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Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well. As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, keep it. Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes. Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. Hate the sin, love the sinner. Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress. I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers. I cannot teach you violence, as I do not myself believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before any one even at the cost of your life. I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. I want freedom for the full expression of my personality. 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. One needs to be slow to form convictions, but once formed they must be defended against the heaviest odds. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. You must be the change you want to see in the world. 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. 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? Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right. [When asked what he thought of Western civilization, he replied:] I think it would be a good idea. 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 the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any. In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth. Adaptability is not imitation. It means power of resistance and assimilation. It is the quality of our work which will please God and not the quantity. I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill. In matters of conscience, the law of majority has no place. A 'No' uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble. Where there is love there is life. A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave. There are seven sins in the world: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice and politics without principle. The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. Non-violence does not signify that man must not fight against the enemy, and by enemy is meant the evil which men do, not the human beings themselves. The future depends on what we do in the present. There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread. When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it – always. A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes. There is no path to peace. Peace is the path. If you don't find God in the next person you meet, it is a waste of time looking for him further. The only devils in this world are those running around in our own hearts, and that is where all our battles should be fought. Live simply that others may simply live. Affection cannot be manufactored or regulated by law. If one has no affection for a person or a system, one should be free to give the fullest expression to his disaffection, so long as he does not contemplate, promote, or incite to violence. No cost is too heavy for the preservation of one's honor. Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny. To conceal ignorance is to increase it. An honest confession of it, however, gives ground for the hope that it will diminish some day or the other. |
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