Top 10 Qualities of Mahatma Gandhi & why you need to learn them



Mahatma Gandhi was born on 2nd October, 1869. This day is also celebrated as the International day of Non-Violence in his honor. Mahatma is made up of two Hindi words Mahan- Aātma; meaning great soul. In this month let's remember this great soul.  When asked about what message he would like to give to the world, Gandhi said, “My life is my message” Here are 10 great strategies and virtues we should learn from the Great life of Mahatma Gandhi. All the quotes are by Mahatma Gandhi:

1. Faith in self-

 “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”

Also,

“Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn't have it in the beginning.”

Mahatma Gandhi wasn’t a great orator, didn’t had a very attractive physique, lived a life of simplicity and avoided limelight as much as he could, but still he is regarded as one of the Greatest persons to have ever walked on earth. The reason is he always believed in himself. He believed that he has a great responsibility to free his country and he had complete faith in himself. He knew he’d a play a significant role in the freedom of India and so he did. His faith in himself triggered the faith of millions of Indians in him.

Remember-

“All of us have great abilities and great responsibilities. All of us play a very significant role in the flow of History. The reason we never realize is because we never believe we can have a worldwide impact.”

2. Resistance & Persistence-

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you and then you win.”

It was very tough to lead the Independence movement of a huge country such as India and that too with non-violence and against the violent and cruel British army. Gandhi was beaten a lot of times, a lot of times he was left alone, bleeding and lying on the ground and sometimes it seemed that he won’t see the sun, next day but each day and each time he faced the opposition, he resisted, he persisted and he got through all the opposition.

Remember-

“When you fight for a noble cause and you know that you’re doing the right thing you’ll face the opposition. The opposition make everything seem worse, you may feel like you’re the only one standing for your cause and the whole world is against you. That’s the time you might feel like giving up but you must resist the opposition, and must persevere to make your dreams come true.”

3. Forgiveness-

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

Mahatma Gandhi was thrown into jail, beaten on the roads; many people conspired about his death and tried to assassinate him. But he forgave them all. He always forgave the people that might have hurt him in any way.

Remember-

“What people don’t understand is that forgiveness is not only a great quality but it’s also somewhat a selfish act; When you forgive the people that might have hurt you or caused you some problems, you let go of the negativity associated with that event. Also, forgiving people causes a long lasting positive impact on their lives and builds everlasting relationships. So remember to forgive everyone, issue a blank pardon and forgive everyone.”

4. Learning from mistakes-

“Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession.”

Mahatma Gandhi wasn’t perfect from the beginning. When he was child, he lied, he stole, and he fought and was too much after material things. Not all his actions were praised around the globe. Some of his actions were condemned in his own land. He made mistakes throughout his life but he never made the same mistake twice. He failed but he learned from it and achieved success.

Remember-

“We’re all humans and making mistakes is a part of being human. But we should always stop and take a look at what mistakes we did and why they happened. If we learn from failures and mistakes, they’d eventually turn out to be as grand success in life.”

5. Strength of Character-

“There are seven sins in the world: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice and politics without principle.”

Mahatma Gandhi was a man of great character. He kept himself away from the materialistic desires, always favored the truth and honesty, he condemned violence, he was married but still he was celibate and was himself a pure vegetarian. He was celebrity and was covered on the front-page of all the important newspapers in the world at that time. But still he lived the life of simplicity and discipline.

Remember-

“Anyone can fool around when given a chance to but only the people who live a life of discipline, great character and have urgency in day to day affairs are the people who reach their destiny and become famous.”   

6. Love but never hate-

“Whenever you’re confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love.”

This is a quality most of the people would have difficulty to adopt. But this is a quality often found in great people. It was present in the Buddha, Christ and in other great spiritual leaders. This was something Gandhi adopted from his ideals.

Remember-

“When you avoid a fight and instead walk out of the arena with your opponent, both having a smile on their faces: it might look stupid. But it actually works in your favor. Two things you’ve won- the fight without even actually fighting and a good friend that might help you in the ups and downs of life. Actions like this help in building everlasting relationships.”

7. Truthfulness-

“Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.”

Most of the people reading this post would not know that before becoming a freedom fighter, M.K. Gandhi was actually a lawyer. Most people would wonder that the profession of lawyer requires much cunning and lying but still Gandhi never resorted to lying. He promoted truth throughout his life. He always called truth as his most powerful weapon.

Remember-

“While lying might serve your purpose for a short time, truth lasts forever. If you say the truth every time and to everyone, you don’t have to remember anything. While one lie triggers even more lies, Truth stands for itself.”

8. Live in Present-

“I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the present. God has given me no control over the moment following.”

Gandhi believed in living each moment at fullest and concentrating at the task in hands. He didn’t waste his time looking back at the past or wondering what would happen in the future.

Remember-

“Concentrating on the present benefits you in two ways: it let go you of the worries of the past and the future but also it increases your efficiency at the task you must focus. It sorts out your priorities and help you to avoid procrastination.”

9. Take the first step and Do it anyway-

“Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is important that you do it”

Gandhi himself suffered from the menace of procrastination when he was in school and later on when he went to England to learn law. Then he devised this method of taking first step in faith and doing the task anyways. He knew that not all the actions that he’d take would be important but he knew that they will have important results later on.

Remember-

“If you don’t do something about it, it will never be done. The great tasks in future should never be at the mercy of leisure and laziness. If you want something to be done the best thing is begin it and do it anyway.”

10. Non Violence-

“My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God. Non-violence is the means of realizing Him”

Also,

“An eye for an eye would soon make the whole world blind.”

Mahatma Gandhi is known in the whole world for his principles of non-violence. He never resorted to violence and has won the war of independence of India just by non- violence. In his memory and honor, today “International Day of Non-Violence” is observed worldwide. If human resort to and resolve their problems and conflicts peacefully, without violence and cooperating with each other, thousands of innocent lives can be saved, that are often lost in wars.

Remember-

“Wars can never actually solve issues, wars can only terminate them.”

In the end, a quote by Gandhi that would help you to reach your destiny-

“Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.”

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Till the next time, Commit yourself to your Destiny and begin trailing on your Untrailed Path. Take care and Goodbye.

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