| I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test: Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melting away. |
| I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all lands to be blow about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any. |
| Western nations are groaning today under the heel of the monster god materialism. Their moral growth has become stunted. They measure growth in dollars….American wealth has become a standard, rather than truth, kindness, generosity, love, sensitivity, and sharing the experiences of life freely and fully. |
| I shall work for an India, in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country in whose making they have an effective voice; an India in which there shall be no high class and low class of people; an India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony. |
| I claim to be no more than an average man with less than average abilities. I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have, if he or she would make the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith. |
| Seven social sins - 1. Politics without principle 2. Pleasure without conscience 3. Wealth without work 4. Knowledge without character 5. Commerce without morality 6. Science without humanity 7. Worship without sacrifice. |
| There is nothing to prevent us from profiting by the light that may come from the West. Only we must take care that we are not overpowered by the glamour of the West. We must not mistake the glamour for true light. |
| A sound body means one which bends itself to the spirit and is always a ready instrument at its service. |
| Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed. |
| An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind. |
| Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. |
| Be the change that you wish to see in the world. |
| First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win |