Mahatma Gandhi Quotes
God created man to work for his food and said that those who ate without work were thieves.
Gandhi, Mahatma. The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. Vol. 21, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, 1966, p. 289.
In the 17th century American Plymouth Colony there were a series of tasks that had to be performed every day for the survival and benefit of the community. The workload was shared by all citizens. One Christmas some of the younger men decided not to work on religious grounds believing that their religious interpretation forbad work on Christmas. They were excused, but soon the Governor discovered that all the young men in question were playing and sporting in the street. They were embarrassed and all went home.
Mormons in later years found this principle difficult to enforce where there was unemployment and workers were idle through no fault of their own. The local Mormon churches were very active in encouraging wealthier Mormons to hire those who were unemployed.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi 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 in turn inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā (Sanskrit: "great-souled", "venerable"), first applied to him in 1914 in South Africa, is now used throughout the world.
