“I claim that human mind or human society is not divided into watertight compartments called social, political and religious. All act and react upon one another.”
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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: Attributed to Gandhi (Young India, early 1920s) and hosted in authoritative Gandhi archives (mkgandhi.org 'The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi'), but the exact dated primary is not firmly confirmed.
About this quote
Trying to seal off one part of life from the rest rarely holds. What you do at work leaks into your home, your politics shapes your friendships, and private habits color public conduct — so a change in any single area keeps pushing on all the others.
When to use it
- A manager who lies easily to clients finds the same shortcuts creeping into how he talks to his family.
- A town's decision about where to build a road quietly reshapes which neighbors ever meet.
- Someone who starts exercising for health notices their mood, focus, and patience at work shifting too.