LAGE RAHO GANDHIGIRI ...@Harshavardhan
Gandhiji -The Leader of India
The people of India were also carrying on a struggle for freedom from the British rule. The Indian National Congress was striving for it. In 1919, British soldiers had acted in a brutal manner against an innocent and unarmed assembly ofpeople, who had gathered for a meeting at Jalian- wala Bagh in Punjab. There were walls around with only a small passage to go out of the Bagh. The soldiers fired on the assembly, and killed and wounded many
people mercilessly.
Lokamanya Tilak, the great Indian national leader, passed away at that time. The nation was looking for an able leader. The Mahatma, the hero of the Satyagraha struggle in South Africa, had attracted the attention of many Indians. Thus leadership courted him naturally. There was great charm in his words. His conduct was flaw- less and crystal clear. He filled the nation with a new spirit. Under his leadership the weakest man, woman and child, as well as innocent ryots, were ready for a nonviolent fight. They were ready to sacrifice their all. Self-sacrifice and service became the religion of the nation.
The Indian National Congress carried on five major struggles for freedom, during three decades, under the leadership of Gandhiji. In 1920-22, it was called 'The Non-Cooperation Movement'. Government schools and colleges, courts and Legisla- tures were all boycotted. Gandhiji himself was arrested, and was sentenced to six
years imprisonment. His trial in the court at that time drew the attention of the entire
civilized world.
In 1922, there was Hindu-Muslim disturbances in Bombay.Many were injured and killed on account of religiousmadness. Gandhiji was shocked to the core, He called his son Devadas and advised him: "Go and tell Hindus and Muslims, wherever they may be fighting, that this hatred is bad. It does not matter even if they kill you. I would be happy to sacrifice my son for the cause of Hindu-Muslim amity."
The Salt Satyagraha of 1930-31 became world-famous. It was known as the 'Dandi March'. Manufacturing salt from sea- water was the monopoly of the Government. By breaking the Salt Law Gandhiji desired to show that the Indians were a free nation. On March 12, he went on foot with seventy-nine trusted disciples, from his Ashram at Sabarmati to Dandi, a 0sea- side place 241 miles away. Staff in hand he walked about 10 to 15 miles each day. The determination of the 62-year-old 'young man' was wonderful. He was like one in quest of Truth. His action shook the foundations of the British Empire. The courage and the spirit of self-sacrifice with which he filled the hearts of millions of Indians were amazing. There was Civil Disobedience or non-violent breaking of the law throughout the country. Cities, towns and villages were all scenes of Satyagraha. Heroism was the order of the day. The British Government put Gandhiji in prison again.
In 1932, when Gandhi was behind thebars, an extraordinary event took place. In the name of political reforms, the British Government planned to cut away millions of Indians called 'untouchables' from the Hindu Society. Their principle was to 'Divide and Rule'. In 1924, Gandhiji had fasted for 21 days to bring about Hindu- Muslim unity. He had been saying that un touchability was a shame to Hindu Society. Hinduism should be purged of that guilt. When he saw what the Government was doing, he became unhappy, and decided to fast unto death. There was great commotion in the entire country. The Government realized its folly and gave up the plan. There was an awakening among the people. Government temples, wells and public places were declared open to the untouchables. Gandhiji called the untouchables - 'Harijans' (men dear to God). He started three periodicals 'Harijan Sevak', 'Harijan-Bandhu' and 'Harijan'-all devoted to the service of the Harijans. He took a vow not to re-enter his Ashrarn at Sabarmati until untouchability became a thing of the past in India. He settled down at Sevagram,(near Wardha) a newAshram, which he started there.
In 1941, the Satyagraha struggle took a different shape. It was called the'Symbolic
Satyagraha', and was different from the previous mass Satyagrahas. Only the individuals, whom Gandhiji selected or permitted, had to offer Satyagraha. This change was made because Gandhiji, the Truth-seeker, knew that the past mass Satyagrahas had not been entirely free from violence. Thus he conducted this experiment to make Satyagraha free & from violence as far as humanly possible.
In 1942, there came the final struggle for freedom. The call was 'Britishers, Quit India'. For this struggle, Gandhiji gave the inspiring message, 'Do or Die'. Gandhiji expected that the struggle would be purely non-violent. It did not happen that way. Out there was great national upsurge for freedom. Thousands were put into prison.They faced the lath and the bullet, and gave up their lives. A whole nation rose up against an alien empire. It took all the suffering on itself cheerfully, without a word of demur or hatred or ill will. The way India got her freedom is unique in the history of the world. And all the glory of this unique struggle goes to the great leader Gandhiji.
