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A Problem worthy of attack
Proves its worth by fighting back.
- Piet Hein

Self-Mastery

“A man who is master of himself can end a sorrow as easily as he can invent a pleasure. I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” - Oscar Wilde


“Passion in all its forms is a mental thirst, a fever, a torturing unrest. As a fire consumes a magnificent building, reducing it to a heap of unsightly ashes, so are men consumed by the flames of passions, and their deeds and works fall and perish.” - James Allen (New Zealander Statesman. Minister of defense (1912-20), 1855-1942)


“A man has to learn that he cannot command things, but that he can command himself; that he cannot coerce the wills of others, but that he can mold and master his own will: and things serve him who serves Truth; people seek guidance of him who is master of himself.” - James Allen


Before complaining that you are a slave to another, be sure that you are not a slave to self. Look within;...You will find there, perchance, slavish thoughts, slavish desires, and in your daily life and conduct slavish habits. Conquer these; cease to be a slave to self, and no man will have the power to enslave you.” - JA



Self-Mastry: Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda - http://www.ikedaquotes.org/self-mastery.html



Aspects of Hindu Morality / Vedanta: http://books.google.co.jp/books?id=NPdBA4IIkwIC&pg=PA141&lpg=PA141&dq=self-mastery+vedanta&source=bl&ots=fRSVXUYkx7&sig=3yAb1PqWcNU3g0ukUB41nk7zr-U&hl=ja&ei=gfOyTP_XGoSucKjP1NkN&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CC8Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=self-mastery%20vedanta&f=false

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“I couldn’t but be aware of the feelings aroused in them. The trees bore fruit, the clouds carried rain, and our friends, for ever childless, played with our Caroline, our Jennifer.” - 2010 Nobel laureate Robert Edwards about a childless couple who often visited his young family and peeked at their pram - his inspiration for researching on IVF.


"When intelligence matures and lodges securely in the heart, it becomes wisdom. When that wisdom is integrated with life and issues out in action, it becomes devotion. Knowledge which has become mature is spoken of as devotion. If it does not get transformed into devotion, such knowledge is useless tinsel."
- C. Rajagopalachari's commentary on Bhaja Govindam, a 8th century verse by Adi Shankaracharya


Sex is like bridge; if you don't have a good partner, you better have a good hand. - Mae West


Parents forgive their children least readily for the faults they themselves instilled in them.
- Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

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Steve Jobs: How to live before you die Video on TED.com



"Remembering that we'll all be dead soon is one of the most important tools I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life...because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarassment or failure...these things all fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you're going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked - there is no reason not to follow your heart.


"Death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It life's change agent; it clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you'll gradually become the old and be clearedaway...Your time is limited, so don't waste it living somebody else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other people's opinion drown out your own inner voice. And most important - have the courage to follow your heart and intiution. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary...

The quoted last message from the Whole Earth Catalogue (1968-1972)