“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”

“The Bible warns us against greed and selfishness, it does encourage frugality and thrift.”

“Don't think small when you pray. God has a way to bring your dreams to pass if you'll dare to be bold enough to ask.”

Lack of concentration of effort. The “jack-of-all-trades” seldom is good at any. Concentrate all of your efforts on one definite chief aim.”

“I have not eaten enough of the tree of knowledge, though in my profession I am obligated to feed on it regularly.”

“To know if someone can speak offensively or politely, don’t give him poem to recite; don’t give him a song to sing. Just engage him in an argument and you will know it for yourself who he is.”

“It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.”

“There are some actions from which an escape is a godsend both for the man who escapes and for those about him. Man, as soon as he gets back his consciousness of right, is thankful to the Divine mercy for the escape.”

“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.”

“[Jesus] asked [His followers] to count the cost carefully, lest they should turn back when they met with suffering and privation. He told His followers that the world would hate them.”

“There are few misfortunes in this world that you cannot turn into a personal trimuph if you have the iron will and the neccessary skill.”

“The devotee of truth is often obliged to grope in the dark.”

“By starving the sensibility of our pupils we only make them easier prey to the propagandist when he comes. For famished nature will be avenged and a hard heart is no infallible protection against a soft head.”

“Many churches have molded their programs around the community—not the Word of God.”

“The future depends on what you do today.”