Some inspirational quotes of Mahatma Gandhi
A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.
Mohandas Gandhi
A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.
Mohandas Gandhi
A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.
Mohandas Gandhi
A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.
Mohandas Gandhi
A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.
Mohandas Gandhi
A policy is a temporary creed liable to be changed, but while it holds good it has got to be pursued with apostolic zeal.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
A religion that takes no account of practical affairs and does not help to solve them is no religion.
Mohandas Gandhi
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
Mohandas Gandhi
A vow is a purely religious act which cannot be taken in a fit of passion. It can be taken only with a mind purified and composed and with God as witness.
Mohandas Gandhi
A weak man is just by accident. A strong but non-violent man is unjust by accident.
Mohandas Gandhi
Action expresses priorities.
Mohandas Gandhi
Action is no less necessary than thought to the instinctive tendencies of the human frame.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth.
Mohandas Gandhi
Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.
Mohandas Gandhi
Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest.
Mohandas Gandhi
An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.
Mohandas Gandhi
An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
Mohandas Gandhi
An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.
Mohandas Gandhi
An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so.
Mohandas Gandhi
Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.
Mohandas Gandhi
Anger is the enemy of non-violence and pride is a monster that swallows it up.
Mohandas Gandhi
Are creeds such simple things like the clothes which a man can change at will and put on at will? Creeds are such for which people live for ages and ages.
Mohandas Gandhi
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves.
Mohandas Gandhi
Be the change that you want to see in the world.
Mohandas Gandhi
Before the throne of the Almighty, man will be judged not by his acts but by his intentions. For God alone reads our hearts.
Mohandas Gandhi
But for my faith in God, I should have been a raving maniac.
Mohandas Gandhi
Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed.
Mohandas Gandhi
Commonsense is the realised sense of proportion.
Mohandas Gandhi
Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession.
Mohandas Gandhi
Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position.
Mohandas Gandhi
Culture of the mind must be subservient to the heart.
Mohandas Gandhi
Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.
Mohandas Gandhi
Each one prays to God according to his own light.
Mohandas Gandhi
Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.
Mohandas Gandhi
Every formula of every religion has in this age of reason, to submit to the acid test of reason and universal assent.
Mohandas Gandhi
Everyone who wills can hear the inner voice. It is within everyone.
Mohandas Gandhi
Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into.
Mohandas Gandhi
Faith... must be enforced by reason... when faith becomes blind it dies.
Mohandas Gandhi
Fear has its use but cowardice has none.
Mohandas Gandhi
Fear of death makes us devoid both of valour and religion. For want of valour is want of religious faith.
Mohandas Gandhi
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Mohandas Gandhi
For me every ruler is alien that defies public opinion.
Mohandas Gandhi
Freedom is never dear at any price. It is the breath of life. What would a man not pay for living?
Mohandas Gandhi
Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err.
Mohandas Gandhi
Gentleness, self-sacrifice and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion.
Mohandas Gandhi
Glory lies in the attempt to reach one's goal and not in reaching it.
Mohandas Gandhi
God is, even though the whole world deny him. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.
Mohandas Gandhi
God sometimes does try to the uttermost those whom he wishes to bless.
Mohandas Gandhi
God, as Truth, has been for me a treasure beyond price. May He be so to every one of us.
Mohandas Gandhi
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
Mohandas Gandhi
Healthy discontent is the prelude to progress.
Mohandas Gandhi
Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.
Mohandas Gandhi
I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill.
Mohandas Gandhi
I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers.
Mohandas Gandhi
I believe in the fundamental truth of all great religions of the world.
Mohandas Gandhi
I believe that a man is the strongest soldier for daring to die unarmed.
Mohandas Gandhi
I claim that human mind or human society is not divided into watertight compartments called social, political and religious. All act and react upon one another.
Mohandas Gandhi
I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps.
Mohandas Gandhi
I do all the evil I can before I learn to shun it? Is it not enough to know the evil to shun it? If not, we should be sincere enough to admit that we love evil too well to give it up.
Mohandas Gandhi
I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the present. God has given me no control over the moment following.
Mohandas Gandhi
I have also seen children successfully surmounting the effects of an evil inheritance. That is due to purity being an inherent attribute of the soul.
Mohandas Gandhi
I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and Non-violence are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as vast a scale as I could.
Mohandas Gandhi
I have worshipped woman as the living embodiment of the spirit of service and sacrifice.
