Gandhi said whatever you do never misquote me if you want to see the change to happen in the misquotation mess.
Of course this remark is definitely not what Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi said or wrote.
I am just taking a swap at those books and websites which are fond of putting words into Gandhi’s mouth, so to speak.
Now if you type in the Google search, “who said be the change you want to see in the world” or “who said be the change you wish to see in the world“.
I assure you Google still never change too, it still says it is “Mahatma Gandhi“.
The variants of this M. K. Gandhi’s unverified quote are:
“Be the change you want to see in the world”
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world”
“We must be the change we wish to see in the world”.
“You must become the change you wish to see in the world”
Then there is another similar unsourced quote, “If you want to change the world, start with yourself.”
These lines have been rampantly quoted and shared all over, but none of them have cited its source.
Not one of the above lines is found in any of Gandhi’s interviews or his voluminous writings.
Gandhi Said Whatever You Do
So, is this popular catchy line really by the great Indian freedom fighter Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi?
It is highlighted in the 2006 “The Yale Book Of Quotations” on page 299, Gandhi’s family said he did uttered this “we must be the change” line many times before.
“According to the Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, this has not been traced in Gandhi’s writings but “the Gandhi family states that M. K. Gandhi was known to say this verse many times in his lifetime and believes it to be original with him.”
(The Yale Book Of Quotations Edited By Fred R. Shapiro, New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2006, Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi, 7. We must be the change we wish to see in the world, P. 299) source
Note: You can also get this free book from any of these: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3
Since there is no reliable evidence and it cannot be properly verified or substantiated, then it is just a hearsay or a claim.
Disputed Quote
The popular line, “Be the change you wish to see in the world” is said to be said by Mahatma Gandhi. Period.
It is a shame to see the award-winning beautifully illustrated book with this unverified or disputed quote, claiming it as Gandhi’s words:
“Grandfather had a saying he had said it to many, and now he said it to me: “Be the change you wish to see in the world, Arun.”
I am talking about “Be The Change: A Grandfather Gandhi Story” by Arun Gandhi and Bethany Hegedu.
What Did Gandhi Say About Change?
The quote is most probably paraphrased and summarized from this Gandhi’s remark:
“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. … We need not wait to see what others do.”
(The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume XII, April 1913 to December 1914, 106: General Knowledge About Health [-XXXII] 12: Accidents: Snake-Bite, P.158)
(The quote is also found in: The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (Electronic Book), New Delhi, Publications Division Government Of India, 1999, 98 Volumes”, Volume Thirteen : Mar 12, 1913 – Dec 25, 1913, 153: General Knowledge About Health [-XXXII] 12: Accidents: Snake-Bite, P. 241)
This is another unsourced quote: “Our greatest ability as humans is not to change the world; but to change ourselves” ascribed to Gandhi aka “Bapu”.
By the way, Gandhi also never said these variant quotes:
“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it”
“Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it”
“Everything you do in life will be insignificant, but it’s very important that you do it anyway”.
Back in 1974, there was this similar line:
“…be the change you want to see happen” – Arleen Lorarrance
(Developing Priorities And A Style: Selected Readings In Education for Teachers And Parents, Second Edition, Edited By Richard Dean Kellough, New York: MSS Information Corporation, 1974, Chapter: The Love Project Arleen Lorrance, The Love Project: Arleen Lorrance, Seeker Initiator and Facilitator, P. 85) source
Arleen Lorrance keeps using that line “be the change you want to see happen” in her 2001 book “The Love Principles“.
“Be the change you want to see happen, instead of trying to change everyone else.”
Again in 1975, the quote “Be the change you want to see happen, instead of trying to change everyone else,” was published in the Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada.
The article title is “Selecting a marriage partner. What you see is what you get” by Pamela Galloway on page 6.
This is the except from the article:
Thoughts on marriage “Be the change you want to see happen, instead of trying to change everyone else,” is one of the Love Project Principles Rev. Ernest Troutner likes to recite when counseling couples considering marriage. He also feels young couples shouldn’t have a lot of expectations of each other another principle written by The Love Project, a San Diego organization.
