There is more to life than increasing its speed.

In the luminous simplicity of his wisdom, Mahatma Gandhi once said: “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” These words, gentle yet profound, rise like a quiet protest against the feverish pace of the modern world. Gandhi, who lived in an age already beginning to worship progress and haste, saw clearly that the pursuit of constant acceleration would rob humanity of its soul. His message is not a rejection of movement or effort, but a call to balance, to remember that life’s purpose lies not in how fast we travel, but in how deeply we live.

The origin of this saying lies in Gandhi’s philosophy of simple living and high thinking — a creed he lived, not merely preached. He believed that mankind’s greatest progress is inward, not outward; that the measure of civilization is not the number of machines it builds, but the peace that dwells in its heart. As the Industrial Revolution reshaped the world, Gandhi watched men lose themselves in their own creations — rushing, consuming, competing, always moving faster but rarely growing wiser. His words were a lantern in that storm: a reminder that life is not a race, but a pilgrimage of the soul, and that to live well, one must walk with awareness, not haste.

To understand this truth, one may recall the story of Leo Tolstoy, whose life mirrors Gandhi’s ideals. Tolstoy was once a man of fame and indulgence, known for his wealth and his restless ambition. Yet in the later years of his life, he turned away from luxury and titles, choosing instead a simple, spiritual existence on his farm. “Everyone thinks of changing the world,” he wrote, “but no one thinks of changing himself.” Like Gandhi, he came to see that peace cannot be found by racing ahead, but by standing still long enough to listen to the whisper of the divine within. Gandhi, who revered Tolstoy’s writings, would later call him one of his greatest teachers.

Speed, in Gandhi’s metaphor, is more than physical motion — it is the restless hunger that drives humanity to chase more and more, without knowing why. It is the illusion that faster is always better, that progress must be constant, even if it leads away from joy. He saw that when men hurry, they lose sight of compassion; when nations rush, they lose sight of justice. The world, he feared, would become full of movement but empty of meaning — full of noise but devoid of stillness. Thus, his teaching was not a plea for idleness, but for mindful living — to act with purpose, to move with love, to live in rhythm with the eternal instead of being dragged by the temporary.

The ancients, too, spoke this wisdom long before Gandhi. The Taoist masters of China taught that life unfolds like a river, not by force but by flow. The Buddha warned that desire, like a fire, consumes those who feed it. Even the Christ said, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul?” Gandhi’s quote is the echo of these timeless truths — that the faster we run toward material gain, the further we drift from spiritual peace. For life’s richest treasures — love, wisdom, beauty, understanding — cannot be hurried; they unfold only in stillness and patience.

So, what then should we do in our age, where time is devoured by haste and hearts are tethered to the ticking of clocks? The lesson is this: slow down and awaken. Pause to feel the breath that sustains you. Look upon the sky not as a ceiling, but as a living canvas. Speak not to fill silence, but to share truth. When you work, do it with attention; when you rest, do it with gratitude. Resist the world’s demand for constant acceleration, for it is in the quiet intervals — in the pauses between action — that the soul grows.

My children, remember this teaching of Gandhi: speed is not life, but movement without direction. The tree grows slowly but stands for centuries; the storm moves swiftly but soon disappears. Choose to be the tree. Root yourself in purpose, grow with patience, and seek not to be the fastest, but the most steadfast. For there is indeed more to life than increasing its speed — there is the art of living with grace, the joy of presence, and the peace that comes from knowing you are already where you need to be.

And when the world urges you to run, to chase, to hurry, remember the quiet voice of the Mahatma whispering through time: “Be still — for in stillness, you will find life itself.”