Mohandas Gandhi
I know, to banish anger altogether from one's breast is a difficult task. It cannot be achieved through pure personal effort. It can be done only by God's grace.
Mohandas Gandhi
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mohandas Gandhi
I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won't presume to probe into the faults of others.
Mohandas Gandhi
I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.
Mohandas Gandhi
I reject any religious doctrine that does not appeal to reason and is in conflict with morality.
Mohandas Gandhi
I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.
Mohandas Gandhi
I will far rather see the race of man extinct than that we should become less than beasts by making the noblest of God's creation, woman, the object of our lust.
Mohandas Gandhi
I would heartily welcome the union of East and West provided it is not based on brute force.
Mohandas Gandhi
If co-operation is a duty, I hold that non-co-operation also under certain conditions is equally a duty.
Mohandas Gandhi
If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide.
Mohandas Gandhi
If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
Imitation is the sincerest flattery.
Mohandas Gandhi
In a gentle way, you can shake the world.
Mohandas Gandhi
In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.
Mohandas Gandhi
In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
Mohandas Gandhi
Increase of material comforts, it may be generally laid down, does not in any way whatsoever conduce to moral growth.
Mohandas Gandhi
Infinite striving to be the best is man's duty; it is its own reward. Everything else is in God's hands.
Mohandas Gandhi
Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being.
Mohandas Gandhi
Intolerance betrays want of faith in one's cause.
Mohandas Gandhi
Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.
Mohandas Gandhi
Is it not enough to know the evil to shun it? If not, we should be sincere enough to admit that we love evil too well to give it up.
Mohandas Gandhi
It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow beings.
Mohandas Gandhi
It is any day better to stand erect with a broken and bandaged head then to crawl on one's belly, in order to be able to save one's head.
Mohandas Gandhi
It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.
Mohandas Gandhi
It is my own firm belief that the strength of the soul grows in proportion as you subdue the flesh.
Mohandas Gandhi
It is the quality of our work which will please God and not the quantity.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
Justice that love gives is a surrender, justice that law gives is a punishment.
Mohandas Gandhi
Let everyone try and find that as a result of daily prayer he adds something new to his life, something with which nothing can be compared.
Mohandas Gandhi
Let us all be brave enough to die the death of a martyr, but let no one lust for martyrdom.
Mohandas Gandhi
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
Mohandas Gandhi
Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men.
Mohandas Gandhi
Man can never be a woman's equal in the spirit of selfless service with which nature has endowed her.
Mohandas Gandhi
Man falls from the pursuit of the ideal of plan living and high thinking the moment he wants to multiply his daily wants. Man's happiness really lies in contentment.
Mohandas Gandhi
Man lives freely only by his readiness to die, if need be, at the hands of his brother, never by killing him.
Mohandas Gandhi
Man should forget his anger before he lies down to sleep.
Mohandas Gandhi
Man's nature is not essentially evil. Brute nature has been know to yield to the influence of love. You must never despair of human nature.
Mohandas Gandhi
Measures must always in a progressive society be held superior to men, who are after all imperfect instruments, working for their fulfilment.
Mohandas Gandhi
Moral authority is never retained by any attempt to hold on to it. It comes without seeking and is retained without effort.
Mohandas Gandhi
Morality is contraband in war.
Mohandas Gandhi
Morality is the basis of things and truth is the substance of all morality.
Mohandas Gandhi
Morality which depends upon the helplessness of a man or woman has not much to recommend it. Morality is rooted in the purity of our hearts.
Mohandas Gandhi
My life is my message.
Mohandas Gandhi
My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God. Non-violence is the means of realising Him.
Mohandas Gandhi
Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is important that you do it.
Mohandas Gandhi
No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.
Mohandas Gandhi
Nobody can hurt me without my permission.
Mohandas Gandhi
Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good.
Mohandas Gandhi
Non-violence and truth are inseparable and presuppose one another.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
Non-violence is the article of faith.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
Non-violence requires a double faith, faith in God and also faith in man.
Mohandas Gandhi
Non-violence, which is the quality of the heart, cannot come by an appeal to the brain.
Mohandas Gandhi
Nonviolence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed.
Mohandas Gandhi
One's own religion is after all a matter between oneself and one's Maker and no one else's.
Mohandas Gandhi
Only he can take great resolves who has indomitable faith in God and has fear of God.
Mohandas Gandhi
Peace is its own reward.
Mohandas Gandhi
Poverty is the worst form of violence.
Mohandas Gandhi
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 then the one derived from fear of punishment.
