Government
Good government is no substitute for
self-government. Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I
believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I
believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn’t have it in
the beginning. Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be inevitable products of
democracy, as they undoubtedly are today.
Finding yourself
The best way to find yourself is to lose
yourself in the service of others.
Action
It’s the action, not the fruit of the
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.
Democracy
Democracy demands patient instruction on it
before legislation.
My notion of democracy is that under it the
weakest should have the same opportunity as the strongest.
People in a democracy should be satisfied
with drawing the government’s attention to a mistake, if any.
In true democracy every man and woman is
taught to think for himself or herself.
Happiness
Happiness is when what you think, what you
say, and what you do are in harmony.
Change
You must be the change you wish to see in
the world.
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.
Whenever you are confronted with an
opponent, conquer him with love…Non-violence is a weapon of the strong…Strength
does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
Schools
All our national schools ought to be
converted into factories of our national ammunition, namely, constructive work.
The Lawyer
I had learnt the true practice of law. I had
learnt to find out the better side of human nature and to enter men’s hearts. I
realized the true function of a lawyer was to unite parties riven asunder.
Renunciation
Again, let no one consider renunciation to
mean want of fruit for the renouncer. The Gita reading does not warrant such a
meaning. Renunciation means absence of hankering after fruit. As a matter of
fact, he who renounces reaps a thousandfold. The renunciation of the Gita is
the acid test of faith. He who is ever brooding over result often loses nerve
in the performance of his duty.
Swaraj
Swaraj of a
people means the sum total of the Swaraj (self-rule) of individuals.
It is Swaraj when we learn to rule
ourselves.
Conservation of national sanitation is Swaraj
work and it may not be postponed for a single day on any consideration
whatsoever.
The get rid of the infatuation for English
is one of the essentials of Swaraj.
Swadeshi
I must not serve a distant neighbour at the
expense of the nearest.
India must protect her primary industries
even as a mother protects her children against the whole world without being
hostile to it.
Success
A burning passion coupled with absolute
detachment is the key to all success.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at
you, then they fight you, then you win.
Triumph
Man’s triumph will consist in substituting
the struggle for existence by a struggle for mutual service.
State
The state is the sum total of the sacrifice,
on its behalf, of its members.
One of the last Notes left by Gandhiji in
1948
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 [woman] whom you may have
seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use
to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a
control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj
[freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find
your doubts and your self melt away.
Journalism & Role of Newspaper
The newspaperman has become a walking
plague. He spreads the contagion of lies and calumnies.
One of the objects of a newspaper is to
understand popular feeling and to give expression to it; another is to arouse
among the people certain desirable sentiments; and the third is fearlessly to
expose popular defects.
Justice
Justice should become cheap and expeditious.
Today it is the luxury of the rich and the joy of the gambler.
Truth
Truth and untruth often co-exist; good and
evil often are found together.
Devotion to Truth is the sole justification
for our existence.
When you want to find Truth as God, the only
inevitable means is love, that is non-violence.
Ahimsa and
Truth are so intertwined that it is practically impossible to disentangle and
separate them.
