--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If one has affection for a person or a…" description: "\"If one has affection for a person or a system, one should feel free to give the fullest expression to his disaffection so long as he does not contempla..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/mahatma-gandhi-23_affection_if-one-has-affection-for-a-person-or-a-s_788258.jpg" --- # If one has affection for a person or a system, one should… ![“If one has affection for a person or a system, one should feel free to give the fullest expression to his disaffection so long as he does not contemplate, promote, or incite violence.” quote by Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/mahatma-gandhi-23_affection_if-one-has-affection-for-a-person-or-a-s_788258.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/mahatma-gandhi-23_affection_if-one-has-affection-for-a-person-or-a-s_788258.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/mahatma-gandhi-23_affection_if-one-has-affection-for-a-person-or-a-s_788258.jpg) > “If one has affection for a person or a system, one should feel free to give the fullest expression to his disaffection so long as he does not contemplate, promote, or incite violence.” [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expressing disaffection openly is permissible if it avoids inciting violence, emphasizing moral integrity over suppression. **In simple terms:** Speak your mind without encouraging violence. Key Takeaway Voice dissent responsibly. Themes ethics free speech non‑violence Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political protest - online debates - workplace feedback - personal relationships Key Concepts moral philosophy civil discourse Questions to Reflect On - When does honest criticism become harmful? - How can you express dissent safely? A Different Perspective Balancing honesty with potential harm can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Affection Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection-person-426860/) [Contemplating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplating/) [Disaffection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaffection-47515/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Feel free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-free/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Person Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-feel/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [You can explore the universe looking for somebody who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-explore-the-universe-looking-for-somebody-who-is-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-search-throughout-the-entire-universe-for-someone-who-is-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Infidelity is an opium of unfaithfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/infidelity-is-an-opium-of-unfaithfulness/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“...it really struck me that, just as people might look at me and never imagine I'd worked as a prostitute, they must look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hayes/it-really-struck-me-that-just-as-people-might-look-at-me-and-never/) [Sophie Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hayes/) > [Disaffection stalks around us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolley-madison/disaffection-stalks-around-us/) [Dolley Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolley-madison/) > [“A press governed solely by the desire to avoid all critical news that might reflect negatively upon dominant class interests reveals itself as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/a-press-governed-solely-by-the-desire-to-avoid-all-critical-news-that/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) > [Recall the face of the poorest and weakest man you have seen, and ask yourself if this step you contemplate is going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/recall-the-face-of-the-poorest-and-weakest-man-you-have-seen-and-ask/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [It is simple impertinence for any man, or any body of men, to begin, or to contemplate, reform of the whole world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-is-simple-impertinence-for-any-man-or-any-body-of-men-to-begin-or/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I must refuse to believe that the Germans contemplate with equanimity the evacuation of cities like London for fear of destruction to be wrought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-must-refuse-to-believe-that-the-germans-contemplate-with-equanimity/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [My only sanction is the love and affection in which you hold me. But it has its weaknesses, as it has its strengths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-only-sanction-is-the-love-and-affection-in-which-you-hold-me-but/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“My power is that I can always tell when someone is unhappy, even if that person is pretending to be happy and is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charise-mericle-harper/my-power-is-that-i-can-always-tell-when-someone-is-unhappy-even-if/) [Charise Mericle Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charise-mericle-harper/) > [Sometimes being the "bigger person" can make a person feel so small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-being-the-bigger-person-can-make-a-person-feel-so-small/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We all want to get along well with other people, and one way to do this is to help people feel good about themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/we-all-want-to-get-along-well-with-other-people-and-one-way-to-do/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [I think of L.A. as my home now, in large part because I became the entity that I am in L.A. I always say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-turner-smith/i-think-of-l-a-as-my-home-now-in-large-part-because-i-became-the/) [Jodie Turner-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-turner-smith/) > [I think that it takes a special person to still feel like themselves after losing a limb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-missick/i-think-that-it-takes-a-special-person-to-still-feel-like-themselves/) [Simone Missick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-missick/) ## More by Mahatma Gandhi > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Devotion required by the Gita is no soft-hearted effusiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/devotion-required-by-the-gita-is-no-soft-hearted-effusiveness/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [So long as we fear the outside world, we must cease to think of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/so-long-as-we-fear-the-outside-world-we-must-cease-to-think-of-swaraj/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I do not want a kingdom, or heaven; what I want is to remove the trouble of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-a-kingdom-or-heaven-what-i-want-is-to-remove-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Religions are not for separating men from one another, they are meant to bind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/religions-are-not-for-separating-men-from-one-another-they-are-meant/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-hold-flesh-food-to-be-unsuited-to-our-species-we-err-in-copying-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was only in South Africa that I got over this shyness, though I never completely overcame it. It was impossible for me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-was-only-in-south-africa-that-i-got-over-this-shyness-though-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Where there is life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/where-there-is-life/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If it was wrong to seek God in a stone, how was it right to seek Him in a book called the Gita, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-it-was-wrong-to-seek-god-in-a-stone-how-was-it-right-to-seek-him/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-spirit-of-democracy-cannot-be-established-in-the-midst-of/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them-a desire, a dream, a vison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/champions-are-made-from-something-they-have-deep-inside-of-them-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [My motto is "Unite now, today if you can; fight if you must. But in every case avoid British intervention."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-motto-is-unite-now-today-if-you-can-fight-if-you-must-but-in-every/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I have no disciples, being myself an aspirant after discipleship and in search of a guru.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-have-no-disciples-being-myself-an-aspirant-after-discipleship-and/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Man becomes not the lord and master of all creation but he is its servant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/man-becomes-not-the-lord-and-master-of-all-creation-but-he-is-its/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) [Explore all 3,284 Mahatma Gandhi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More Affection quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If one has affection for a person or a system, one should feel free to give the fullest expression to his disaffection so long as he does not contemplate, promote, or incite violence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mahatma Gandhi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-one-has-affection-for-a-person-or-a-system-one-should-feel-free-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affection" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-one-has-affection-for-a-person-or-a-system-one-should-feel-free-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/mahatma-gandhi-23_affection_if-one-has-affection-for-a-person-or-a-s_788258.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/mahatma-gandhi-23_affection_if-one-has-affection-for-a-person-or-a-s_788258.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/mahatma-gandhi-23_affection_if-one-has-affection-for-a-person-or-a-s_788258.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If one has affection for a person or a system, one should feel free to give the fullest expression to his…” — Mahatma Gandhi", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mahatma Gandhi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If one has affection for a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-one-has-affection-for-a-person-or-a-system-one-should-feel-free-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-one-has-affection-for-a-person-or-a-system-one-should-feel-free-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```