“When there is no desire for fruit, there is no temptation for untruth or himsa (violence). Take any instance of untruth or violence, and it will be found that at its back was the desire to attain the cherished end. But it may be freely admitted that the Gita was not written to establish ahimsa. It was an accepted and primary duty even before the Gita age. The Gita had to deliver the message of renunciation of fruit. This is clearly brought out as early as the second chapter. But if the Gita believed in ahimsa or it was included in desirelessness, why did the author take a warlike illustration? When the Gita was written, although people believed in ahimsa, wars were not only not taboo, but nobody observed the contradiction between them and ahimsa.”
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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' (Anasaktiyoga commentary) — on desirelessness, ahimsa, and why the Gita uses a war setting.
About this quote
The pull toward lying or forcing an outcome almost always traces back to wanting that outcome too badly. Loosen the grip on the result and the temptation to cut corners loses its fuel. You can then act straight, because nothing rides on winning and there's nothing to defend by cheating.
When to use it
- A salesperson who stops obsessing over one commission no longer feels the urge to oversell or mislead the customer.
- A parent desperate for a child to place first stops pushing them toward shortcuts and lets the honest effort stand on its own.
- Someone in an argument who releases the need to win it stops twisting the facts and simply tells it as it happened.