Complete outer calmness is impossible. But when there are some calm periods, we should appreciate them and make them last longer. This is the time when useful thoughts appear; they become stronger and guide us in life.
Make sure that you do not gossip about your brother.
Time passes, but the words which you say will remain.
To stop your tongue from talking too much is a sign of great virtue.
The human soul, not by itself, but by some power, is pushed closer and closer to truth and goodness, and the better we understand this, the more humble we will be.
If you think that it is necessary to judge your neighbor, then say this looking directly into his eyes, and say this in such a way that you do not create animosity.
Conscience is the understanding of the divine beginning which lives in us.
Conscience is the real judge between good and bad, conscience is what makes a person similar to God, and conscience is the greatest advantage of human nature. Without conscience there would be nothing that would raise us above the animals, and people would move from one lie to another.
The purpose of your life is not to do as the majority does, but to live according to the inner law which you understand in yourself. Do not act against your conscience or against truth. Live like this, and you will fulfill the task of your life.
You cannot fight with the requirements of conscience. These are the rules of God, and it is better to submit to them.
If the foundations of our life were not of the same nature in all of us, then we would not he able to explain to each other those feelings of compassion which we really experience.
Compassion expressed in response to rage is the same as water for fire. When you are in a rage, try to feel compassion for the other person, and then your rage will disappear.
After Arthur Schopenhauer
There are many people who are more unhappy than you. This message cannot be a roof under which you may live, but it will be enough of a roof under which you may hide from storms.
You hide from your misfortunes. But if you knew what other people suffered, then you would not complain about your own.
Real compassion begins only when you put yourself in the place of those who suffer, and you feel real suffering.
A person can understand his purpose in the same way as he understands his dignity. Only a religious person can understand his purpose in life. A king asked a holy man, “Do you remember me?” The holy man answered, “Yes, I think about you, when I forget about God.”
The freedom of a person is a great thing, and even the freedom of a whole nation begins from the freedom of a single individual. You should respect freedom in yourself, and in your neighbor, and in all people. Only he who understands himself as a spiritual being can understand the spiritual dignity of other people. Such a person will not lower himself with any act which is not worthy of a spiritual person.
For the moral, spiritual life, the importance of things is measured not by their material value, but by their level of goodness.
The majority of people want to do something unusual and difficult in order to improve their lives, but they would be better to purify their wishes, and improve their inner selves.
The second things are much more important than the first.
After Francois Fenelon
A person understands himself not through thoughts, but with actions. It is only through making an effort that a person will understand his worth.
To move yourself from the materia! to the spiritual means to do only spiritual things. My material body pulls my inner self to itself, but I try to separate my spiritual self from the material body. Though I use my body, I live within my spiritual life, which is my real life.
Real religion cannot be opposed to intellect.
Do not believe that in religion you cannot trust your intellect. The force of our intellect must support the foundations of every real faith.
If God, the object of our faith, is higher than our understanding, and if you do not understand Him, it does not mean that you should not use your intellect trying to understand Him.
In order to understand the truth, you should not suppress your intellect. On the contrary, you should purify your intellect, exercise it, and intellectually try and test everything which we can possibly put to the test.
Pain is the necessary condition of our body, and suffering is the necessary condition of our spiritual life, from birth to death.
Only in the storm can you see the art of the real sailor; only on the battlefield can you see the bravery of a soldier. The courage of a simple person can be seen in how he copes with the difficult and dangerous situations in life.
