“This ahimsa is the basis of the search for truth. I am realizing every day that the search is vain unless it is founded on ahimsa as the basis. It is quite proper to resist and attack a system, but to resist and attack its author is tantamount to resisting and attacking oneself.”
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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: M.K. Gandhi, 'An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth' (written 1925-29); Part V, on ahimsa and attacking a system not its author. A dated primary work by Gandhi.
About this quote
Aim at the wrong, not the wrongdoer. A person is not the same as the unjust system they happen to serve, and when you attack the human being you hand them a reason to dig in — while coarsening yourself in the process. Oppose the structure hard, and leave the individual a way back.
When to use it
- A reformer hammers an unfair policy without ever demonizing the official enforcing it.
- During a fight, one partner names the hurtful behavior instead of attacking the other's character.
- Workers target the broken rule, not the manager stuck applying it, and win more allies for it.