In my opinion, they are not examples of real conversion. If a person through fear, compulsion, starvation or for material gain or consideration goes over to another faith, it is a misnomer to call it conversion. Most cases of mass conversion, of which we have heard so much during the past two years, have been to my mind false coin... I would, therefore, unhesitatingly re-admit to the Hindu fold all such repentants without much ado, certainly without any shuddhi... And as I believe in the equality of all the great religions of the earth, I regard no man as polluted because he has forsaken the branch on which he was sitting and gone over to another of the same tree. If he comes to the original branch, he deserves to be welcomed and not told that he had committed sin by reason of his having forsaken the family to which he belonged. In so far as he may be deemed to have erred, he has sufficiently purged himself of it when he repents of the error and retraces his step.

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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 Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 66 (1976), pp. 163-64, as quoted in Sita Ram Goel, History of Hindu-Christian Encounters (1996).

About this quote

A commitment bought by hunger, fear, or money isn't really a commitment — it's a transaction wearing belief's clothes. Genuine conviction can only be chosen freely. It follows that someone returning to what they once left deserves welcome rather than shame, since the earlier switch was never fully their own.

When to use it

  • An employee who signs a loyalty pledge only to keep their paycheck feels no real allegiance to the firm.
  • A partner pressured into an apology by threats hasn't reconciled, just complied to end the pressure.
  • A volunteer welcomed back warmly after quitting returns more committed than one guilted into staying.