Mahatma Gandhi Quotes

A good person will resist an evil system with his whole soul. Disobedience of the laws of an evil state is therefore a duty.

Our obligation is to refuse to let bad win, to refuse to let evil hold the field.

Civil disobedience is the right of all men when we believe breaking man's law is needed to preserve God's law.

The duties are even more important than the rights; and in the long run I think that the reward is ampler and greater for duty well done, than for the insistence upon individual rights.

Duty is but a pot. It holds whatever is put in it, from the greatest evil to the greatest good.

The privilege of resisting or disobeying a particular law or order accrues only to him who gives willing and unswerving obedience to the laws laid down for him.

There is no justice in following unjust laws.

Philosophers and theologians have yet to learn that a physical fact is as sacred as a moral principle. Our own nature demands from us this double allegiance.

Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right... Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of their respect for it, even the well-disposed are daily made the agents of injustice.

Those whose conscience demands that they defy authority in some ways that involve great consequences must be willing to accept some penalty.

Over and over again, people had to disobey lawful authority to follow the voice of their conscience. This obedience to God and disobedience to the State has, over and over again, happened throughout history. It is time again to cry out against our 'leaders,' to question (since it is not for us to say that they are evil) whether or not they are sane.

She had looked her duty courageously in the face and found it a friend - as duty ever is when we meet it frankly.

The truth is that people who pull triggers are ultimately responsible, whether they're following orders or not. An army of people making individual moral choices may be inefficient, but an army of people ignoring their morality is horrifying.

If you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something about it.

We had no alternative except that of preparing for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and national community.

I cannot choose but adhere to the word of God, which has possession of my conscience; nor can I possibly, nor will I even make any recantation, since it is neither safe nor honest to act contrary to conscience! Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God! Amen.

Satyagraha means insistence on what one knows to be the truth. The insistence implies the exercise of free will as the need of social obligation. If one is content to know the truth himself, he does not become a votary of Satyagraha. A Satyagrahi should not only know the truth but should insist upon it in social relations. So Satyagraha is activation of truthfulness.

I don't care if I end up in jail or Guantánamo or whatever, kicked out of a plane with two gunshots in the face. I did what I did because I believe it is the right thing to do, and I will continue to do that.

Not only virtue, but also insight, not only sanctity but also wisdom, are the duties and tasks of mankind.

I think it's the responsibility of every human being, not just those who wear the identity of poet, activist, voter, religious person... it's the responsibility of every person. Our responsibility is to use our intelligence as clearly and coherently as we possibly can.

There is no such thing as duty. If you know that a thing is right, you want to do it. If you don't want to do it - it isn't right. If it's right and you don't want to do it - you don't know what right is and you're not a man.

It's up to us, the people, to break immoral laws, and resist.

What a massive responsibility, being a moral creature

To be individually righteous is the first of all duties, come what may to ones self, to one's country, to society, and to civilization itself.

Forget the laws. If the laws don't make sense, if they run contrary to your conscience, you have to disobey them.