"Non-violence is the summit of bravery. And in my own experience, I have had no difficulty in demonstrating to men trained in the school of violence the superiority of non-violence. As a coward, which I was for years, I harboured violence. I began to prize non-violence only when I began to shed cowardice. Those Hindus who ran away from the post of duty when it was attended with danger did so not because they were non-violent, or because they were afraid to strike, but because they were unwilling to die or even suffer any injury. A rabbit that runs away from the bull terrier is no particularly non-violent. The poor thing trembles at the sight of the terrier and runs for very life. Those Hindus who ran away to save their lives would have been truly non-violent and would have covered themselves with glory and added lustre to their faith and won the friendship of their Mussalman assailants, if they had stood bare breast with smiles on their lips, and died at their post. They would have done less well though still well, if they had stood at their post and returned blow. If the Hindus wish to convert the Mussalman bully into a respecting friend, they have to learn to die in the face of the heaviest odds."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Mahatma Gandhi
1869 – 1948
indischer Volksführer
402 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Mahatma Gandhi →
Related Quotes
"There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent."
"The devotion of such titans of spirit as Lenin to an Ideal must bear fruit. The nobility of his selflessness will be …"
"An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."
"I believe that the civilization India evolved is not to be beaten in the world. Nothing can equal the seeds sown by o…"
"One of the objects of a newspaper is to understand popular feeling and to give expression to it; another is to arouse…"
"We who seek justice will have to do justice to others."
"The English have taught us that we were not one nation before and that it will require centuries before we become one…"
"Leo Tolstoy's life has been devoted to replacing the method of violence for removing tyranny or securing reform by th…"
"In reality there are as many religions as there are individuals.... Religions are different roads converging to the s…"
"[asked what he thought of modern civilization] That would be a good idea."