“If you don't find God in the next person you meet, it is a waste of time looking for him further.”
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Attribution note
Aligns with Gandhi's belief that service to others is service to God, but appears only on quote sites with no primary citation; unverifiable, so commonly attributed rather than probable.
Likely origin: No reliable source; widely credited to Gandhi and consistent with his 'God in every person' theme, but no primary in CWMG was located.
About this quote
This redirects the search for the sacred away from temples and abstractions toward the ordinary person in front of you. If reverence never shows up as decent treatment of a coworker, a stranger, or a rude customer, it stays mere theory. How you handle the next human being is the real test of any belief.
When to use it
- A volunteer gives each person at the shelter the same patience, regardless of their story.
- Someone swallows a sharp remark to a slow cashier and chooses plain courtesy instead.
- A doctor gives the anxious, low-paying patient the same full attention as the wealthy one.