Mahatma Gandhi, a revered figure in Indian history, believed in the power of simplicity and self-reliance. He often spoke about the Charkha, a simple spinning wheel. In this blog, we’ll explore some inspiring quotes by Mahatma Gandhi about the Charkha and how this humble tool represented his ideals of self-sufficiency, freedom, and equality. Join us as we delve into the wisdom of the man who led India to independence through peaceful means and timeless principles.
Charkha Quotes by Mahatma Gandhi
1. Charkha is an instrument of service. ― Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi viewed the spinning wheel, or Charkha, as a tool not just for self-sufficiency but also as a means of serving one’s community and country by producing essential goods like khadi fabric.
2. The Charkha in the hands of a poor widow brings a paltry price to her, in the hands of Jawaharlal; it is an instrument of India’s freedom. ― Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi believed that the Charkha symbolized the power of individuals, regardless of their social status, to contribute to India’s struggle for independence. It represented self-reliance and national sovereignty.
3. The Charkha is an outward symbol of truth and nonviolence. ― Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi saw the Charkha not only as a tool for economic empowerment but also as a symbol of the principles of truth and nonviolence, which were at the core of his philosophy.
4. The Charkha is intended to realize the essential and living oneness of interest among India’s myriads. ― Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi believed that the Charkha could unite people across India, transcending regional, social, and economic divides, by emphasizing their common interest in self-reliance and independence.
5. The Charkha is the symbol of nonviolence on which all life if it is to be real life, must be based. ― Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi regarded the Charkha as a representation of nonviolence, emphasizing that a truly meaningful and peaceful life should be rooted in self-sufficiency and simplicity.
6. The Charkha is the symbol of sacrifice, and sacrifice is essential for the establishment of the image of the deity. ― Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi believed that using the Charkha required personal sacrifice, and this selflessness was vital for achieving spiritual growth and embodying the divine in one’s actions.
7. The Charkha supplemented the agriculture of the villagers and gave it dignity. ― Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi saw the Charkha as a means to augment the income of rural communities while preserving their dignity and self-respect.
8. Seek ye first the Charkha and its concomitants and everything else will be added unto you. ― Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi advocated prioritizing the use of the Charkha and its associated practices, implying that economic independence would lead to overall well-being.
9. The Charkha, which is the embodiment of willing obedience and calm persistence, must therefore succeed before there is civil disobedience. ― Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi emphasized that the success of the Charkha and the principles it represented should precede acts of civil disobedience, highlighting the importance of peaceful means.
10. Unless the charkha adds to your ahimsa and makes you stronger every day, your Gandhism is of little avail. ― Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi believed that the Charkha should contribute to one’s commitment to nonviolence (ahimsa) and personal growth, underscoring that its value goes beyond mere economic benefits.
Mahatma Gandhi’s Charkha Quotes
11. The turning of the charkha in a lifeless way will be like the turning of the beads of the rosary with a wandering mind turned away from God. ― Mahatma Gandhi
12. I believe that the yarn we spin is capable of mending the broken warp and woof of our life. ― Mahatma Gandhi
13. I claim that in losing the spinning wheel we lost our left lung. ― Mahatma Gandhi
14. I crave to die with my hand at the spinning wheel. ― Mahatma Gandhi
15. I have called spinning the yajna of this age of India. ― Mahatma Gandhi
16. If Gandhism means simply mechanically turning the spinning wheel, it deserves to be destroyed. ― Mahatma Gandhi
17. I have pinned my faith to the spinning wheel. On it, I believe, the salvation of this country depends. ― Mahatma Gandhi
18. In my dream, in my sleep, while eating, I think of the spinning wheel. The spinning wheel is my sword. To me, it is the symbol of India’s liberty. ― Mahatma Gandhi
19. My heart is drawn backward and forwards between the spinning wheel and books. ― Mahatma Gandhi
20. For every minute that I spin, there is in me the consciousness that I am adding to the nation’s wealth. ― Mahatma Gandhi
