Ahimsa Quotes

Let it be granted, that according to the letter of the Gita it is possible to say that warfare is consistent with renunciation of fruit. But after forty years' unremitting endeavour fully to enforce the teaching of the Gita in my own life, I have in all humility felt that perfect renunciation is impossible without perfect observance of ahimsa in every shape and form. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

There is, however, only one idea of duty which has been universally accepted by all mankind, of all ages and sects and countries, and that has been summed up in a Sanskrit aphorism thus: "Do not injure any being; not injuring any being is virtue, injuring any being is sin." ~ Swami Vivekananda

A votary of ahimsa always prays for ultimate deliverance from the bondage of the flesh. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

I see a clear breach of ahimsa even in driving away monkeys; the breach would be proportionately greater if they have to be killed. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

How do you know? How do you know you're a real boy? You might be a story in a book," Ahimsa challenged. "That's it! You're a Jack-in-the-Book and only pop out when the pages are opened," he scoffed. ~ Jacqueline Edgington

Ahimsa was preached to man when he was in full vigor of life and able to look his adversaries straight in the face. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Truth and ahimsa will never be destroyed. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

The test of Ahimsa is absence of jealousy. ~ Swami Vivekananda

The votary of ahimsa has only one fear, that is, of God. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

It is said about Lord Buddha sadaya-hrdaya darsita-pasu-ghatam. He saw the whole human race going to hell by this animal killing. So he appeared to teach ahimsa, nonviolence, being compassionate on the animals and human beings. In the Christian religion also, it is clearly stated, 'Thou shall not kill'. So everywhere animal killing is restricted. In no religion the unnecessary killing of animals is allowed. But nobody is caring. The killing process is increasing, and so are the reactions. Every ten years you will find a war. These are the reactions. ~ A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

If we want to eliminate bad qualities like hatred, envy, pride and ostentation, we have to employ Sathya, Dharma, Santhi and Prema and Ahimsa as the cleaning instruments. ~ Sathya Sai Baba

Hinduism with its message of ahimsa is to me the most glorious religion in the world. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Means to be means must always be within our reach, and so ahimsa is our supreme duty. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

The way to truth lies through ahimsa (nonviolence). ~ Mahatma Gandhi

A votary of ahimsa must cultivate the habit of unremitting toil, sleepless vigilance, ceaseless self-control. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Truth is my religion and ahimsa is the only way of its realization. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

If you kill me, you kill yourself.
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He only wanted to convey to Janegg the truth of ahimsa, which is that all beings were connected to each other in the deepest way and thus it was impossible to harm another without harming oneself. ~ David Zindell

Ahimsa is nothing if not a well-balanced, exquisite consideration for one's neighbour, and an idle man is wanting in that elementary consideration. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

For me the only certain means of knowing God is nonviolence, ahimsa, love. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

He who trifles with truth cuts at the root of Ahimsa [non-violence]. He who is angry is guilty of Himsa. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Ahimsa is not a matter of mere dietetics: it transcends it. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

It is simply not true that "religion" is always aggressive. Sometimes it has actually put a brake on violence. In the ninth century BCE, Indian ritualists extracted all violence from the liturgy and created the ideal of ahimsa, "nonviolence." The medieval Peace and Truce of God forced knights to stop terrorizing the poor and outlawed violence from Wednesday to Sunday each week. Most dramatically, after the Bar Kokhba war, the rabbis reinterpreted the scriptures so effectively that Jews refrained from political aggression for a millennium. Such successes have been rare. Because of the inherent violence of the states in which we live, the best that prophets and sages have been able to do is provide an alternative. ~ Karen Armstrong

We cannot justify treating any sentient nonhuman as our property, as a resource, as a thing that we an use and kill for our purposes. ~ Gary L. Francione

These practices - non-killing, truthfulness, non-stealing, chastity, and non-receiving - are to be practised by every man, woman, and child; by every soul, irrespective of nation, country, or position. ~ Swami Vivekananda

Ahimsa is the attribute of the soul, and therefore, to be practiced by everybody in all affairs of life. If it cannot be practiced in all departments, it has no practical value. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

