Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err.… It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right.

About Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and whose legacy would later inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The...

More quotations from Mahatma Gandhi

I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers.

—Mahatma Gandhi

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and
the homeless whether the mad destruction is wrought under
the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and
democracy?

—Mahatma Gandhi

democracy destruction difference liberty

Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment.

—Mahatma Gandhi

The acquisition of the spirit of nonresistance is a matter of long training in self-denial and appreciation of the hidden forces within ourselves.… It puts different values upon things and upsets previous calculations.… It is the greatest force because it is the highest expression of the soul.

—Mahatma Gandhi

soul force nonresistance training self-denial

I should love to satisfy all, if I possibly can; but in trying to satisfy all, I may be able to satisfy none. I have, therefore, arrived at the conclusion that the best course is to satisfy one's own conscience and leave the world to form its own judgment, favorable or otherwise.

—Mahatma Gandhi

satisfaction judgement conscience

History

27 Sep 2016 Added
26 Oct 2026 Wording changed

Previous wording

Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. . . . It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right.