To forgive is not to forget. The merit lies in loving in spite of the vivid knowledge that one that must be loved is not a friend. There is not merit in loving an enemy when you forget him for a friend.
Mahatma GandhiRead
I contend that non-violent acts exert pressure far more effective than violent acts, for the pressure comes from goodwill and gentleness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Non-violent actions can create a stronger impact than violent actions because they stem from kindness and compassion.
Mahatma Gandhi emphasizes that non-violent actions have a more profound and lasting effect on societal change than violent confrontations. This is because non-violence comes from a place of goodwill and gentleness, which can foster understanding and cooperation, rather than fear and resentment that often accompany violence. The idea is that true strength lies in the ability to influence others through compassion rather than coercion.
Themes
Non-ViolenceGoodwillPressureGentlenessSocietal Change
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech advocating for peaceful protest, one might use this quote to highlight the effectiveness of non-violent methods.
More from Mahatma Gandhi
All quotes βLove never claims, it ever gives. Love ever suffers, never resents never revenges itself.
Mahatma GandhiRead
Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
Mahatma GandhiRead
The real test of nonviolence lies in its being brought in contact with those who have contempt for it.
Mahatma GandhiRead
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
Mahatma GandhiRead
The devotion of such titans of spirit as Lenin to an Ideal must bear fruit. The nobility of his selflessness will be an example through centuries to come, and his Ideal will reach perfection.
Mahatma GandhiRead
Similar quotes
I have observed that society in general always seems to honor its living conformists and its dead troublemakers.
Wayne DyerRead
Remove the Ego and Avidya (Ignorance) is gone. Look for it, the ego vanishes and the real Self alone remains.
Ramana MaharshiRead
Money is what fueled the industrial society. But in the informational society, the fuel, the power, is knowledge. One has now come to see a new class structure divided by those who have information and those who must function out of ignorance. This new class has its power not from money, not from land, but from knowledge.
John Kenneth GalbraithRead
In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.
James MadisonRead
You can truly grieve for every officer who's been lost in the line of duty in this country, and still be troubled by cases of police overreach.
Jon StewartRead
I am honorary President of the American Humanist Society, having succeeded the late, great science fiction writer Isaac Asimov in that utterly functionless capacity. We Humanists behave as well as we can, without any rewards or punishments in an Afterlife.
Kurt VonnegutRead