For a satyagrahi brigade only those are eligible who believe in ahimsa and satya. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

H. G. Wells was not the only one to mention Churchill and Hitler in the same breath: "Churchill and Hitler are striving to change the nature of their respective countrymen by forcing and hammering violent methods on them. Man may be suppressed in this manner but he cannot be changed. Ahimsa [non-violence in the Hindu tradition], on the other hand, can change human nature and sooner than men like Churchill and Hitler." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Welfare reforms and the whole "happy" exploitation movement are not "baby steps." They are big steps–in a seriously backward direction. ~ Gary L. Francione

Ahimsa necessarily includes truth and fearlessness. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Ahimsa can be practiced only towards those that are inferior to you in every way. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Ahimsa means infinite love, which again means infinite capacity for suffering. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Ahimsa and love are one and the same thing. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

When two nations are fighting, the duty of a votary of ahimsa is to stop the war. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

The path of Truth is as narrow as it is straight. Even so is that of ahimsa. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

All sentient beings should have at least one right - the right not to be treated as property ~ Gary L. Francione

A soldier fights with an irresistible strength when he has blown up his bridges and burnt his boats. Even so, it is with a soldier of ahimsa. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which though doest not. ~ Bahaullah

Ahimsa is a comprehensive principle. We are helpless mortals caught in the conflagration of himsa. The saying that life lives on life has a deep meaning in it. Man cannot for a moment live without consciously or unconsciously committing outward himsa. The very fact of his living - eating, drinking and moving about - necessarily involves some himsa, destruction of life, be it ever so minute. A votary of ahimsa therefore remains true to his faith if the spring of all his actions is compassion, if he shuns to the best of his ability the destruction of the tiniest creature, tries to save it, and thus incessantly strives to be free from the deadly coil of himsa. He will be constantly growing in self-restraint and compassion, but he can never become entirely free from outward himsa.

Then again, because underlying ahimsa is the unity of all life, the error of one cannot but affect all, and hence man cannot be wholly free from himsa. So long as he continues to be a social being, he cannot but participate in the himsa that the very existence of society involves. When two nations are fighting, the duty of a votary of ahimsa is to stop the war. He who is not equal to that duty, he who has no power of resisting war, he who is not qualified to resist war, may take part in war, and yet wholeheartedly try to free himself, his nation and the world from war. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

It is against the spirit of ahimsa to overawe even one person into submission. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

If our ahimsa is not of the brave but of the weak, and if it will bend the knee before himsa, Gandhism deserves to be destroyed. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

True ahimsa should mean a complete freedom from ill-will and anger and hate and an overflowing love for all. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi was a man of peace and non-violence and lived by the Hindu principle of ahimsa, action based on refusal to do harm. As his war-strewn presidency shows, George Bush knows nothing about ahimsa and non-violence. Bush should reconsider this cynical, disrespectful display of symbolism. ~ Kevin Martin

Which religion gives the greatest joy to God? That which inspires human beings to practice Ahimsa and compassion to all creatures. ~ Vallabha Acharya

A sadhak (one who does spiritual practice) will not have time to indulge in gossip. They will not feel like talking to anyone in a harsh manner. Those who always indulge in faultfinding will never achieve spiritual progress. Do not harm anyone by thoughts, words or deeds. Be compassionate towards all beings. Ahimsa (nonviolence) is the highest dharma (duty). ~ Mata Amritanandamayi

My anekantavada is the result of the twin doctrines of satya and ahimsa. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

My ahimsa is my own. I am not able to accept in its entirety the doctrine of non-killing of animals. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

No man has ever been able to describe God fully. The same holds true of ahimsa. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

I am not well-versed in theory, but in my view, the cow deserves her life. As does the ram. As does the ladybug. As does the elephant. As do the fish, and the dog and the bee; as do other sentient beings. I will always be in favor of veganism as a minimum because I believe that sentient beings have a right not to be used as someone else's property. They ask us to be brave for them, to be clear for them, and I see no other acceptable choice but to advocate veganism. If these statements make me a fundamentalist, then I will sew a scarlet F on my jacket so that all may know I'm fundamentally in favor of nonviolence; may they bury me in it so that all will know where I stood. ~ Vincent J. Guihan

