QuoteProject
Distinguish between real needs and artificial wants and control the latter.
Mahatma Gandhi
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of recognizing genuine needs versus superficial desires and learning to manage the latter.

Mahatma Gandhi's quote encourages individuals to reflect on their lives and discern between what they truly require to live well and what they only desire for pleasure or status. By understanding this distinction, one can cultivate self-discipline and make better choices that prioritize meaningful living over consumerism and materialism.

Themes

NeedsWantsControlWisdomSelf-Discipline

In practice

Example use cases

During a personal development seminar to encourage participants to evaluate their life choices.

More from Mahatma Gandhi

To forgive is not to forget. The merit lies in loving in spite of the vivid knowledge that one that must be loved is not a friend. There is not merit in loving an enemy when you forget him for a friend.
Mahatma GandhiRead
Love never claims, it ever gives. Love ever suffers, never resents never revenges itself.
Mahatma GandhiRead
Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
Mahatma GandhiRead
The real test of nonviolence lies in its being brought in contact with those who have contempt for it.
Mahatma GandhiRead
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
Mahatma GandhiRead
The devotion of such titans of spirit as Lenin to an Ideal must bear fruit. The nobility of his selflessness will be an example through centuries to come, and his Ideal will reach perfection.
Mahatma GandhiRead

Similar quotes

I believe in intuitions and inspirations...I sometimes FEEL that I am right. I do not KNOW that I am.
Albert EinsteinRead
We necessarily operate in an environment in which there's a great deal of uncertainty. In such an environment, it makes sense to use a risk-management approach to identify and avoid the big mistakes. That's one reason I favor a cautious approach.
Janet YellenRead
Initiate giving. Don't wait for someone to ask. See what happens - especially to you. You may find that you gain a greater clarity about yourself and about your relationships, as well as more energy rather than less. You may find that, rather than exhausting yourself or your resources, you will replenish them. Such is the power of mindful, selfless generosity. At the deepest level, there is no giver, no gift, and no recipient . . . only the universe rearranging itself.
Jon Kabat-ZinnRead
In the fields of observation chance favors only those minds which are prepared.
Louis PasteurRead
I heard many discourses which were good for the soul, but I could not discover in the case of any one of the teachers that his life was worthy of his words.
Saint BasilRead
The proof that one truly believes is in action.
Bayard RustinRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Mahatma Gandhi | QuoteProject