--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is greater than all art." description: "\"Life is greater than all art.\" — Mahatma Gandhi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/mahatma-gandhi-23_art_life-is-greater-than-all-art-1472312_1472312.jpg" --- # Life is greater than all art. ![“Life is greater than all art.” quote by Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/mahatma-gandhi-23_art_life-is-greater-than-all-art-1472312_1472312.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/mahatma-gandhi-23_art_life-is-greater-than-all-art-1472312_1472312.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/mahatma-gandhi-23_art_life-is-greater-than-all-art-1472312_1472312.jpg) > “Life is greater than all art.” [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. Life transcends artistic expression, offering deeper purpose and moral depth than mere aesthetics. **In simple terms:** Life is more profound than art. Key Takeaway Seek purpose beyond aesthetics. Themes philosophy ethics meaning existence Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal growth - social activism - education - leadership Key Concepts humanism spirituality value Questions to Reflect On - How does daily life reflect higher values than artistic representation? - Can art ever fully capture the complexity of lived experience? A Different Perspective Art can inspire, but life provides lived experience and ethical responsibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/great-is-the-art-of-beginning-but-greater-is-the-art-of-ending/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [We demand of our political life greater certainty and greater perfection than we demand of our personal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lerner/we-demand-of-our-political-life-greater-certainty-and-greater/) [Max Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lerner/) > [I exhort you also to take part in the great combat, which is the combat of life, and greater than every other earthly conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-exhort-you-also-to-take-part-in-the-great-combat-which-is-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Without your entrance to greater reality in this life, greater reality has no entrance to this life. The meaning of all of this lifeisn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/without-your-entrance-to-greater-reality-in-this-life-greater-reality/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [The more unlived your life, the greater your death anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/the-more-unlived-your-life-the-greater-your-death-anxiety/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [I mean, you know, I get a tremendous positive charge every day just from knowing these kids and who they are. I mean, Larry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lampley/i-mean-you-know-i-get-a-tremendous-positive-charge-every-day-just/) [Jim Lampley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lampley/) > [You are more than you appear to be - Life is greater than you have ever known it - The best is yet to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/you-are-more-than-you-appear-to-be-life-is-greater-than-you-have-ever/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [Even before I had children I wanted the intensity of my life to get greater. I wanted to feel things more strongly. I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-koons/even-before-i-had-children-i-wanted-the-intensity-of-my-life-to-get/) [Jeff Koons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-koons/) > [I am interested and deeply curious about our need for a spiritual life, a life of greater meaning, and how we come to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-am-interested-and-deeply-curious-about-our-need-for-a-spiritual/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [ “\[Death is\] to lose the earth you know, for greater knowing; to lose the life you have, for greater life; to leave the friends… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiley-cash/death-is-to-lose-the-earth-you-know-for-greater-knowing-to-lose-the/) [Wiley Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiley-cash/) > [There is a vision for my life that is greater than my imagination can hold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/there-is-a-vision-for-my-life-that-is-greater-than-my-imagination-can/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [It is GREAT for a person to live life of his own; GREATER if he could also be out of his comfort zone but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj-somany/it-is-great-for-a-person-to-live-life-of-his-own-greater-if-he-could-2/) [Anuj Somany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj-somany/) > [It is GREAT for a person to live life of his own; GREATER if he could also be out of his comfort zone but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj-somany/it-is-great-for-a-person-to-live-life-of-his-own-greater-if-he-could/) [Anuj Somany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj-somany/) > [Only idiots die for an idea! Life is greater and infinitely more valuable than all the ideas!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-idiots-die-for-an-idea-life-is-greater-and-infinitely-more/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“enjoying life should be of much greater concern than understanding it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-fetters/enjoying-life-should-be-of-much-greater-concern-than-understanding-it/) [Will Fetters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-fetters/) ## 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 Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life is greater than all art.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mahatma Gandhi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/life-is-greater-than-all-art/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/life-is-greater-than-all-art/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/mahatma-gandhi-23_art_life-is-greater-than-all-art-1472312_1472312.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/mahatma-gandhi-23_art_life-is-greater-than-all-art-1472312_1472312.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/mahatma-gandhi-23_art_life-is-greater-than-all-art-1472312_1472312.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life is greater than all art.” — 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": "Life is greater than all art.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/life-is-greater-than-all-art/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/life-is-greater-than-all-art/#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 } } ] } ```