Ahimsa is the highest duty. Even if we cannot practice it in full, we must try to understand its spirit and refrain as far as is humanly possible from violence. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Ahimsa is the eradication of the desire to injure or to kill. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One. ~ Black Elk

I ask him to join with me in prayer to the God of Truth that He may grant me the boon of Ahimsa in mind, word and deed. ~ Anonymous

Thinking along these lines, I have felt that in trying to enforce in one's life the central teaching of the Gita, one is bound to follow Truth and ahimsa. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Ahimsa is one of the world's great principles, which no power on earth can wipe out. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Dear men, I'll make it clear to you. Those who tell you that 'true love' is never giving up someone you are in love with are insecure and competitive. Their description on love is based on their needs. Selfish needs. While women who are confident, their spirits fulfilled by themselves know that a 'good bye' doesn't mean they never loved you. They realizes that letting you go is what God needs them to do, because both happiness: yours and your lover require taking different journey for spiritual growth. These kind of women show you what 'real love' is. And you don't want to catch them still? Win a battle for them? Even after what you have learnt? For God's sake, these women have endured much. For battles she fight alone, they deserve LOVE. ~ Ahimsa Murfi

In an atmosphere of ahimsa, one has no scope to put his ahimsa to the test. It can be tested only in the face of himsa. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Love in the sense of ahimsa has only a limited number of votaries in the world. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Ahimsa is the highest ideal. It is meant for the brave, never for the cowardly. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Ahimsa must express itself through acts of selfless service of the masses. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

In protecting oneself, others are protected; In protecting others, oneself is protected. ~ Gautama Buddha

Love and ahimsa are matchless in their effect. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

You kill life and call it an act of religion. Then what is irreligion? ~ Kabir

The Jain religion in India teaches that because all life is essentially interrelated and interconnected, all living beings should be considered sacred and be respected. This belief forms the basis of the doctrine of ahimsa, which has been translated into English variously as "reverence for life," "nonviolence," and "dynamic compassion." ~ Nathaniel Altman

To his enemies the householder must be a hero. Them he must resist. That is the duty of the householder. He must not sit down in a corner and weep, and talk nonsense about non-resistance. If he does not show himself a hero to his enemies he has not done his duty. ~ Swami Vivekananda

Ahimsa and Truth are so intertwined that it is practically impossible to disentangle and separate them. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Ahimsa is no mere theory with me, but it is a fact of life based on extensive experience. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me. ~ Plato

My errors have been errors of calculation and judging men, not in appreciating the true nature of truth and ahimsa or in their application. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

The scriptures of Christians, Mussalmans and Hindus are all replete with the teaching of ahimsa. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

In Swaraj, based on ahimsa, people need not know their rights, but it is also necessary for them to know their duties. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Ahimsa (non-killing), truthfulness, purity, mercy, and godliness are always to be kept. ~ Swami Vivekananda

My ahimsa would not tolerate the idea of giving a free meal to a healthy person who has not worked for it in some honest way. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

I see You, Every time I look into Buddha's eyes. I give myself to You. Every time I alter one of Your 1,000s names. Honestly & fully I love You. Through Christ and Maria, Shiva and Shakti, Krishna and Radha, With every day that passes and every breath I take. I enter gratitude for receiving Your Love. Obeying Your Laws of Truthfulness and Ahimsa, Weaving Prana With hearts and souls of Gaia. Through mysticism, shamanism, sufism, and ecstatic meditations. I yearn to touch You, to feel You, to be You. Within this amazing Journey of Awareness of Your Consciousness. ~ Natasa Nuit Pantovic

Ahimsa is the height of Kshatriya dharma as it represents the climax of fearlessness. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

What is it but my ahimsa that draws thousands of women to me in fearless confidence? ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Love, otherwise ahimsa, sustains this planet of ours. ~ Mahatma Gandhi