dissonance between creed and deed

Gandhi took words and ideas seriously, and when he accepted an idea in principle he felt that not to practise it was dishonest. How can you believe in a moral or religious precept and not live it? The gulf between word and belief is untruth. The dissonance between creed and deed is the root of innumerable wrongs in our civilization; it is the weakness of all churches, states, parties, and persons. It gives institutions and men split personalities. In attempting to establish harmony between words, beliefs and acts Gandhi was attacking man's central problem. He was seeking the formula for mental health.

Louis Fischer - The life of Mahatma Gandhi