Though, I was born a Hindu, I solemnly assure you that I will not die as a Hindu
The basic idea underlying religion is to create an atmosphere for the spiritual development of the individual.
Indifferentism is the worst kind of disease that can affect people.
Slavery does not merely mean a legalised form of subjection. It means a state of society in which some men are forced to accept from others the purposes which control their conduct.
A bitter thing cannot be made sweet. The taste of anything can be changed. But poison cannot be changed into nectar.
If you ask me, my ideal would be the society based on liberty, equality and fraternity. An ideal society should be mobile and full of channels of conveying a change taking place in one part to other parts.
One cannot have any respect or regard for men who take the position of the reformer and then refuse to see the logical consequences of that position, let alone following them out in action.
Democracy is not merely a form of Government. It is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience. It is essentially an attitude of respect and reverence towards our fellow men.
For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice, necessity and importance of political and social rights.
Every man must have a philosophy of life, for everyone must have a standard by which to measure his conduct. And philosophy is nothing but a standard by which to measure.
So long as you do not achieve social liberty, whatever freedom is provided by the law is of no avail to you.
What are we having this liberty for? We are having this liberty in order to reform our social system, which is full of inequality, discrimination and other things, which conflict with our fundamental rights.
Law and order are the medicine of the politic body and when the politic body gets sick, medicine must be administered.
Equality may be a fiction but nonetheless one must accept it as a governing principle.
History shows that where ethics and economics come in conflict, victory is always with economics. Vested interests have never been known to have willingly divested themselves unless there was sufficient force to compel them.
Cultivation of mind should be the ultimate aim of human existence.
Lost rights are never regained by appeals to the conscience of the usurpers, but by relentless struggle…. Goats are used for sacrificial offerings and not lions.
If I find the constitution being misused, I shall be the first to burn it.
I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.
Humans are mortal. So are ideas. An idea needs propagation as much as a plant needs watering. Otherwise both will wither and die.
A great man is different from an eminent one in that he is ready to be the servant of the society.
Political tyranny is nothing compared to the social tyranny and a reformer who defies society is a more courageous man than a politician who defies Government.