“I have but shadowed forth my intense longing to lose myself in the Eternal and become merely a lump of clay in the Potter's divine hands so that my service may become more certain because uninterrupted by the baser self in me.”
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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: Genuine Gandhi passage expressing his longing to lose himself in the Eternal; widely reproduced (often traced to Young India), but an exact dated primary was not confirmed here.
About this quote
The longing here is to get one's own ego out of the way so that service can flow without the constant interruptions of pride, appetite, and self-interest. Surrender isn't passivity; it's clearing out the noisy lesser self so the work of helping others runs clean and steady.
When to use it
- A nurse who lets go of the urge to be thanked and simply attends to whoever needs care next.
- A volunteer coordinator who drops turf battles over credit so the shelter actually runs smoothly.
- A mentor pouring years into students, indifferent to whether anyone ever remembers who taught them.