Mohandas Gandhi
Prayer is a confession of one's own unworthiness and weakness.
Mohandas Gandhi
Prayer is not an old woman's idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening.
Mohandas Gandhi
Providence has its appointed hour for everything. We cannot command results, we can only strive.
Mohandas Gandhi
Purity of personal life is the one indispensable condition for building up a sound education.
Mohandas Gandhi
Religion is a matter of the heart. No physical inconvenience can warrant abandonment of one's own religion.
Mohandas Gandhi
Religion is more than life. Remember that his own religion is the truest to every man even if it stands low in the scales of philosophical comparison.
Mohandas Gandhi
Rights that do not flow from duty well performed are not worth having.
Mohandas Gandhi
Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.
Mohandas Gandhi
Self-respect knows no considerations.
Mohandas Gandhi
Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy.
Mohandas Gandhi
Spiritual relationship is far more precious than physical. Physical relationship divorced from spiritual is body without soul.
Mohandas Gandhi
Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
Mohandas Gandhi
That service is the noblest which is rendered for its own sake.
Mohandas Gandhi
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
Mohandas Gandhi
The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problem.
Mohandas Gandhi
The essence of all religions is one. Only their approaches are different.
Mohandas Gandhi
The good man is the friend of all living things.
Mohandas Gandhi
The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Mohandas Gandhi
The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of conscience.
Mohandas Gandhi
The law of sacrifice is uniform throughout the world. To be effective it demands the sacrifice of the bravest and the most spotless.
Mohandas Gandhi
The main purpose of life is to live rightly, think rightly, act rightly. The soul must languish when we give all our thought to the body.
Mohandas Gandhi
The moment there is suspicion about a person's motives, everything he does becomes tainted.
Mohandas Gandhi
The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within.
Mohandas Gandhi
The pursuit of truth does not permit violence on one's opponent.
Mohandas Gandhi
The real ornament of woman is her character, her purity.
Mohandas Gandhi
The spirit of democracy is not a mechanical thing to be adjusted by abolition of forms. It requires change of heart.
Mohandas Gandhi
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
Mohandas Gandhi
There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.
Mohandas Gandhi
There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.
Mohandas Gandhi
There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.
Mohandas Gandhi
There is an orderliness in the universe, there is an unalterable law governing everything and every being that exists or lives. It is no blind law; for no blind law can govern the conduct of living beings.
Mohandas Gandhi
There is more to life than increasing its speed.
Mohandas Gandhi
There is no principle worth the name if it is not wholly good.
Mohandas Gandhi
There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.
Mohandas Gandhi
Those who know how to think need no teachers.
Mohandas Gandhi
Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is.
Mohandas Gandhi
Though we may know Him by a thousand names, He is one and the same to us all.
Mohandas Gandhi
To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.
Mohandas Gandhi
To deprive a man of his natural liberty and to deny to him the ordinary amenities of life is worse then starving the body; it is starvation of the soul, the dweller in the body.
Mohandas Gandhi
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.
Mohandas Gandhi
Truth is by nature self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear.
Mohandas Gandhi
Truth never damages a cause that is just.
Mohandas Gandhi
Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.
Mohandas Gandhi
Unwearied ceaseless effort is the price that must be paid for turning faith into a rich infallible experience.
Mohandas Gandhi
Violent means will give violent freedom. That would be a menace to the world and to India herself.
Mohandas Gandhi
Violent men have not been known in history to die to a man. They die up to a point.
Mohandas Gandhi
We do not need to proselytise 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.
Mohandas Gandhi
We may have our private opinions but why should they be a bar to the meeting of hearts?
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
We must become the change we want to see in the world.
Mohandas Gandhi
We should meet abuse by forbearance. Human nature is so constituted that if we take absolutely no notice of anger or abuse, the person indulging in it will soon weary of it and stop.
Mohandas Gandhi
We win justice quickest by rendering justice to the other party.
Mohandas Gandhi
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?
Mohandas Gandhi
What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.
Mohandas Gandhi
What is true of the individual will be to-morrow true of the whole nation if individuals will but refuse to lose heart and hope.
Mohandas Gandhi
Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it.
Mohandas Gandhi
When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.
Mohandas Gandhi
When restraint and courtesy are added to strength, the latter becomes irresistible.
Mohandas Gandhi
Where love is, there God is also.
Mohandas Gandhi
Where there is love there is life.
Mohandas Gandhi
You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.
Mohandas Gandhi
You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.
