“The mahatma I leave to his fate. Though a non-co-operator I shall gladly subscribe to a Bill to make it criminal for anybody to call me mahatma and to touch my feet. Where I can impose the law myself, at the ashram, the practice is criminal.”
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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: Gandhi, quoted in 'Gandhi's Life in His Own Words'; statement rejecting the 'Mahatma' honorific (trailing '126' is a scan/footnote artifact).
About this quote
Being lifted onto a pedestal sounds flattering, yet it quietly walls you off from ordinary accountability and honest feedback. Refusing the reverence, even wishing it outlawed, is a way of staying a person among people instead of a symbol perched above them.
When to use it
- A founder asks the team to stop treating her word as final and to push back the moment she's wrong.
- A veteran coach insists players call him by name, not 'sir,' to keep the door open for honesty.
- An author declines the 'genius' label in interviews, wary of what it does to her next drafts.