“But the fact that I had learnt to be tolerant to other religions did not mean that I had any living faith in God. I happened, about this time, to come across Manusmriti which was amongst my father’s collection. The story of the creation and similar things in it did not impress me very much, but on the contrary made me incline somewhat towards atheism.”
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Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: M. K. Gandhi, An Autobiography (c.1925-29); boyhood recollection of reading the Manusmriti and inclining briefly toward atheism.
About this quote
Inherited belief only becomes your own once you've genuinely tested it. Reading a sacred text and finding its stories unconvincing isn't a failure of faith so much as the start of an honest search — tolerance of other creeds, and even a spell of doubt, can be steps toward a conviction that actually holds.
When to use it
- A student raised on one interpretation reads the primary text herself and finds she disagrees with the sermon she grew up on.
- Someone questions a ritual he has practiced for years, sits with the doubt, and keeps only the parts that still ring true.
- A young person listens respectfully to relatives' beliefs while quietly working out what he actually thinks.