“A clean confession, combined with a promise never to commit the sin again, when offered before one who has the right to receive it, is the purest type of repentance.”
Share this quote
Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: From An Autobiography; Gandhi on confession combined with a promise never to repeat the sin as the purest repentance.
About this quote
Saying sorry is cheap when nothing changes afterward. What makes it real is naming the wrong plainly to the person owed an answer, and pairing that admission with a genuine resolve not to repeat it. The promise is what turns regret into repair.
When to use it
- An employee who tells a client the mistake was his and commits to a concrete fix.
- A friend who admits he broke a confidence and vows to guard it from now on.
- A teenager who owns up to a lie and then actually follows through on doing better.