All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.

Ahimsa is the eradication of the desire to injure or to kill.

He who injures living beings is not noble. He is called noble because he is gentle and kind towards all living beings.

Nonviolence in the civil rights struggle has meant not relying on arms and weapons of struggle. It has meant noncooperation with customs and laws which are institutional aspects of a regime of discrimination and enslavement.

As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation - either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.

Nonviolence has also meant that my people in the agonizing struggles of recent years have taken suffering upon themselves instead of inflicting it on others.