“The mind of a person of uncertain purpose grows weak day by day and becomes so unsettled that he can think of nothing except what is in his mind at the moment. This does not help us to realise the atman; in fact we lose our soul. We lose our dharma, we lose the capacity for good works, lose both this world and the other.”
Share this quote
Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: From 'The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi'; his commentary on how a mind of uncertain purpose grows weak and loses the atman.
About this quote
A mind with no settled aim gets pushed around by whatever is loudest in the moment, and that scattering slowly drains its strength. Commit to a clear purpose and your attention consolidates behind it; drift without one and each day's willpower leaks out through a dozen half-starts.
When to use it
- Someone who never picks a direction keeps hopping between jobs and masters none of them.
- A student with no real goal drifts from subject to subject and finishes the term behind.
- A person chasing every new trend spreads so thin that nothing he starts ever gets built.