A Moment of Wisdom: Quotes from Gandhi

With all the craziness going on in the world, and as it seems her in the good ol' USA especially, I felt a need for reason and sanity. I have always admired Mahatma Gandhi, for his non-violent approach, his reason, and his wisdom. And lord knows we are in desperate need of that now. Here are some of my favorite and, I feel, very time-appropriate quotes.

Action expresses priorities.

Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.

An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.

An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.

An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.

Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.

Be the change that you want to see in the world.

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.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.

Gentleness, self-sacrifice and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion.

I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.

To Misquote the Bible, The Sequel

In my research of another subject, I found yet another quote that is attributed to the Bible, but it’s not in there. And this one is a shocker.

‘Hate the sin, love the sinner.”

Wow, did that just blow your mind or what? The originator of that quote is none other that the peace loving Mahatma Gandhi. Personally, I still feel he was a man we should try to model ourselves after. The man was the source of great advice to live by. (More great quotes from him can be found here.) But no, this did not come from the Bible.

The closest thing I have come to finding a similar quote is as follows. “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12: 9-21)

Pretty long, huh? This is probably why people decided to borrow Gandhi’s quote. And no wonder. It puts it in a nice package that gets straight to the point.