Mohandas Gandhi
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
-- Lage raho Gandhigiri.....
The people of India were also carrying on a struggle for freedom from the British rule. The Indian National Congress was striving for it. In 1919, British soldiers had acted in a brutal manner against an innocent and unarmed assembly ofpeople, who had gathered for a meeting at Jalian- wala Bagh in Punjab. There were walls around with only a small passage to go out of the Bagh. The soldiers fired on the assembly, and killed and wounded many
people mercilessly.
Lokamanya Tilak, the great Indian national leader, passed away at that time. The nation was looking for an able leader. The Mahatma, the hero of the Satyagraha struggle in South Africa, had attracted the attention of many Indians. Thus leadership courted him naturally. There was great charm in his words. His conduct was flaw- less and crystal clear. He filled the nation with a new spirit. Under his leadership the weakest man, woman and child, as well as innocent ryots, were ready for a nonviolent fight. They were ready to sacrifice their all. Self-sacrifice and service became the religion of the nation.
The Indian National Congress carried on five major struggles for freedom, during three decades, under the leadership of Gandhiji. In 1920-22, it was called 'The Non-Cooperation Movement'. Government schools and colleges, courts and Legisla- tures were all boycotted. Gandhiji himself was arrested, and was sentenced to six
years imprisonment. His trial in the court at that time drew the attention of the entire
civilized world.
In 1922, there was Hindu-Muslim disturbances in Bombay.Many were injured and killed on account of religiousmadness. Gandhiji was shocked to the core, He called his son Devadas and advised him: "Go and tell Hindus and Muslims, wherever they may be fighting, that this hatred is bad. It does not matter even if they kill you. I would be happy to sacrifice my son for the cause of Hindu-Muslim amity."
The Salt Satyagraha of 1930-31 became world-famous. It was known as the 'Dandi March'. Manufacturing salt from sea- water was the monopoly of the Government. By breaking the Salt Law Gandhiji desired to show that the Indians were a free nation. On March 12, he went on foot with seventy-nine trusted disciples, from his Ashram at Sabarmati to Dandi, a 0sea- side place 241 miles away. Staff in hand he walked about 10 to 15 miles each day. The determination of the 62-year-old 'young man' was wonderful. He was like one in quest of Truth. His action shook the foundations of the British Empire. The courage and the spirit of self-sacrifice with which he filled the hearts of millions of Indians were amazing. There was Civil Disobedience or non-violent breaking of the law throughout the country. Cities, towns and villages were all scenes of Satyagraha. Heroism was the order of the day. The British Government put Gandhiji in prison again.
In 1932, when Gandhi was behind thebars, an extraordinary event took place. In the name of political reforms, the British Government planned to cut away millions of Indians called 'untouchables' from the Hindu Society. Their principle was to 'Divide and Rule'. In 1924, Gandhiji had fasted for 21 days to bring about Hindu- Muslim unity. He had been saying that un touchability was a shame to Hindu Society. Hinduism should be purged of that guilt. When he saw what the Government was doing, he became unhappy, and decided to fast unto death. There was great commotion in the entire country. The Government realized its folly and gave up the plan. There was an awakening among the people. Government temples, wells and public places were declared open to the untouchables. Gandhiji called the untouchables - 'Harijans' (men dear to God). He started three periodicals 'Harijan Sevak', 'Harijan-Bandhu' and 'Harijan'-all devoted to the service of the Harijans. He took a vow not to re-enter his Ashrarn at Sabarmati until untouchability became a thing of the past in India. He settled down at Sevagram,(near Wardha) a newAshram, which he started there.
In 1941, the Satyagraha struggle took a different shape. It was called the'Symbolic
Satyagraha', and was different from the previous mass Satyagrahas. Only the individuals, whom Gandhiji selected or permitted, had to offer Satyagraha. This change was made because Gandhiji, the Truth-seeker, knew that the past mass Satyagrahas had not been entirely free from violence. Thus he conducted this experiment to make Satyagraha free & from violence as far as humanly possible.
In 1942, there came the final struggle for freedom. The call was 'Britishers, Quit India'. For this struggle, Gandhiji gave the inspiring message, 'Do or Die'. Gandhiji expected that the struggle would be purely non-violent. It did not happen that way. Out there was great national upsurge for freedom. Thousands were put into prison.They faced the lath and the bullet, and gave up their lives. A whole nation rose up against an alien empire. It took all the suffering on itself cheerfully, without a word of demur or hatred or ill will. The way India got her freedom is unique in the history of the world. And all the glory of this unique struggle goes to the great leader Gandhiji.
