Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

An opinion essay which focuses on Mohandas Gandhi's famous quotes and how he lived in accordance with those quotes.

 

                Over the years, the words of Mohandas Gandhi have been studied and practiced by people all over the world. He was a man who changed the world through his peaceful acts of protests but most predominantly, through his many famous quotes. Gandhi practiced his own words of wisdom throughout his life by living the way he preached, using quotes such as “The earth provides enough for every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.” , “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” , and “The way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and at times they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Always.” to express his beliefs and help people understand why he chose to live the life he did.

                “The earth provides enough for every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.” This is a quote that Gandhi said and practiced in his life. When he said this, he meant that when we become selfish and uncaring and take more than we need from the Earth, we destroy Her. By destroying Her, we destroy ourselves because She can no longer support us and care for us. The Earth can only provide for us if we take care of Her, which Gandhi believed strongly and tried to explain to those who did not appreciate the Earth. Gandhi’s humbleness and appreciation for the Earth supports what he said. This is a belief shared by many religions, most predominantly within Buddhism, Hinduism and Paganism religions. Gandhi lived his life modestly, only taking what he needed to survive and sometimes even less than that. He practiced this quote by living in a humble and modest way, only consuming and taking from the Earth the things he needed to survive.

                “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” This is a very powerful quote by Mohandas Gandhi, which truly reflects his beliefs and how he lived his life. By saying this, he meant that people who are in poverty are abused more terribly than anyone else, because they are being deprived of their own survival. They live with this abuse every single day, but nobody had ever spoken about poverty in this truthful manner until Gandhi said this. This is a quote that may be difficult to understand at first, but once one does understand it, it will hit one in a very powerful way. Gandhi believed that in order to fight for his people and understand their suffering, he had to suffer with them. This is why he lived his life in poverty, owning nothing more than the rags on his back which he made himself. Gandhi practiced this quote in his life by living in poverty to understand the suffering of India.

                “The way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and at times they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Always.” This is one of Mohandas Gandhi’s most powerful and inspirational quotes. At the time when Gandhi said this, World War II had begun and Adolf Hitler began conquering Europe. Gandhi truly believed that love would overpower Hitler’s hatred and that the way of truth and love would win. Throughout history, good has always conquered over evil. Even against all odds or possibilities, love has always proven to be stronger than hatred. Out of all the wise and powerful things Gandhi has said, this quote he believed in most strongly. He had to believe that he would win India and freedom for his people through peaceful protest, because if he did not, no one else would and Indians would have continued to be discriminated against by the British rulers. Gandhi spent his entire adult life living according to this quote. He never swayed from his own values and beliefs, but would never resort to violence to make his views heard. He truly believed that by living his life in this way, he would win over the tyrants and murderers who were using force to rule over India. By being a peaceful and loving person all his life and succeeding in gaining freedom for his people, Mohandas Gandhi practiced this quote in the way he lived.

                Through his many quotes, Mohandas Gandhi practiced his beliefs and values throughout his life. He used methods of peaceful protest and powerful speeches to win freedom for his people. Gandhi was an extraordinary man who achieved peace and equality for those people who could not stand up for themselves. During his life and after his death, Mohandas Gandhi’s words of wisdom and actions have been studied and practiced by many people all around the world. Truly, this man changed so many lives and the entire world for the better by making people realize that “The way of truth and love has always won.”

 

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Works Cited

 

Gandhi. Dir. Richard Attenborough. Perf. Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi,

                Candice Bergen, Martin Sheen, Roshan Seth. 1982. DVD. Columbia Pictures, 2007.