“The person who has the throne will not covet a position of civil or police authority.”
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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, The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi (his Gita discourses); remark on renunciation of authority/position.
About this quote
When someone already governs themselves, outward rank stops looking like a prize worth grabbing. The appetite for titles and control over others often signals an inner emptiness; fill that, and the scramble for position tends to lose most of its pull.
When to use it
- A senior engineer turns down a management title because the craft, not the org chart, is what she wants.
- A retiree finds he no longer needs to run the committee to feel that he matters.
- A team member stops jockeying for the lead role once he's confident in the quality of his own work.