Some inspirational quotes of Mahatma Gandhi
A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.
Mohandas Gandhi
A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.
Mohandas Gandhi
A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.
Mohandas Gandhi
A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.
Mohandas Gandhi
A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.
Mohandas Gandhi
A policy is a temporary creed liable to be changed, but while it holds good it has got to be pursued with apostolic zeal.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
A religion that takes no account of practical affairs and does not help to solve them is no religion.
Mohandas Gandhi
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
Mohandas Gandhi
A vow is a purely religious act which cannot be taken in a fit of passion. It can be taken only with a mind purified and composed and with God as witness.
Mohandas Gandhi
A weak man is just by accident. A strong but non-violent man is unjust by accident.
Mohandas Gandhi
Action expresses priorities.
Mohandas Gandhi
Action is no less necessary than thought to the instinctive tendencies of the human frame.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth.
Mohandas Gandhi
Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.
Mohandas Gandhi
Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest.
Mohandas Gandhi
An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.
Mohandas Gandhi
An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
Mohandas Gandhi
An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.
Mohandas Gandhi
An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so.
Mohandas Gandhi
Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.
Mohandas Gandhi
Anger is the enemy of non-violence and pride is a monster that swallows it up.
Mohandas Gandhi
Are creeds such simple things like the clothes which a man can change at will and put on at will? Creeds are such for which people live for ages and ages.
Mohandas Gandhi
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves.
Mohandas Gandhi
Be the change that you want to see in the world.
Mohandas Gandhi
Before the throne of the Almighty, man will be judged not by his acts but by his intentions. For God alone reads our hearts.
Mohandas Gandhi
But for my faith in God, I should have been a raving maniac.
Mohandas Gandhi
Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed.
Mohandas Gandhi
Commonsense is the realised sense of proportion.
Mohandas Gandhi
Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession.
Mohandas Gandhi
Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position.
Mohandas Gandhi
Culture of the mind must be subservient to the heart.
Mohandas Gandhi
Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.
Mohandas Gandhi
Each one prays to God according to his own light.
Mohandas Gandhi
Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.
Mohandas Gandhi
Every formula of every religion has in this age of reason, to submit to the acid test of reason and universal assent.
Mohandas Gandhi
Everyone who wills can hear the inner voice. It is within everyone.
Mohandas Gandhi
Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into.
Mohandas Gandhi
Faith... must be enforced by reason... when faith becomes blind it dies.
Mohandas Gandhi
Fear has its use but cowardice has none.
Mohandas Gandhi
Fear of death makes us devoid both of valour and religion. For want of valour is want of religious faith.
Mohandas Gandhi
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Mohandas Gandhi
For me every ruler is alien that defies public opinion.
Mohandas Gandhi
Freedom is never dear at any price. It is the breath of life. What would a man not pay for living?
Mohandas Gandhi
Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err.
Mohandas Gandhi
Gentleness, self-sacrifice and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion.
Mohandas Gandhi
Glory lies in the attempt to reach one's goal and not in reaching it.
Mohandas Gandhi
God is, even though the whole world deny him. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.
Mohandas Gandhi
God sometimes does try to the uttermost those whom he wishes to bless.
Mohandas Gandhi
God, as Truth, has been for me a treasure beyond price. May He be so to every one of us.
Mohandas Gandhi
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
Mohandas Gandhi
Healthy discontent is the prelude to progress.
Mohandas Gandhi
Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.
Mohandas Gandhi
I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill.
Mohandas Gandhi
I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers.
Mohandas Gandhi
I believe in the fundamental truth of all great religions of the world.
Mohandas Gandhi
I believe that a man is the strongest soldier for daring to die unarmed.
Mohandas Gandhi
I claim that human mind or human society is not divided into watertight compartments called social, political and religious. All act and react upon one another.
Mohandas Gandhi
I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps.
Mohandas Gandhi
I do all the evil I can before I learn to shun it? Is it not enough to know the evil to shun it? If not, we should be sincere enough to admit that we love evil too well to give it up.
Mohandas Gandhi
I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the present. God has given me no control over the moment following.
Mohandas Gandhi
I have also seen children successfully surmounting the effects of an evil inheritance. That is due to purity being an inherent attribute of the soul.
Mohandas Gandhi
I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and Non-violence are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as vast a scale as I could.
Mohandas Gandhi
I have worshipped woman as the living embodiment of the spirit of service and sacrifice.
