History

“History is a set of lies agreed upon.”, Napoleon Bonaparte

Strength and Weakness

“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”, Sun Tzu

Popularity

For there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.

- Oscar Wilde, A Picture of Dorian Gray

Investigation

The analogy of investigation most frequently used is that of a jigsaw puzzle – so long as you have the pieces, only time and persistence are required to solve the puzzle

- Jim Fraser, Forensic Science – A Very Short Introduction, OUP

Young Generation

I don’t know what your generation’s fascination is with documenting your every thought… but I can assure you, they’re not all diamonds. “Roman is having an OK day, and bought a Coke Zero at the gas station. Raise the roof.” Who gives a rat’s ***?

- Mr. Griffith to Olive Penderghast in the movie Easy A

Original Thought

A facility of quotation covers the absence of original thought

- Dorothy L Sayers, Lord Peer Wimsey in Gaudy Night

(Source: http://twitter.com/#!/googlebooks)

Effort

It is the effort that counts, not the applause that follows.

- Last words of the Antarctic Explorer Scot
(Khushwant Singh, India: An Introduction, Vision Books, p.35)

Reality

It moves, it moves not
It is far and it is near
It is within all this.
And it is outside all this

- Isa Upanishad (khushwant Singh, India – An Introduction, Vision Books, p.25)

knowledge of the self

A tiger cub whose mother died giving birth to it was brought up by a herd of goats. It learnt to nibble grass, bleat like them and like them grew to be gentle and harmless. One night a fierce old tiger attacked the flock. The goats ran away, the tiger cub was left with the attacker. It bleated for help and nervously nibbled at the blade of the grass. The old tiger took the cub by the scruff of its neck, dumped it beside a limpid pool of water and ordered it look at its reflection. Then the old fellow took the cub to its den and made it devour goat’s meat. It was only then that the cub realised its true nature and learnt to hunt and roar.

- A tale by Shri Ramakrishna expressing how a person acquires the knowledge of the self. (Khushwant Singh, India – An Introduction, Vision Books, p.27)

Mass Psychology

Masses follow Classes.

- M. K. Gandhi in Swadeshi (while describing a verse in Bhagavat Gita)