Mahatma Gandhi. Wisdom and Philosophy

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) — one of the leaders and ideologist of the national liberation movement of India. His philosophy of non-violence Satyagraha had an impact on national and international movements of those who supported peaceful changes. He rejected violence in any form. For more than 30 years he persistently preached his philosophy and finally proved the effectiveness of non-violence policy to the whole world when India peacefully gained independence from Britain thanks to Gandhi’s efforts in 1947.

But a savage struggle broke out between religious groups for the right to dictate their will to the government in the awakening country.

The year of 1947 ended with bitter disappointment for Gandhi. He kept proving the fatuity of violence but nobody seemed to listen to him. In January 1948, in a desperate attempt to stop the interethnic strife Mahatma Gandhi resorted to a hunger strike. He explained his decision this way: “Death will become a miraculous escape for me. It is better to die than to be a helpless eyewitness of India’s self-destruction”.

His name is respected in India as much as names of saints are pronounced. The spiritual leader of the nation Mahatma Gandhi fought all his life against religious strife which was tearing his country apart, against violence, but he became its victim in the decline of his years. Mahatma means “Great Soul”. This title perfectly reveals the real character of Gandhi. He enjoyed great confidence by Indians irrespective of casts and religion, thousands of people came to him to ask for help and advice and they got them.

Albert Einstein:
“Moral influence which Gandhi had on thinking people is much stronger than it seems possible nowadays with excess of violence. We are grateful to the fate to have such a brilliant contemporary who points the direction for future generations ... Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth”.
(http://www.gandhi.ru/)

Mahatma Gandhi:

“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win”.

“The weak can never forgive, Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong”.

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony”.

“A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble”.

“The law of the majority does not work in questions of conscience”.

“A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes”.

“You must be the change you want to see in the world”.
"As soon as you will believe that you reached an ideal, the further development stops and the movement begins to come back”.

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

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