“I told [John Kruesi] I was going to record talking, and then have the machine talk back. He thought it absurd. However, it was finished, the foil was put on; I then shouted 'Mary had a little lamb', etc. I adjusted the reproducer, and the machine reproduced it perfectly.

“Your value doesn’t come from the clothes you wear, a number on a scale, your career, or your success with a health plan on any given day. You are of immense value because God made you.”

“Great crisis produce great men and great deeds of courage.” 

“One of the main reasons that we lose our enthusiasm in life is because we become ungrateful..we let what was once a miracle become common to us. We get so accustomed to his goodness it becomes a routine..”

“Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”

“Imagine how much needless frustration could be avoided if we learned from each other’s life lessons. Mature people develop the habit of extracting lessons from everyday experiences.”

“How good it would be to know where to look for help in this life and what to expect after it, there, beyond the grave! How happy and calm I'd be, if I could say now: Lord, have mercy on me! ... But to whom shall I say it? Either it is an indefinable, unfathomable power, which I not only cannot address, but which I cannot express in words - the great all or nothing...or it is that God of whom Princess Marya has sewn in here, in this amulet? Nothing, nothing is certain, except the insignificance of everything I can comprehend and the grandeur of something incomprehensible but most important!

“Eagles are not intimidated by the heights and forceful winds that other birds may fear. Instead, they take advantage of the gales, flying into the wind, setting their wings so the gusts only lift them higher. Nor do eagles waste time battling with other birds that are pests to them. When attacked, they simply mount up higher and higher until they reach an altitude in which their enemies cannot survive.”

“If people do not believe in permanent marriage, it is perhaps better that they should live together unmarried than that they should make vows they do not mean to keep. It is true that by living together without marriage they will be guilty (in Christian eyes) of fornication. But one fault is not mended by adding another; unchastity is not improved by adding perjury. The idea that 'being in love' is the only reason for remaining married really leaves no room for marriage as a contract or promise at all. If love is the whole thing, then the promise can add nothing; and if it adds nothing, then it should not be made.”

“Whatever goal or dream God has placed in your heart, you’re going to see it come to pass. It might not happen when you thought it would happen, and it might not happen the way you thought it would happen, but God is going to work in such a way as to exceed your wildest expectations too. You won’t have to make it happen in your strength. All you have to do is persevere—just don’t give up. Surround yourself with hope and watch God bless you in ways you never thought possible.”

“The best way to get along with people is not to expect them to like you.”

“It is a simple tale, but its message is an enduring one: virtue and generosity will be rewarded in ways that one cannot know.”

“No one does anything right in life, until they realize that they are making a mistake”

“Children inherit the qualities of the parents, no less than their physical features. Environment does play an important part, but the original capital on which a child starts in life is inherited from its ancestors. I have also seen children successfully surmounting the effects of an evil inheritance. That is due to purity being an inherent attribute of the soul. Polak and I had often very heated discussions about the desirability or otherwise of giving the children an English education. It has always been my conviction that Indian parents who train their children to think and talk in English from their infancy betray their children and their country. They deprive them of the spiritual and social heritage of the nation, and render them to that extent unfit for the service of the country. Having these convictions, I made a point of always talking to my children in Gujarati. Polak never liked this. He thought I was spoiling their future. He contended, with all the vigour and love at his command, that, if children were to learn a universal language like English from their infancy, they would easily gain considerable advantage over others in the race of life. He failed to convince me. I do not now remember whether I convinced him of the correctness of my attitude, or whether he gave me up as too obstinate. This happened about twenty years ago, and my convictions have only deepened with experience. Though my sons have suffered for want of full literary education, the knowledge of the mother-tongue that they naturally acquired has been all to their and the country’s good, inasmuch as they do not appear the foreigners they would otherwise have appeared. They naturally became bilingual, speaking and writing English with fair ease, because of daily contact with a large circle of English friends, and because of their stay in a country where English was the chief language spoken.”

“True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness.”