“If physical fasting is not accompanied by mental fasting it is bound to end in hypocrisy and disaster.”
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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's writings on fasting (An Autobiography / Harijan); widely credited to him, but an exact dated primary was not confirmed here.
About this quote
Giving up a thing while your mind still circles it isn't restraint, it's just a delayed craving. Discipline that only changes outward behavior, leaving the appetite untouched, tends to snap back or curdle into pretense. The inner wanting has to ease too, or the abstinence is theater.
When to use it
- Someone quits sugar but obsesses over dessert all day and binges by the weekend.
- A person cuts up the credit card yet keeps browsing full carts online, so the debt creeps back.
- A dieter who resents every salad quietly abandons the plan the moment stress hits.