Mohandas Gandhi
I know, to banish anger altogether from one's breast is a difficult task. It cannot be achieved through pure personal effort. It can be done only by God's grace.
Mohandas Gandhi
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mohandas Gandhi
I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won't presume to probe into the faults of others.
Mohandas Gandhi
I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.
Mohandas Gandhi
I reject any religious doctrine that does not appeal to reason and is in conflict with morality.
Mohandas Gandhi
I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.
Mohandas Gandhi
I will far rather see the race of man extinct than that we should become less than beasts by making the noblest of God's creation, woman, the object of our lust.
Mohandas Gandhi
I would heartily welcome the union of East and West provided it is not based on brute force.
Mohandas Gandhi
If co-operation is a duty, I hold that non-co-operation also under certain conditions is equally a duty.
Mohandas Gandhi
If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide.
Mohandas Gandhi
If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
Imitation is the sincerest flattery.
Mohandas Gandhi
In a gentle way, you can shake the world.
Mohandas Gandhi
In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.
Mohandas Gandhi
In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
Mohandas Gandhi
Increase of material comforts, it may be generally laid down, does not in any way whatsoever conduce to moral growth.
Mohandas Gandhi
Infinite striving to be the best is man's duty; it is its own reward. Everything else is in God's hands.
Mohandas Gandhi
Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being.
Mohandas Gandhi
Intolerance betrays want of faith in one's cause.
Mohandas Gandhi
Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.
Mohandas Gandhi
Is it not enough to know the evil to shun it? If not, we should be sincere enough to admit that we love evil too well to give it up.
Mohandas Gandhi
It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow beings.
Mohandas Gandhi
It is any day better to stand erect with a broken and bandaged head then to crawl on one's belly, in order to be able to save one's head.
Mohandas Gandhi
It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.
Mohandas Gandhi
It is my own firm belief that the strength of the soul grows in proportion as you subdue the flesh.
Mohandas Gandhi
It is the quality of our work which will please God and not the quantity.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
Justice that love gives is a surrender, justice that law gives is a punishment.
Mohandas Gandhi
Let everyone try and find that as a result of daily prayer he adds something new to his life, something with which nothing can be compared.
Mohandas Gandhi
Let us all be brave enough to die the death of a martyr, but let no one lust for martyrdom.
Mohandas Gandhi
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
Mohandas Gandhi
Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men.
Mohandas Gandhi
Man can never be a woman's equal in the spirit of selfless service with which nature has endowed her.
Mohandas Gandhi
Man falls from the pursuit of the ideal of plan living and high thinking the moment he wants to multiply his daily wants. Man's happiness really lies in contentment.
Mohandas Gandhi
Man lives freely only by his readiness to die, if need be, at the hands of his brother, never by killing him.
Mohandas Gandhi
Man should forget his anger before he lies down to sleep.
Mohandas Gandhi
Man's nature is not essentially evil. Brute nature has been know to yield to the influence of love. You must never despair of human nature.
Mohandas Gandhi
Measures must always in a progressive society be held superior to men, who are after all imperfect instruments, working for their fulfilment.
Mohandas Gandhi
Moral authority is never retained by any attempt to hold on to it. It comes without seeking and is retained without effort.
Mohandas Gandhi
Morality is contraband in war.
Mohandas Gandhi
Morality is the basis of things and truth is the substance of all morality.
Mohandas Gandhi
Morality which depends upon the helplessness of a man or woman has not much to recommend it. Morality is rooted in the purity of our hearts.
Mohandas Gandhi
My life is my message.
Mohandas Gandhi
My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God. Non-violence is the means of realising Him.
Mohandas Gandhi
Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is important that you do it.
Mohandas Gandhi
No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.
Mohandas Gandhi
Nobody can hurt me without my permission.
Mohandas Gandhi
Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good.
Mohandas Gandhi
Non-violence and truth are inseparable and presuppose one another.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
Non-violence is the article of faith.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
Non-violence requires a double faith, faith in God and also faith in man.
Mohandas Gandhi
Non-violence, which is the quality of the heart, cannot come by an appeal to the brain.
Mohandas Gandhi
Nonviolence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed.
Mohandas Gandhi
One's own religion is after all a matter between oneself and one's Maker and no one else's.
Mohandas Gandhi
Only he can take great resolves who has indomitable faith in God and has fear of God.
Mohandas Gandhi
Peace is its own reward.
Mohandas Gandhi
Poverty is the worst form of violence.
Mohandas Gandhi
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 then the one derived from fear of punishment.
