Quotations
I have found some of the best reasons I ever had for remaining at the bottom simply by looking at the men at the top.
I felt that if I wished to live and understand the meaning of life, I must seek it amongst….the simple, unlearned, and poor men.
It is a grave error to accuse a man who pursues self-knowledge of ‘turning his back on society’. The opposite would be more nearly true: that a man who fails to pursue self-knowledge is and remains a danger to society, for he will tend to misunderstand everything that other people say or do, and remain blissfully unaware of the significance of many of the things he does himself.
The search for consciousness begins with an effort to shake off the false consciousness imposed by society… One devise is particularly important; an individual cannot hope to achieve an independent consciousness unless he cultivates, by whatever means are available including clothes, speech, mannerisms, illegal activities and so forth, the feeling of being an outsider. Only the person who feels himself to be an outsider is genuinely free of the lures and temptations of the Corporate State.
Without self-awareness man acts, speaks studies, reacts, mechanically, like a machine: on the basis of “programs” acquired accidentally, unintentionally, mechanically. He is not aware that he is acting in accordance with programs… when he is awake, no one can program him: he programs himself.
You assist an evil system most effectively by obeying its orders and decrees. An evil system never deserves such allegiance. Allegiance to it means partaking of the evil. A good person will resist an evil system with his or her whole soul.
I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
The prophet does not turn inwards to find peace and calm there, for the prophet knows that peace without justice is a cover-up. Rather, the prophet turns outward to find God and the God who is found is a verb and not a noun.
What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.
The Golden rule is resolutely to refuse to have what millions cannot. This ability to refuse will not descend upon us all of the sudden. The first thing is to cultivate the mental attitude that will not have possessions or facilities denied to millions and the next immediate thing is to rearrange our lives as fast as possible, in accordance with that mentality.
Life is greater than all art. I would go even further and declare that the man whose life comes nearest to perfection is the greatest artist. For what is art without the sure foundation and framework of a noble life?
There are moments in your life when you must act even though you cannot carry your best friends with you. The still small voice within you must always be the final arbiter when there is a conflict of duty.
You assist an evil system most effectively by obeying its orders and decrees. An evil system never deserves such allegiance. Allegiance to it means partaking of the evil. A good person will resist an evil system with his or her whole soul.
Civilization, in the real sense of the term, consists not in the multiplication, but in the deliberate and voluntary reduction of wants. This alone promotes real happiness and contentment.
The prophet does not turn inwards to find peace and calm there, for the prophet knows that peace without justice is a cover-up. Rather, the prophet turns outward to find God and the God who is found is a verb and not a noun.
What makes injustice so unacceptable in our time is the fact that we now possess the know-how to feed the world and provide basics for all its citizens. What is lacking is the will and the way. What is lacking is compassion.
What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.
Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.
It is a grave error to accuse a man who pursues self-knowledge of ‘turning his back on society’. The opposite would be more nearly true: that a man who fails to pursue self-knowledge is and remains a danger to society, for he will tend to misunderstand everything that other people say or do, and remain blissfully unaware of the significance of many of the things he does himself.
I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
In order to get power and retain it, it is necessary to love power; but love of power is not connected with goodness but with qualities that are the opposite of goodness, such as pride, cunning, and cruelty.
A human being needs an extended family as much as he or she needs vitamins and essential minerals . . . But practically no Americans have extended families anymore, with the exception of the Bushes and the Navajos. When a husband and a wife fight, they think it’s about money or how to raise kids or whatever. But what they’re actually saying to each other is, ‘You are not enough people.’
We are told truly that meekness and modesty are the rich and charming garments of the soul. The less showy our outward attire is, the more distinctly and brilliantly does the beauty of these inner garments shine.
Being different sexes makes no difference because there is no sex in the inner person where the substance of friendship lies.
The search for consciousness begins with an effort to shake off the false consciousness imposed by society… One devise is particularly important; an individual cannot hope to achieve an independent consciousness unless he cultivates, by whatever means are available including clothes, speech, mannerisms, illegal activities and so forth, the feeling of being an outsider. Only the person who feels himself to be an outsider is genuinely free of the lures and temptations of the Corporate State.
Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men.
