h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
Could this have been expressed a bit better? Should it be 'make' the change rather than 'be' it? I can't be sure I understand what it means anyway, and after googling it I see there are many different opinions.

Is 'the change' supposed to be a noun in this quote, like a collection of coins, and if so, how could you actually 'be' it anyway?

I think it means you should set an example.

I agree it's not grammatically perfect.

I understand that the way to change the world start in you. Change yourself first.

For instance, buy local if you don´t want to favour big corporations that play quite dirty in the food business. Recycle,don´t waste, etc.

Be the change sounds fine to me if I translated to Spanish, it´s in the imperative mood, Sé el cambio. By changing your attitude, yourself, you become a part of the whole. You get thingified...

I think it's perfectly grammatically correct, but it's a metaphor.

So, for example, if you think the world should change to be more compassionate, then you should 'be' that change/embody it/be its personification - you should be more compassionate yourself.

As an aside, the fact that the phrase sounds a bit strange is probably the reason it caught on so well - because it's a bit weird it stands out more and sticks in the memory more.

I've just discovered that this quote was never said by Ghandhi, but that he did say “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. ... We need not wait to see what others do.”