21. The spinning wheel and the spinning wheel alone will solve if anything will solve, the problem of the deepening poverty of India. ― Mahatma Gandhi
22. The spinning wheel means national consciousness and a contribution by every individual to a definite constructive national work. ― Mahatma Gandhi
23. The spinning wheel is a symbol of nonviolence for me. ― Mahatma Gandhi
24. He who spins before the poor, inviting them to do likewise, serves God as no one else does. ― Mahatma Gandhi
25. I would like to assure those who would serve Daridranarayana that there is music, art, economy, and joy in the spinning wheel. ― Mahatma Gandhi
26. The spinning wheel is not meant to oust a single man or woman from his or her occupation. ― Mahatma Gandhi
27. The spinning wheel is as much a necessity of Indian life as air and water. ― Mahatma Gandhi
28. The spinning wheel is the one thing to which all must turn to in the Indian clime for the transition stage at any rate and the vast majority must for all time. ― Mahatma Gandhi
29. The spinning wheel is itself an exquisite piece of machinery. My head daily bows in reverence to its unknown inventor. ― Mahatma Gandhi
30. The spinning wheel for us is the foundation for all public corporate life. ― Mahatma Gandhi
31. The spinning wheel is the auspicious symbol of sharir yajna, body labor. ― Mahatma Gandhi
32. There is no better way of industrializing the villages of India than the spinning wheel. ― Mahatma Gandhi
33. If you will express the requisite purity of character in action, you cannot do it better than through the spinning wheel. ― Mahatma Gandhi
34. Every woman will tell the curious that with the disappearance of the spinning wheel vanished India’s happiness and prosperity. ― Mahatma Gandhi
35. There is no “playing with the truth” in the Charkha program, for satyagraha is not predominantly civil disobedience but a quiet and irresistible pursuit of Truth. ― Mahatma Gandhi
36. The socialism that India can assimilate is the socialism of the spinning wheel. ― Mahatma Gandhi
37. The study of Indian economics is the study of the spinning wheel. ― Mahatma Gandhi
38. The yajna of our age and for us is the spinning wheel. ― Mahatma Gandhi
39. The foundation of service and your real training lie in spinning khaddar. ― Mahatma Gandhi
40. The restoration of spinning to its central place in India’s peaceful campaign for deliverance from the imperial yoke gives her women a special status. ― Mahatma Gandhi
41. Without the proper, careful organization of the spinning wheel and khaddar, there is absolutely no civil disobedience. ― Mahatma Gandhi
42. There is a vital connection between satyagraha and charkha, and the more I find that belief challenged, the more I am confirmed in it. ― Mahatma Gandhi
43. The music of the spinning wheel will be a balm to your soul. ― Mahatma Gandhi
44. Every widow I have met has recognized in the wheel a dear forgotten friend. ― Mahatma Gandhi
45. It was our love of foreign cloth that ousted the wheel from its position of dignity. ― Mahatma Gandhi
46. When the wheel was accepted as part of the national flag, it was surely implied that the spinning wheel would hum in every household. ― Mahatma Gandhi
47. Hand-spinning is designed to put millions of rupees in the hands of the poor villagers. ― Mahatma Gandhi
48. If hand-spinning is an effective method of making India self-supporting, it must be made part of the franchise. ― Mahatma Gandhi
49. My Swaraj takes note of bhangis, dheds, dublas, and the weakest of the weak, and except the spinning wheel, I know no other thing which befriends all these. ― Mahatma Gandhi
50. A plea for the spinning wheel is a plea for recognizing the dignity of labour. ― Mahatma Gandhi
51. Hunger is the argument that is driving India to the spinning wheel. ― Mahatma Gandhi
52. India as a nation can live and die only for the spinning wheel. ― Mahatma Gandhi
53. Just as there are signs by which you can recognize violence with the naked eye, so is the spinning wheel to be a decisive sign of nonviolence. ― Mahatma Gandhi
54. Nothing can so quickly put the masses on their legs as the spinning wheel and all it means. ― Mahatma Gandhi
55. Restore the spinning wheel to its place and you will solve the problem of poverty. ― Mahatma Gandhi
56. The cause of the spinning wheel is too great and too good to have to rest on mere hero-worship. ― Mahatma Gandhi
57. If the poet(Rabindranath Tagore) spun for half an hour daily, his poetry would gain in richness. ― Mahatma Gandhi
58. If we are true servants of the masses, we would take pride in spinning for their sake. ― Mahatma Gandhi
59. One hour spent in spinning should be an hour of self-development for the spinner. ― Mahatma Gandhi
60. There is no sacrifice greater than spinning calculated to bring peace to the troubled spirit, to soothe the distracted student’s mind, to spiritualize his life. ― Mahatma Gandhi
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