(Reno Gazette-Journal, Monday, June 30, 1975, p. 6) source
To read the text, click on the OCR.
Gandhi Change Quotes With Sources
Here are more authentic Gandhi change quotes linking to reliable sources.
“I do dimly perceive that whilst everything around me is ever-changing, ever-dying, there is underlying all that change a Living Power that is changeless, that holds all together, that creates, dissolves, and re-creates. That informing Power or Spirit is God.” – Mahatma Gandhi
(The Mind Of Mahatma Gandhi (Encyclopedia Of Gandhi’s Thoughts), Compiled And Edited By R. K. Prabhu & U. R. Rao, Ahmedaba, India: Jitendra T. Desai, 1966, II: TRUTH, 10. Truth Is God, God Is, P. 71) source
“The wealth, the family and the body will be there, just the same; we have only to change our attitude to them. All these are not ours but God’s.” – Mahatma Gandhi
(The Mind Of Mahatma Gandhi (Encyclopedia Of Gandhi’s Thoughts), Compiled And Edited By R. K. Prabhu & U. R. Rao, Ahmedaba, India: Jitendra T. Desai, 1966, III: FEARLESSNESS, 12. The Gospel Of Fearless, Attainment of Fearlessness, P. 86) source
“Policies may and do change. Non-violence is an unchangeable creed.” – Mahatma Gandhi
(The Mind Of Mahatma Gandhi (Encyclopedia Of Gandhi’s Thoughts), Compiled And Edited By R. K. Prabhu & U. R. Rao, Ahmedaba, India: Jitendra T. Desai, 1966, V: NON-VIOLENCE, 21. The Gospel Of Non-Violence, Changeless Creed, P. 152) source
“If there has been such a change in one man, there can be the same change in many.” – Mahatma Gandhi
(The Mind Of Mahatma Gandhi (Encyclopedia Of Gandhi’s Thoughts), Compiled And Edited By R. K. Prabhu & U. R. Rao, Ahmedaba, India: Jitendra T. Desai, 1966, XIV: BROTHERHOOD, 96. The World Of Tomorrow, Change In Human Nature, P. 567) source
“For many years I have accorded intellectual assent to the proposition that death is only a big change in life and nothing more, and should be welcome whenever it arrives.” – Mahatma Gandhi
(The Mind Of Mahatma Gandhi (Encyclopedia Of Gandhi’s Thoughts), Compiled And Edited By R. K. Prabhu & U. R. Rao, Ahmedaba, India: Jitendra T. Desai, 1966, XV: OBITER DICT, Death, P. 569) source
“The spirit of democracy is not a mechanical thing to be adjusted by abolition of forms. It requires change of heart.” – Mahatma Gandhi
(The Mind Of Mahatma Gandhi (Encyclopedia Of Gandhi’s Thoughts), Compiled And Edited By R. K. Prabhu & U. R. Rao, Ahmedaba, India: Jitendra T. Desai, 1966, XII: FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY, 72. Essence Of Democracy, P. 421) source
“Passive resistance, unlike nonviolence, has no power to change men’s.” – Mahatma Gandhi
(The Mind Of Mahatma Gandhi (Encyclopedia Of Gandhi’s Thoughts), Compiled And Edited By R. K. Prabhu & U. R. Rao, Ahmedaba, India: Jitendra T. Desai, 1966, V: NON-VIOLENCE, 31. India and Non-Violent way, Mere Passive Resistance, P. 204) source
“Change should harmonize inward and outward life.” – Mahatma Gandhi
(Gandhi’s Autobiography: Moral Lessons, By K. D. Gangrade, New Delhi: Gandhi Smriti And Darshan Samiti, Chapter XVI: Changes, 6.) source
Free Mahatma Books
Related: You can read free Mahatma Gandhi books at these sites:
The Words Of Gandhi. Selected And With An Introduction By Richard Attenborough
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