*Top 10 Qualities of Mahatma Gandhi and How To Incorporate Them In Your Life*

1. Faith in self:

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

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, that too with non-violence and against the violent & cruel British army. Gandhi was beaten a lot of times, left bleeding 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.

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 to kill him and many assassinations were attempted on his life. But he forgave them all. He always forgave the people that might have hurt him in any way.

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, he fought, he cheated, easily gave in to temptation, was too much after material things and fake recognition. Some of his actions were condemned in his own land, by his trusted circle of people. He made mistakes throughout his life but always strived to avoid making the same mistake twice. He often failed but tried to rectify his shortcomings

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 always favored the truth and honesty, he condemned violence, kept himself away from the materialistic desires and walked a path of high moral. He was a celebrity who was recognized worldwide and yet remaining unaffected from the limelight he lived a life of an ascetic. He maintained a life of simplicity and discipline.

6. Love, Don’t Resort to Hatred

“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 it’s 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.

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. Often people assume 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. He named his own autobiography: “My Experiments with Truth”.

8. Living in the 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.

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.

10. Non Violence

“My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God. Non-violence is the means of realizing Him” And 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 was the most prominent figure in the non-violent side of movements for the independence of India. In his memory and honor, today “International Day of Non-Violence” is observed worldwide. If we begin to resort to and resolve our problems and conflicts peacefully, without violence and in cooperation with each other, thousands of innocent lives can be saved that are lost in mindless wars.

Thank you BAPU ...koti koti pranam!!