--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We may never be strong enough to be…" description: "\"We may never be strong enough to be entirely non-violent in thought, word and deed. But we must keep non-violence as our goal and make steady progress ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52b/mahatma-gandhi-23_being-at-peace_we-may-never-be-strong-enough-to-be-enti_1973799.jpg" --- # We may never be strong enough to be entirely non-violent… ![“We may never be strong enough to be entirely non-violent in thought, word and deed. But we must keep non-violence as our goal and make steady progress towards it.” quote by Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52b/mahatma-gandhi-23_being-at-peace_we-may-never-be-strong-enough-to-be-enti_1973799.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52b/mahatma-gandhi-23_being-at-peace_we-may-never-be-strong-enough-to-be-enti_1973799.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52b/mahatma-gandhi-23_being-at-peace_we-may-never-be-strong-enough-to-be-enti_1973799.jpg) > “We may never be strong enough to be entirely non-violent in thought, word and deed. But we must keep non-violence as our goal and make steady progress towards it.” [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. Total non‑violence may be unattainable, but it should remain the aspirational goal with continual improvement. **In simple terms:** We can’t be perfectly non‑violent, yet we must strive for it. Key Takeaway Aim for non‑violent ideals and progress steadily. Themes peace ethics self‑improvement Mood hopeful reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - social movements - personal conduct - conflict resolution - education programs Key Concepts non‑violence moral aspiration Questions to Reflect On - What small steps can you take toward non‑violent behavior? - How do you handle moments when you fall short? 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He was violent. They thought if they left Scotland, they would leave the problems behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/my-dad-was-a-womaniser-a-gambler-he-was-violent-they-thought-if-they/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [Increase of material comforts, it may be generally laid down, does not in any way whatsoever conduce to moral growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/increase-of-material-comforts-it-may-be-generally-laid-down-does-not/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolence-is-the-greatest-force-at-the-disposal-of-mankind/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should, in a cowardly manner, become or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-would-rather-have-india-resort-to-arms-in-order-to-defend-her/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If non-violence is the Law of our being, the future is with Women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-non-violence-is-the-law-of-our-being-the-future-is-with-women/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/where-there-is-only-a-choice-between-cowardice-and-violence-i-would/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence. I would rather have India resort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-believe-that-where-there-is-only-a-choice-between-cowardice-and/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Use truth as your anvil, nonviolence as your hammer and anything that does not stand the test when it is brought to the anvil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/use-truth-as-your-anvil-nonviolence-as-your-hammer-and-anything-that/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The Attainment of freedom, whether for a person, a nation or a world, must be in exact proportion to the attainment of nonviolence for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-attainment-of-freedom-whether-for-a-person-a-nation-or-a-world/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Maybe the growth of "God" signifies the existence of God. That is: if history naturally pushes people toward moral improvement, toward moral growth, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wright/maybe-the-growth-of-god-signifies-the-existence-of-god-that-is-if/) [Robert Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wright/) > [One of the ways in which parenting is a learning experience and an opportunity for moral growth is that we learn as parents that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sandel/one-of-the-ways-in-which-parenting-is-a-learning-experience-and-an/) [Michael Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sandel/) > [The perfecting of one's self is the fundamental base of all progress and all moral development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-perfecting-of-one-s-self-is-the-fundamental-base-of-all-progress/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/a-battle-lost-or-won-is-easily-described-understood-and-appreciated/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) ## 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 Being at peace quotes > [All works of love are works of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/all-works-of-love-are-works-of-peace/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [The Attainment of freedom, whether for a person, a nation or a world, must be in exact proportion to the attainment of nonviolence for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-attainment-of-freedom-whether-for-a-person-a-nation-or-a-world/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Just before a game, I try to keep a clear mind so that I can focus better. I'm the kind of person who plays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viswanathan-anand/just-before-a-game-i-try-to-keep-a-clear-mind-so-that-i-can-focus/) [Viswanathan Anand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viswanathan-anand/) > [Peace does not rest in the charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. So let us not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/peace-does-not-rest-in-the-charters-and-covenants-alone-it-lies-in/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [For peace is not mere absence of war, but is a virtue that springs from force of character: for obedience is the constant will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/for-peace-is-not-mere-absence-of-war-but-is-a-virtue-that-springs/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/i-am-talking-about-genuine-peace-the-kind-of-peace-that-makes-life-on/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/he-who-joyfully-marches-to-music-in-rank-and-file-has-already-earned/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/even-a-happy-life-cannot-be-without-a-measure-of-darkness/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political moral questions of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/nonviolence-is-the-answer-to-the-crucial-political-moral-questions-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Motherhood has taught me the meaning of living in the moment and being at peace. Children don't think about yesterday, and they don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessalyn-gilsig/motherhood-has-taught-me-the-meaning-of-living-in-the-moment-and/) [Jessalyn Gilsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessalyn-gilsig/) > [Patience is being at peace with the process of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/patience-is-being-at-peace-with-the-process-of-life/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [Perhaps this was the secret to being at peace: want nothing but what is given to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/perhaps-this-was-the-secret-to-being-at-peace-want-nothing-but-what/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom. And now, as in no other age, we seek it because we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/we-seek-peace-knowing-that-peace-is-the-climate-of-freedom-and-now-as/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [The only two important things in life are real love and being at peace with yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-carroll/the-only-two-important-things-in-life-are-real-love-and-being-at/) [Jonathan Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-carroll/) [Browse all 66 Being at peace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-at-peace/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We may never be strong enough to be entirely non-violent in thought, word and deed. 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