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
I regard myself as a soldier, though a soldier of peace.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Gandhi views himself as a fighter for peace rather than war, embodying the spirit of a soldier dedicated to non-violence.
In this quote, Mahatma Gandhi emphasizes the idea that one can be a soldier not merely in the context of warfare but as a champion of peace. His self-identification as a 'soldier of peace' highlights his dedication to fighting for justice and equality through non-violent means, showing that the fight for peace can be as noble and rigorous as traditional combat.
Themes
PeaceNonviolenceJusticeDedicationGandhi
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about community service, I might reference Gandhi's quote to inspire individuals to serve as peacemakers.
More from Mahatma Gandhi
All quotes βLove never claims, it ever gives. Love ever suffers, never resents never revenges itself.
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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
Ultimately, peace is just not about politics. It's about attitudes; about a sense of empathy; about breaking down the divisions that we create for ourselves in our own minds and our own hearts that don't exist in any objective reality, but that we carry with us generation after generation. And I know, because America, we, too, have had to work hard over the decades, slowly, gradually, sometimes painfully, in fits and starts, to keep perfecting our union.
Barack ObamaRead
The ultimate goal is two states for two people: Israel as a Jewish state and the homeland for the Jewish people and the State of Palestine as the homeland for the Palestinian people - each state in joined self-determination, mutual recognition, and peace.
Barack ObamaRead
My constant prayer, my number one foreign goal, is to bring peace to Israel. And in the process to Israel's neighbours.
Jimmy CarterRead
The more peace there is in us, the more peace there will be in our troubled world.
Etty HillesumRead
I most sincerely wish that the world in which we live be free from the threat of a nuclear holocaust and from the ruinous arms race. It is my cherished desire that peace be not separated from freedom which is the right of every nation. This I desire and for this I pray.
Lech WalesaRead
Through unity of action we can be a veritable colossus in support of peace. No one can defeat us unless we first defeat ourselves. Every one of us must be guided by this truth.
Dwight D. EisenhowerRead