Mohandas Gandhi
Prayer is a confession of one's own unworthiness and weakness.
Mohandas Gandhi
Prayer is not an old woman's idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening.
Mohandas Gandhi
Providence has its appointed hour for everything. We cannot command results, we can only strive.
Mohandas Gandhi
Purity of personal life is the one indispensable condition for building up a sound education.
Mohandas Gandhi
Religion is a matter of the heart. No physical inconvenience can warrant abandonment of one's own religion.
Mohandas Gandhi
Religion is more than life. Remember that his own religion is the truest to every man even if it stands low in the scales of philosophical comparison.
Mohandas Gandhi
Rights that do not flow from duty well performed are not worth having.
Mohandas Gandhi
Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.
Mohandas Gandhi
Self-respect knows no considerations.
Mohandas Gandhi
Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy.
Mohandas Gandhi
Spiritual relationship is far more precious than physical. Physical relationship divorced from spiritual is body without soul.
Mohandas Gandhi
Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
Mohandas Gandhi
That service is the noblest which is rendered for its own sake.
Mohandas Gandhi
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
Mohandas Gandhi
The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problem.
Mohandas Gandhi
The essence of all religions is one. Only their approaches are different.
Mohandas Gandhi
The good man is the friend of all living things.
Mohandas Gandhi
The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Mohandas Gandhi
The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of conscience.
Mohandas Gandhi
The law of sacrifice is uniform throughout the world. To be effective it demands the sacrifice of the bravest and the most spotless.
Mohandas Gandhi
The main purpose of life is to live rightly, think rightly, act rightly. The soul must languish when we give all our thought to the body.
Mohandas Gandhi
The moment there is suspicion about a person's motives, everything he does becomes tainted.
Mohandas Gandhi
The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within.
Mohandas Gandhi
The pursuit of truth does not permit violence on one's opponent.
Mohandas Gandhi
The real ornament of woman is her character, her purity.
Mohandas Gandhi
The spirit of democracy is not a mechanical thing to be adjusted by abolition of forms. It requires change of heart.
Mohandas Gandhi
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
Mohandas Gandhi
There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.
Mohandas Gandhi
There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.
Mohandas Gandhi
There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.
Mohandas Gandhi
There is an orderliness in the universe, there is an unalterable law governing everything and every being that exists or lives. It is no blind law; for no blind law can govern the conduct of living beings.
Mohandas Gandhi
There is more to life than increasing its speed.
Mohandas Gandhi
There is no principle worth the name if it is not wholly good.
Mohandas Gandhi
There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.
Mohandas Gandhi
Those who know how to think need no teachers.
Mohandas Gandhi
Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is.
Mohandas Gandhi
Though we may know Him by a thousand names, He is one and the same to us all.
Mohandas Gandhi
To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.
Mohandas Gandhi
To deprive a man of his natural liberty and to deny to him the ordinary amenities of life is worse then starving the body; it is starvation of the soul, the dweller in the body.
Mohandas Gandhi
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.
Mohandas Gandhi
Truth is by nature self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear.
Mohandas Gandhi
Truth never damages a cause that is just.
Mohandas Gandhi
Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.
Mohandas Gandhi
Unwearied ceaseless effort is the price that must be paid for turning faith into a rich infallible experience.
Mohandas Gandhi
Violent means will give violent freedom. That would be a menace to the world and to India herself.
Mohandas Gandhi
Violent men have not been known in history to die to a man. They die up to a point.
Mohandas Gandhi
We do not need to proselytise 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.
Mohandas Gandhi
We may have our private opinions but why should they be a bar to the meeting of hearts?
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
We must become the change we want to see in the world.
Mohandas Gandhi
We should meet abuse by forbearance. Human nature is so constituted that if we take absolutely no notice of anger or abuse, the person indulging in it will soon weary of it and stop.
Mohandas Gandhi
We win justice quickest by rendering justice to the other party.
Mohandas Gandhi
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?
Mohandas Gandhi
What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.
Mohandas Gandhi
What is true of the individual will be to-morrow true of the whole nation if individuals will but refuse to lose heart and hope.
Mohandas Gandhi
Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it.
Mohandas Gandhi
When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.
Mohandas Gandhi
When restraint and courtesy are added to strength, the latter becomes irresistible.
Mohandas Gandhi
Where love is, there God is also.
Mohandas Gandhi
Where there is love there is life.
Mohandas Gandhi
You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.
Mohandas Gandhi
You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.
Mohandas Gandhi
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Mohandas Gandhi
-- Lage raho Gandhigiri.....
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