A Calendar of Wisdom

Moral perfection is the impossible goal, but moving to it is the law of human life.

Some people say, “Man is selfish, greedy, and dissipated, and cannot be kind to other people.” This is not true. We can be good. Feel in your heart the kind of person you should be; this feeling will give you power.

A woman accidentally dropped a precious pearl into the sea, and she started to scoop ocean water with a spade, one cup after another. A sea-sprite came to her and said, “When will you stop scooping up water?” The woman said, “When I have taken all the water from the sea, and retrieved my pearl from the bottom.” Then the sea-sprite retrieved the pearl and returned it to her.

Outer consequences are not in our power to control; it is only possible to make an effort, and inner consequences always follow from our effort.

The land is the general and equal possession of all humanity, and therefore cannot be the property of individuals.

My intellect teaches me that land cannot be sold.

To be honest, the earth has two masters: the first is almighty God and the second are his sons; all the people who have worked and will work on it.

All people, from the first, and without any judicial act, should possess the earth. They should be able to live where nature and chance have brought them.

The possession of land as property is one of the most unnatural crimes there is. We cannot see the horror of this crime because in our world it is accepted as law.

Self-perfection should be one’s primary motivation. If you are truthful to yourself, you will never be satisfied with yourself.

A person should always develop his ability to do goodness. Make yourself better; this should be every person’s goal.

The first rule of achieving goodness is this: think only about self-perfection, and do so without thought to being praised by others.

He who moves from doing bad deeds to doing good deeds enlightens this world like the moon coming out from behind the clouds. This is the best thing in the world; this is the first step toward divinity.

Those who live life in perfection look only forward; those who have stopped moving forward look back on their achievements.

Dissatisfaction is a necessary condition of intellectual life. It is only this dissatisfaction that pushes you to work.

The most important knowledge is that which guides the way you lead your life.

It is harmful to eat if you are not hungry. It is even worse to have sex if you lack desire. But even more harmful is to try to think when you do not wish to, or to be engaged in meaningless intellectual activity. Many people do so when they want to improve their position.

Your will is not good until you have changed the habits of your intellect, and they will improve only when they follow the eternal laws of life.

Only those who have real knowledge know what to do.

What is important in knowledge is not quantity, but quality. It is important to know what knowledge is significant, what is less so, and what is trivial.

The joy of wealth is inconstant.

Wherever your heart is, there will be your treasure. The heart of a person whose major treasure is wealth is buried in filth.

Is it true that people were created to collect more and more gold? No. God created people after His own image; He created you so that you could fulfill his will.

Why should a person be rich? Why should he have expensive horses, rich clothes, wonderful rooms, and the leisure to visit public places of entertainment? Because he does not have enough thoughts to accompany his intellect. Give this person the inner work of his intellect, and he will be happier than the richest man.

For those who live a spiritual life, wealth is not only unnecessary but uncomfortable. It stops the development of one’s real life.

Faith answers those questions to which the intellect cannot find answers, but which must be asked. There is only one true religion, though there are many different faiths.

It is only faith which creates the powerful convictions, the energy, and the unity which can cure society.

We have only one sinless guide, a universal spirit which gets into all of us though we are all individuals, and which gives us the urge to do all that is necessary. The same spirit which exists in a tree and pushes it to grow straight and to produce seeds exists in us, urges us to be closer to God, and brings us closer to each other.

When a person is alive, he believes; the closer his faith is to the truth, the happier his life. The further from the truth his faith is, the more unhappy he is. Without faith he does not live; he dies a premature death or else kills himself.

We suffer from the past, and we spoil our future because we neglect the present.