Did Gandhi really say, "Be the change you want to see in the world"?

Question: Did Gandhi ji really say, "Be the change you want to see in the world"?

Answer: Yes; this single line or quote summarizes what Gandhi ji had said. In 1913 Gandhi ji had published a piece that included a thematically matching passage:

“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”

Source: 1964, The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume XII, April 1913 to December 1914, Chapter: General Knowledge About Health XXXII: Accidents Snake-Bite, (From Gujarati, Indian Opinion, 9-8-1913), Start Page 156, Quote Page 158, The Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. (Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi at Repository of Authentic Information on the life and thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi) link

As we know, the "famous quotes" can't keep a whole paragraph as a quote. The quote publishers try to summarize a famous personality's statements into as concise a manner as possible. This is what happened with this Gandhi ji's quote too. In one sentence we can say that Gandhi ji had said, "Be the change you want to see in the world". At the same time I would say that while reading Gandhi ji, I have found a lot of his statements actually coming from scriptures including the Vedas. 

- Rahul Tiwary

Gandhi Philosophy

In his autobiography, Gandhi ji tells about a Gujarati stanza which was his guiding principle. Here is its translation: 

Return Good for Evil

For a bowl of water give a goodly meal;

For a kindly greeting bow thou down with zeal;

For a simple penny pay thou back with gold;

If thy life be rescued, life do not withhold;

Thus the words and actions of the wise regard;

Every little service tenfold they reward;

But the truly noble know all men as one,

And return with gladness good for evil done.

Is not it wonderful?