A Gandhi quote

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Permalink Reply by GandhiServe Foundation on February 4, 2009 at 6:53am

About 5 years ago I saw this "quote" on Arun Gandhi's website, prominently placed, for the first time. As I hadn't come across this quote before I refered to some authentic quote compilations of Gandhi as well as the CWMG but in vain. When I asked Arun about it (by email) his then Office Assistant Betty Jennings replied on 15 April 2004:

"The quote you are seeking is paraphrased from a longer paragraph. We have never been able to find that wording, although we use it also, in M.K.Gandhi's works of 98 VOLs. This is the paragraph and the source:

We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.

VOL 13, Ch 153, General Knowledge About Health; Page 241, Printed in the Indian Opinion on 9/8/1913 From The Collected Works of M.K.Gandhi; published by The Publications Division, New Delhi, India."

So, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” in all its variations was never said or written by Gandhi!!! At best it can be attributed to Arun Gandhi being a summary of what he learned from his grandfather.

To do justice to Gandhi and avoid further distortions of his words we should try to educate the world about this misconception. But it would be an endless battle as by now this has become the most popular "quote" by Gandhi. It was even used in the election campaign of Mr. Obama.

I would like to know your thoughts about it, and whether and how we should react.

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Permalink Reply by Dipak Dholakia on September 30, 2009 at 7:30pm

I came across this discussion and other such ones very late because i visited this site only to a limited extent.Never explored it in its full dimensions. Some times cofusing the sections which I intended to visit. I have gradually learnt to explore its various aspects.Hope I am not too late to react.
I would say; if Gandhi has not said what he is being credited with, we should say he did not utter such words. This is as simple as that. The idea and the appeal is really great but so what? There were so many people before and after Mahatma Gandhi who gave superb quotable quotes.In fact, the slogan became popular during the Obama campaign.
Arun Gandhi may have summarised it for a dramtic effect. You know, Richard Attenborough's Gandhi also conjectured some events based on facts for dramatic effect. We know events did not take place exectly as presented in the film. But that was a drama based on a great life. The essence was conveyed very effectively as proved by the decision of Akino of Philippines who is said to have returned from his exile influenced by the film.Arun Gandhi has done the same thing. But, certainly, Gandhi meant what is conveyed by the Arun Gandhi's creative product. Let us say that.

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Permalink Reply by GandhiServe Foundation on March 14, 2010 at 6:59pm

Now a wonderful solution for problems like this has been found: the "revised" edition of the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi was distorted by the BJP Government in the 1990's, see
http://www.gandhiserve.org/cwmg/cwmg_controversy.html

With a tremendous effort Ms. Dina Patel, Ahmedabad, identified all those bugs, created a group "Friends of the CWMG" which succeeded to convince the present Government to ban the "revised" edition, reprint the original one and accept this original version as "Gandhi's bible". Whatever has been published in this version is authentic. Everything else must not be accepted as an authentic quote by Gandhi.

I and all who are sincerely interested to spread Gandhi's life and work, his thoughts and deeds, have now the ultimate medium in our hands for verification as well as for selecting quotations.

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Permalink Reply by Riccardo Gramegna on December 15, 2009 at 10:18pm

Integralist Gandhian? C'mon what do you care if Gandhi did say, utter, the exact sentence? Truth is that every one can make a difference by changing his/her inner attitude. So what? Why be critical? Let it be, let it be... Gandhi would not get irritated about it. Modern language has short and condensed ways to convey a message. Gandhi used to communicate to people of the last century and he had his own limit to use english words.
Do you disagree on the concept? Do you think Gandhi would get irritated and feel misinterpretated? If the answer is no... be at peace. What is important is that the people of this century gets the idea. I love you.

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Permalink Reply by Balamurali Balaji on March 18, 2010 at 5:31am

Gandhi's words and writings are as much important as What the Bible says. 'Cause, in a complicated situations where a group of people work for peace, non-violence, love and other gandhian ideals, there should not arise any mis-iterpretation of what Gandhi said or their own ideas.

Of course, there should be a clear distinction of what Gandhi said and I said, even though the topic is the same. I have experienced some critics saying some times "What you said is Gandhi said" or at some other times, "Oh, this is a different approach from you!"

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