Again, i'm thinking in the lond run. I believe India separated from Britain prematurely. Ghandi did not teach the Indians tolerance of others; far from it. His examples only set off hhe age old conflicts that had existed in India for millenia, which the British policies had made them forget. Now, the Hindus and Muslims still hate each other, and violence still reupts there almost everyday between the two religious groups.
Russ, you have got to be kidding me.
Gandhi was a small Indian man that took on the British Empire's policies of injustice, discrimination, and colonial domination without throwing a single punch, firing a single bullet, or in any way using violence as a weapon. The fact the he defeated the British Empire is remarkable.
Also, it is a fact that India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Since I am a big fan of Gandhi I'll take this opportunity to copy/paste a bunch of his quotes, and recommend the 1983 oscar winning movie:
www.imdb.com/title/tt0083987/ Gandhi's quotes:
A man is but the product of his thoughts: what he thinks, he becomes.
A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.
All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth.
Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.
An eye for an eye makes us all blind.
An opponent is entitled to the same regard for his principles as we would expect others to have for ours.
An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.
Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves.
As soon as we lose the moral basis, we cease to be religious. There is no such thing as religion over-riding morality. Man, for instance,cannot be untruthful, cruel or incontinent and claim to have God on his side.
Be the change that you want to see in the world.
Before the throne of the Almighty, man will be judged not by his acts but by his intentions. For God alone reads our hearts.
Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed.
Commonsense is the realised sense of proportion.
Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession.
Consciously or unconsciously, everyone of us does render some service or another. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and it will make not only for our own happiness, but that of the world at large.
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.
Democracy must in essence, therefore, mean the art and science of mobilising the entire physical, economic and spiritual resources of all the various sections of the people in the service of the common good of all.
Each one prays to God according to his own light.
Even as wisdom often comes from the mouths of babes, so does it often come from the mouths of old people. The golden rule is to test everything in the light of reason and experience, no matter from where it comes.
Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.
Every moment of your life is infinitely creative and the universe is endlessly bountiful. Just put forth a clear enough request, and everything your heart desires must come to you.
Everyone has faith in God though everyone does not know it. For everyone has faith in himself and that multiplied to the nth degree is God. The sum total of all that lives is God. We may not be God, but we are of God, even as a little drop of water is of the ocean.
Everyone who wills can hear the inner voice. It is within everyone.
Evil is good or truth misplaced.
Experience convinces me that permanent good can never be the outcome of untruth and violence. Even if my belief is a fond delusion, it will be admitted that it is a fascinating delusion.
Far more indispensable then food for the physical body is spiritual nourishment for the soul. One can do without food for a considerable time, but a man of the spirit cannot exist for a single second without spiritual nourishment.
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.
God is, even though the whole world deny him. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.
God, as Truth, has been for me a treasure beyond price. May He be so to every one of us.
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
Hatred ever kills, love never dies, such is the vast difference between the two. What is obtained by love is retained for all time. What is obtained by hatred proves a burden in reality for it increases hatred.
Have I not gazed at the marvellous mystery of the starry vault, hardly ever tiring of the great panorama?
I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill.
I believe in the fundamental truth of all great religions of the world.
I believe that a man is the strongest soldier for daring to die unarmed.
I have also seen children successfully surmounting the effects of an evil inheritance. That is due to purity being an inherent attribute of the soul.
I have learned through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmitted into energy, even so our anger controlled can be transmitted into a power that can move the world.
I know, to banish anger altogether from one's breast is a difficult task. It cannot be achieved through pure personal effort. It can be done only by God's grace.
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won't presume to probe into the faults of others.
I may live without air and water, but not without Him. You may pluck out my eyes, but that cannot kill me. You may chop off my nose but that will not kill me. But blast my belief in God, and I am dead.
I need no inspiration other then Nature's. She has never failed me yet. She mystifies me, bewilders me, sends me into ecstasies. Besides God's handiwork, does not man's fade into insignificance?
I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.
I want to see India free in my life-time. But God may not consider me fit enough to see the dream of my life fulfilled. Then I shall quarrel, not with Him but with myself.
I worship God as Truth only. I have not yet found Him, but I am seeking after Him. I am prepared to sacrifice the things dearest to me in pursuit of this quest. Even if the sacrifice demanded my very life, I hope I may be prepared to give it.
If I seem to take part in politics, it is only because politics encircles us today like the coil of a snake from which one cannot get out, no matter how much one tries. I wish therefore to wrestle with the snake.
If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm.
If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.
Ill-digested principles are, if anything, worse than ill-digested food, for the latter harms the body and there is cure for it, whereas the former ruins the soul and there is no cure for it.
Imitation is the sincerest flattery.
In a gentle way, you can shake the world.
In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.
In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.
Intellect takes us along in the battle of life to a certain limit, but at the crucial moment it fails us. Faith transcends reason. It is when the horizon is the darkest and human reason is beaten down to the ground that faith shines brightest and comes to our rescue.
Is it not enough to know the evil to shun it? If not, we should be sincere enough to admit that we love evil too well to give it up.
It is easy enough to be friendly to one's friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business.
It is easy enough to say, 'I do not believe in God.' For God permits all things to be said of Him with impunity. He looks at our acts. And any breach of His Law carries with it not its vindictive, but its purifying, compelling punishment.
It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.
It is my own firm belief that the strength of the soul grows in proportion as you subdue the flesh.
It is the quality of our work which will please. God and not the quantity.
Let us all be brave enough to die the death of a martyr, but let no one lust for martyrdom.
Moral authority is never retained by any attempt to hold on to it. It comes without seeking and is retained without effort.
Morality is the basis of things and truth is the substance of all morality.
Morality which depends upon the helplessness of a man or woman has not much to recommend it. Morality is rooted in the purity of our hearts.
Must I do all the evil I can before I learn to shun it? Is it not enough to know the evil to shun it? If not, we should be sincere enough to admit that we love evil too well to give it up.
My life is my message.
My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God. Non-violence is the means of realising Him.
One's own religion is after all a matter between oneself and one's Maker and no one else's.
Poverty is the worst form of violence.
Prayer is a confession of one's own unworthiness and weakness.
The essence of all religions is one. Only their approaches are different.
The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.
There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.
Though we may know Him by a thousand names, He is one and the same to us all.
Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.
We do not need to proselytise either by our speech or by our writing. We can only do so really with our lives. Let our lives be open books for all to study.
We must become the change we want to see in the world.
What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.
When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.
When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall - think of it, always.
Whenever I see an erring man, I say to myself I have also erred; when I see a lustful man I say to myself, so was I once; and in this way I feel kinship with everyone in the world and feel that I cannot be happy without the humblest of us being happy.
You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.