Inspiring Quotes by Nelson Mandela
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The process of illusion and disillusionment is part of life and goes on endlessly.

An initiative was essentially led by civil society because the policy of the government was that Africans must not be taught to graze in pastures which were reserved for the main white group.

Prison itself is a tremendous education in the need for patience and perseverance. It is above all a test of one's commitment.

Only armchair politicians are immune from committing mistakes. Errors are inherent in political action.

Education is the great engine to personal development.

Hope is a powerful weapon, and (one) no one power on earth can deprive you of.

The relations between a man and his or her god is a personal matter; you can't go out and challenge the belief of people in a superior being.

Let us give practical recognition to the injustices of the past,by building a future based on equality and social justice.

No problem is so deep that it cannot be overcome, given the will of all parties, through discussion and negotiation rather than force and violence.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

I know that, throughout the world, there are good men and women concerned with the greatest challenges facing society today -- poverty, illiteracy, and disease.

I went as an observer, not a participant, for I do not think that I ever spoke. I wanted to understand the issues under discussion, evaluate the arguments, see the calibre of the men involved.

Let the efforts of us all, prove that he Martin Luther King was not a mere dreamer when he spoke of the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace being more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.

The time comes in the life of any nation when there remains only two choices -- submit or fight.

The challenge for each one of you is to take up these ideals of tolerance and respect for others and put them to practical use in your schools, your communities and throughout your lives.

I have never cared very much for personal prizes. A person does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards.

Take it upon yourself where you live to make people around you joyful and full of hope.

In my younger days, I was arrogant -- jail helped me to get rid of it. I did nothing but make enemies because of my arrogance.

Although I am a gregarious person, I love solitude even more.

Only 50 years ago persons with intellectual disabilities were scorned, isolated and neglected. Today, they are able to attend school, become employed and assimilate into their local community.

I am influenced more than ever before by the conviction that social equality is the only basis of human happiness.

No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but its lowest ones.

Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.

The world remains beset by so much human suffering, poverty and deprivation. It is in your hands to make of our world a better one for all, especially the poor, vulnerable and marginalised.

There is nobody more dangerous than one who has been humiliated, even when you humiliate him rightly.

Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.

I have always endeavoured to listen to what each and every person in a discussion had to say before venturing my own opinion.

The New World Order that is in the making must focus on the creation of a world of democracy, peace, and prosperity for all.

Our experience has taught us that with goodwill a negotiated solution can be found for even the most profound problems.

It generally appears outlandish until its carried out.

I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed.

He knew when to compromise. Yet he never compromised his principles. He was a militant. Yet a militant who knew how to plan, assess concrete situations and emerge with rational solutions to problems.

Our economic approach to food and its distribution reflects our basic moral values.

A new society cannot be created by reproducing the repugnant past, however refined or enticingly repackaged.

The call now is for each of us to ask ourselves: are we doing all we can to help build the country of our dreams?

Negotiation and discussion are the greatest weapons we have for promoting peace and development.

Who could doubt that sport is a crucial window for the propagation of fair play and justice? After all, fair play is a value that is essential to sport.

Politics can be strengthened by music, but music has a potency that defies politics.

Exercise is the key not only to physical health but to peace of mind.

We tried in our simple way to lead our life in a manner that may make a difference to those of others.

Let us remind ourselves that it is ordinary people -- men and women, boys and girls -- that make the world a special place.

We slaughter one another in our words and attitudes. We slaughter one another in the stereotypes and mistrust that linger in our heads, and the words of hate we spew from our lips.

These numbers are staggering, in fact incomprehensible. By all accounts, we are dealing with the greatest health crisis in human history.

Honesty,sincer ity,simplicity, humility, pure generosity,abse nce of vanity,readines s to serve others -qualities which are within easy reach of every soul -are the foundation of one's spiritual life.

The Good News borne by our risen Messiah who chose not one race, who chose not one country, who chose not one language, who chose not one tribe, who chose all of humankind!

While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.

One effect of sustained conflict is to narrow our vision of what is possible. Time and time again, conflicts are resolved through shifts that were unimaginable at the start.

The collapse of good conscience and the absence of accountability and public scrutiny have led to crimes against humanity and violations of international law.

I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come.

Leaders will have to give clear and decisive leadership towards a world of tolerance and respect for difference, and an uncompromising commitment to peaceful solutions of conflicts and disputes.

Educating all of our children must be one of our most urgent priorities. We all know that education, more than anything else, improves our chances of
building better lives.

I cannot and will not give any undertaking at a time when I, and you, the people, are not free. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated.

We must work together to ensure the equitable distribution of wealth, opportunity and power in our society.

None of us, acting alone, can achieve the success.