Let the boat of your life be light, packed with only what you need -- a homely
home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love
and someone to you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough
to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.
You will find the boat easier to pull then, and it will not be so liable to
upset; good, plain merchandise will stand water. You will have time to think
as well as to work.
-Jerome K. Jerome (from 'Three men in a boat')
If the world were created just one moment ago, complete with (false)
memories and other misleading records of a past that never occurred, we would
never be able to detect that such was the case. Thus, we could not be obliged to
take account of that fact in our decision-making, and the way we should act if
the past never occurred must be the same as the way we should act if it did.
Therefore, any sound logic of decision-justification must dismiss all claims
about the past as irrelevant.
- Christopher C. Lang (from 'How to Deduce that a decision is justifiable':
http://philosophy.wisc.edu/lang/DJLogic.pdf )
You only live once, so take hold of the chance
Don't end up like others, same song and dance.
-Metallica (from "Motorbreath")
Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big,
worthwhile things. It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out - it's
the grain of sand in your shoe.
-Robert Service, writer (1874-1958)
Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is because
we are not the person involved.
-Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910)
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is
noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience,
which is the bitterest.
-Confucius, philosopher and teacher (c. 551-478BCE)
Whenever you commend, add your reasons for doing so; it is this which
distinguishes the approbation of a man of sense from the flattery of
sycophants and admiration of fools.
-Richard Steele, author and editor (1672-1729)
No man has a prosperity so high or firm, but that two or three words can
dishearten it; and there is no calamity which right words will not begin to
redress.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)
When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.
-John Ruskin, author, art critic, and social reformer (1819-1900)
Traveling is a fool's paradise... I pack my trunk, embrace my friends,
embark on the sea and at last wake up in Naples, and there besides me is
the stern fact, the sad self, unrelenting, identical, that I fled from.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, philosopher and writer (1803-1882)
Life is a long lesson in humility.
-James M. Barrie, writer (1860-1937)
Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.
-Marcus Aurelius, philosopher and writer (121-180)
The highest purpose is to have no purpose at all. This puts one in accord
with nature in her manner of operation.
-John Cage, composer (1912-1992)
Minds, like bodies, will often fall into a pimpled, ill-conditioned state
from mere excess of comfort.
-Charles Dickens, novelist (1812-1870)
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on
the unreasonable man.
-George Bernard Shaw, writer, Nobel laureate (1856-1950)
In truth everything and everyone
Is a shadow of the Beloved,
And our seeking is His seeking
And our words are His words...
We search for Him here and there,
while looking right at Him.
Sitting by His side, we ask:
"O Beloved, where is the Beloved?"
-Rumi, poet and mystic (1207-1273)
What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness.
-Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher (1828-1910)
"The Secrets of Success: You are the architect of life, create your life, create your own
opportunities and make things happen. Set yourself a specific goal and monitor your progress. Be
of service, keep doing good things for others. Control your environment. Mix with the kind of
people who inspire you. Keep your attitude positive and keep your health in fine trim. Let God go
before you in everything you do. Pray regularly with feeling, always be planning. Enjoy your
achievements. Always strive to be happy."
- Greeting Card given by Mahendra and Neeru Soneji, 17th June, 2001.
"I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong,
neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill,
but time and chance happeneth to them all."
-Ecclesiastes 9:11
"When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won.
There have been murderers and tyrants, and for a time they can seem invincible. But in the end
they always fall. Think of it, always."
-Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948)
"I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, man's being unable to sit still in a room."
-Blaise Pascal, philosopher and mathematician (1623-1662)
"Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have of
trying to change others."
- Jacob Braude
"Four steps to achievement: Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue
persistently."
- William A. Ward
"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world."
- Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher (1889-1951)
"If an artisan were certain that he would dream every night for fully twelve hours that he was a
king, I believe that he would be just as happy as a king who dreams every night for twelve hours
that he is an artisan".
- Pascal
"It is with words as with sunbeams, the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn."
-Robert Southey (1774-1843)
"All thoughts, all passions, all delights
Whatever stirs this mortal frame
All are but ministers of Love
And feed His sacred flame."
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge
"If the aborigine drafted an IQ test, all of Western civilization would presumably flunk it."
-Stanley Marion Garn, anthropologist (1922- )
"If you would stand well with a great mind, leave him with a favorable impression of yourself; if
with a little mind, leave him with a favorable impression of himself."
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge, poet and philosopher (1772-1834)
"Every saint has a past and every sinner a future."
-Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900)
"Don't discuss yourself, for you are bound to lose; if you belittle yourself, you are believed; if you
praise yourself, you are disbelieved."
-Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592)
"Physical pain may have to be dealt with, avoided, treated, cured or got rid of, but psychological
sorrow should not be treated, got rid of or avoided. It should be utilised in order to discover that
which experiences this sorrow. With each experience if one is able to trace the source of that
sorrow which is the ego then that ego is got rid of once and for all and there is liberation. Only
then is there liberation. Therefore, Gurudev exalted this. When there is a tremendous inner urge
to find the ego, in the light of that urge the ego (the 'me', the self) is seen to be non-existent.
In that situation virtue flows effortlessly. All the Yama-niyama take their abode in you, all the
disciplines that we have been discussing all these days become yours, effortlessly. You are
unselfish, effortlessly not because you think the unselfish self is going to lead you to Moksha, but
there is Moksha already. You are freed from the self and therefore you are unselfish. There is no
alternative. You love God, not because you expect to be given a right to heaven. There is no
because. That life itself is a continuous meditation. This urge to liberation sought to find the truth
concerning the ego, and having discovered its non-existence begins to realise that it was possible
for it to arise on account of inattention, and if you are not attentive and vigilant throughout your life
it can arise again so there is constant vigilance.
That vigilant watchfulness of the potentiality of the ego arising is itself meditation. There is no
other meditation. In that meditation the ego is prevented from arising. That vigilance itself is the
inner light or insight and as long as it is shining bright the demon called ego doesn't arise. That is
meditation. And that is also self-realisation, God-realisation or liberation, whatever you wish to
call it."
- Swami Venkatesananda
"Nobody is interested in it. Absolutely nobody in this world is interested either in your happiness
or in your salvation, so there is no sense in doing all this to please others or in striving to convince
others that you are a great Yogi, Sadhu or holy man. All this is a total waste of time. Instead, try
to adapt yourself to others, to the man who vehemently opposes you. Say to him, "Yes sir, you
may be right", or "You are right," and at the same time watch what goes on within you."
-Swami Venkatesananda
"The best effect of fine persons is felt after we have left their presence."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)
"There is a foolish corner in the brain of the wisest man."
-Aristotle, philosopher (384-322 B.C.)
"Write down the advice of him who loves you, though you like it not at present."
-English Proverb
"In seeking wisdom, the first step is silence, the second listening, the third remembering, the
fourth practicing, the fifth -- teaching others."
-Ibn Gabirol, poet and philosopher (c. 1022-1058)
"The best cure for worry, depression, melancholy, brooding, is to go deliberately forth and try to
lift with one's sympathy the gloom of somebody else."
-Arnold Bennett, novelist (1867-1931)
"We can be knowledgeable with other men's knowledge but we cannot be wise with other men's
wisdom."
-Michel Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592)
"When it is dark enough, you can see the stars."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)
"When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves."
-Confucius (551-479 BC)
"Nature magically suits a man to his fortunes, by making them the fruit of his character."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)
"We have a mould in our mind, a frame of reference, a set of rules, with which we compare every
individual we meet. If the person's characteristics fit our mould, we consider him a good person, a
friend. If he bears thoughts and actions that are outside our 'good' mould, we consider him
detestable. But the truth is, that each individual was created very unique, very different from
another and there can never be a singular mould that would encompass all beings into the
kingdom of your loveworthiness. Therefore, break the mould. Break the mould and love all."
- Anand (9/4/2001)
"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him."
-Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer (1564-1642)
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves,
and wiser people so full of doubts."
- Bertrand Russell, Philosopher, mathematician, and writer
"Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher."
-Japanese proverb
"Reading makes a full man, meditation a profound man, discourse a clear man."
-Benjamin Franklin
"There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth."
-Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher (1828-1910)
"If you want to live a happy life, base it on a goal. Not on people or things."
-Albert Einstein
"When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump
off. You sit still and trust the engineer."
-Corrie Ten Boom, author and Holocaust survivor
"The following are suggestions that will help you handle price objections:
• Don't mention price until the customer asks for it.
• Concentrate on the value received, not on the money spent.
• Justify the price with sound reasoning.
• Never discuss price without mentioning value and benefits simultaneously.
• Compare the price to more expensive articles.
• Stretch the price over the life of the product"
"Successful people have goals. They know exactly what they want, and they think about their
goals every day of their lives. We are successful as long as we're working toward something we
want to bring about in our lives. Success does not lie in the achievement of a goal; it lies in the
journey toward the goal. The more clearly our goal is defined, the more real it becomes to us, and
before long the more attainable. We become what we think about. What the mind can conceive,
and believe, it can achieve."
"The following are information-management skills vital to success in the information age:
concentrate on what you're doing, avoid perfectionism, plan and prioritize goals, set goals, use
prime time for priority work, give yourself a break, deal with each piece of information only once,
clear your desk and choose a reading time."
"Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves."
-Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the U.S (1809-1865)
"For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him he must regard himself as greater than he is."
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher (1749-1832)
"If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master. The covetous man cannot so properly be said
to possess wealth, as that may be said to possess him."
-Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (1561-1626)
"Include the world in your love, and call yourself a cosmic citizen. You are the king; and in the
kingdom of your love, include... all living creatures."
-Paramahansa Yogananda
"The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold."
-Aristotle, philosopher (384-322 B.C.)
"He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all."
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge
"Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts."
-Charles Dickens
"Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a
winning game."
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Men are men before they are lawyers, or physicians, or merchants, or manufacturers; and if you
make them capable and sensible men, they will make themselves capable and sensible lawyers
or physicians."
-John Stuart Mill
"You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will
never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong.
There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map
out a course of action and follow it to an end requires...courage."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Self-trust is the first secret of success."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Knowledge cultivates your seeds and does not sow in you seeds."
-Kahlil Gibran
"I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the
unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers."
-Kahlil Gibran
"The person you consider ignorant and insignificant is the one who came from God, that he might
learn bliss from grief and knowledge from gloom."
-Kahlil Gibran
"Advance, and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the
path, for they draw only corrupt blood."
-Kahlil Gibran
"All that spirits desire, spirits attain."
-Kahlil Gibran
"Know then thyself, presume not God to scan,
The proper study of Mankind is Man."
-Alexander Pope
"The intellectual is constantly betrayed by his vanity. Godlike he blandly assumes that he can
express everything in words; whereas the things one loves, lives, and dies for are not, in the last
analysis completely expressible in words."
-Anne Morrow Lindbergh
"But then I sigh, and with a piece of scripture,
Tell them that God bids us do good for evil.
And thus I clothe my naked villainy
With odd old ends stolen forth of holy writ,
And seem I a saint, when most I play the Devil."
-William Shakespeare, King Richard III
"I wash my hands of those who imagine chattering to be knowledge, silence to be ignorance, and
affection to be art."
-Kahlil Gibran
"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
-Les Brown
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
-Eleanor Roosevelt
"We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but
no personality."
-Albert Einstein
"Before the gates of excellence the high gods have placed sweat; long is the road thereto and
rough and steep at first; but when the heights are reached, then there is ease, though grievously
hard in the winning."
-Hesiod
"Pain and foolishness lead to great bliss and complete knowledge, for Eternal Wisdom created
nothing under the sun in vain."
-Kahlil Gibran
"I am he, as you are he, as you are me, and we are all together!"
-Beatles
"Superflous wealth can buy superfluities only."
- Henry David Thoreau
"Fame is a vapor, Popularity an accident; the only earthly certainity is oblivion."
-Mark Twain
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work."
-Thomas Alva Edison
"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on
trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."
-Dale Carnegie
"We are what we think. All that we are, arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the
world."
-Buddha
"To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance."
-Buddha
"He is able who thinks he is able."
-Buddha
"It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways."
-Buddha
"An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your
body, but an evil friend will wound your mind."
-Buddha
"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present
moment."
-Buddha
"You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."
-Buddha
"I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude."
-Henry David Thoreau
"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."
-Thomas Edison
"The best way to escape from a problem is to solve it."
-Alan Saporta
"Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change."
-Confucius
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
-Confucius
"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."
-Confucius
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance."
-Confucius
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
-Confucius
"The object of the superior man is truth."
-Confucius
"Hating people is like burning down your own house to get rid of a rat."
-Henry Emerson Fosdick
"What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"It is not length of life, but depth of life."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"All life is an experiment."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"People only see what they are prepared to see."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and
absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall
begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another
without helping himself."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The only way to have a friend is to be one."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"He who has a thousand friends
Has not a friend to spare,
While he who has one enemy
Shall meet him everywhere."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"We aim above the mark to hit the mark."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to
earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate
beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a
garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because
you have lived. This is the meaning of success."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The years teach much which the days never knew."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers
and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self Reliance"
"Speak what you think to-day in words as hard as cannon-balls and to-morrow speak what to-
morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradicts every thing you said to-day."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self Reliance
"By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Concord Hymn
"Tell them dear, that if eyes were made for seeing,
Then beauty is its own excuse for being:
Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose!
I never sought to ask, I never knew:
But, in my simple ignorance suppose
The selfsame power that brought me there brought you."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Rhodora, The
"Far or forgot to me is near;
Shadow and sunlight are the same;
The vanished gods to me appear;
And one to me are shame and fame.
They reckon ill who leave me out;
When me they fly, I am the wings;
I am the doubter and the doubt,
And I the hymn the Brahmin sings."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Brahma
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies with in us."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"All mankind love a lover."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson