."
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Image credit: Wikipedia)
On love
“Love is the strongest force the world possesses."
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty."
On non-violence
“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 first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed.”
On prayer and forgiveness
“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.”
“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
“Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into.”
On health
‘It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”
“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”
On the future
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
“A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks he becomes.”
“The future depends on what you do today.”
Edited by Suman Singh