Desmond Tutu was born in 1931 in Klersdorp, South Africa, to a family of a poor school teacher and a servant. Desmond was a bright child who loved reading and was interested in learning literature as well as the sciences. During childhood Tutu faced a lot of racism, he observed a divide between black and white children, and he suffered gravely because of this. But he was touched by an incident in which his mother was given a tip and treated with respect by a white gentleman. He thus realized that all men are equal and people of all ethnicity and races deserve to be treated equally.
Tutu got admission to Medical school, but due to poor financial condition and fees difference between whites and blacks, Tutu couldn’t study medicine and thus, studied arts. He went on to become a professor of History and English, but he soon realized that colleges were getting overly populated by white students due to racism and injustice and thus, he resigned from the designation of a professor. His realization that only religion can change the world paved his way to become an archbishop, thus eventually becoming one of the most prominent icons for world peace and advocate for social equality. He fought against apartheid all his life. Desmond Tutu received a Nobel Prize for his priceless work as a social activist and humanitarian in 1984. Below are some of the famous Desmond Tutu Quotes.
If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.
Every human wants to exist peacefully. To ensure a peaceful existence, one must understand that peace is established when one dissolves conflicts with his or her enemies. When peace prevails, a society can co-exist happily, and everyone can live their best lives.
Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.
Like pandora’s box, our lives are full of troubles. Every human has been given his share of suffering in this world. But we must remember that even in pandora’s box, the butterfly came out in the end. The butterfly represents hope. And no matter what happens, there is always hope.
Without forgiveness, there is no future.
Every human who makes connections suffers everyone in this world more or less hurts us. But we have to learn to forgive them, without which we will lose everyone, and our future will be ruined.
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.
People are often seen stating that we are going to stay neutral even when heinous violence has taken place. Such people are too privileged to see that people are suffering. These people are selfish to think only about themselves. And there is no denying that these people have indirectly but consciously chosen the side of the oppressor.
Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
A little gesture goes a long way. Opening the door for the elderly, saying kind words to a sad one, offering food to the destitute, giving a generous tip are really small gestures of kindness but are repaid to us with more kindness and love. The small good things we do are contagious, and these very things slowly but surely change the world.
Continue reading some of the best Desmond Tutu Quotes...
Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning.
Forgiveness is an innate human quality, but it is not often easy to forgive. People often hurt us in unexpected ways, especially the ones close to us. But we must understand that everyone makes mistakes, and by forgiving them, we pave the way for an even deeper connection, for a better beginning.
My father used to say, don’t raise your voice; improve your argument.
People often, while arguing, raise their voices and shout at the other one. But better than shouting, what one can do is speak calmer and to the point, thus forming an effective argument which is far better than using a harsher tone.
My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.
This is one of the most evergreen quote of all time. Desmond says that every human has learnt whatever he knows from other humans, so therefore we owe our humanity to every living man and dead, for they are the ones who taught us how to live.
You don’t choose your family, they are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.
There are few relations we make ourselves; most of our relations are gifted to us by the almighty. The love our family shares with us is boundless, and we must be grateful for that.
We learn from history that we don’t learn from history!
Man has made grave mistakes in the past, but we can see that man keeps making similar mistakes over the years. And this is because no one really learns anything from history, and proof of this can be found in history!
Few more Desmond Tutu Quotes...
I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.
Servants are often treated very badly in their workplace, and according to the mood swings of their masters, these servants are shown kindness. But such kindness is very pitiful, and such kindness has no real love. Each person has their rights and should be treated with respect.
Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another.
It is speculated that different species of sapiens are eliminated by us human sapiens thousands of years ago because, quite honestly, we cannot tolerate differences. We cannot tolerate different colours, different ethnicity, different religion etc. But these differences do not exist to be eliminated but to be embraced. We must understand that each difference has its own importance. And everyone has something good to give to the world.
Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.
There always exists demons in the hearts of bad men who choose oppression, injustice and violence. And to catch such demons, we, the good people, must remain alert. Because of our ignorance, freedom and liberty lose.
We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low.
Desmond Tutu has given an idea of heaven which says that God forgives people who have done wrong because of his mercy and grace. And therefore, when we reach heaven, we will be astonished by the people we meet there.
Be nice to whites, they need you to rediscover their humanity.
Desmond Tutu, in his lifetime, suffered a lot of racism. Thus he feels pity for white people who consider themselves supreme because such people have so much hate in them that they are internally suffering. They need to rediscover the beauty of humanity.
Some more Desmond Tutu Quotes...
As human beings we have the most extraordinary capacity for evil. We can perpetrate some of the most horrendous atrocities.
Humans encompass in themselves all kinds of evil qualities. And it is the perception and stimulation a person receives that makes him do wrong. Thus, each human contains the boundless potential to cause pain, harm, and atrocities just as he possesses good qualities.
We are each made for goodness, love and compassion. Our lives are transformed as much as the world is when we live with these truths.
The belief system of a human becomes a humans ultimate truth. Whatever we believe becomes our truth. Thus, if we believe we are made for love, goodness and compassion, it becomes our truth and our life, and eventually, the world manifests this belief making it the ultimate truth.
I wish I could shut up, but I can’t, and I won’t.
A human voice is the most powerful thing in the world. And it must be traded for nothing. Thus even if we sometimes want to stop speaking due to the criticism, it harnesses we must not stop. Our voice is our only weapon.
When we see the face of a child, we think of the future. We think of their dreams about what they might become, and what they might accomplish.
There is nothing more original than a child. A child is the epitome of all human behaviour. A child is a symbol of the future. A child is like a clean slate; it can be made to learn anything. There exist endless possibilities of what this child will later become in the future.
