42 Spiritual Quotes From India's Greatest Philosophers

It goes without saying that India has a rich philosophical heritage — its philosophers, saints, mystics and poets have put considerable effort pondering about time, happiness, knowledge, love, god, and the meaning of life.

Over a dozen of them are globally acclaimed, India's pantheon of philosophers includes Ved Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata, who was born in 1500 BC, Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk who lived during 5th AD, Kabir, a Sufi saint born in 1440, and contemporary philosophers like Jiddu Krishnamurti and Osho Rajneesh.

Flip through these timeless quotes from India's greatest philosophers, and feel free to share your favourite quotes in the comments.

1
Ved Vyasa (The Bhagavad Gita)

Painting: Ramanarayanadatta astri (Gorakhpur Geeta Press)
2

I am Time, the great destroyer of the world.– Ved Vyasa (The Bhagavad Gita), 1500 BC
3

"The happiness which comes from long practice, which leads to the end of suffering, which at first is like poison, but at last like nectar - this kind of happiness arises from the serenity of one's own mind."– Ved Vyasa (The Bhagavad Gita), 1500 BC
4

As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it.– Chanakya, 350 BC
5

"God is not present in idols. Your feelings are your god. The soul is your temple."– Chanakya, 350 BC
6

If you desire ease, forsake learning. If you desire learning, forsake ease. How can the man at his ease acquire knowledge, And how can the earnest student enjoy ease?– Nagarjuna, 150 BC
7

The science, which teaches arts and handicrafts Is merely science for the gaining of a living; But the science which teaches deliverance from worldly existence, Is not that the true science?"– Nagarjuna, 150 BC
8

There is pleasure when a sore is scratched, But to be without sores is more pleasurable still. Just so, there are pleasures in worldly desires, But to be without desires is more pleasurable still.– Nagarjuna, 150 BC
9

Painting: Bodhidharma, by Yoshitoshi, 1887.
10

Those who worship don't know, and those who know don't worship.– Bodhidharma, 500 AD
11

At every moment where language can't go, that's your mind.– Bodhidharma, 500 AD
12

To seek is to suffer. To seek nothing is bliss.– Bodhidharma, 500 AD
13

When your last breath arrives, Grammar can do nothing.– Adi Shankara, 788 AD
14

The Soul appears to be finite because of ignorance. When ignorance is destroyed the Self which does not admit of any multiplicity truly reveals itself by itself: like the Sun when the clouds pass away.– Adi Shankara, 788 AD
15

Just as the fire is the direct cause for cooking, so without Knowledge no emancipation can be had. Compared with all other forms of discipline Knowledge of the Self is the one direct means for liberation.– Adi Shankara, 788 AD
16

Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat. My shoulder is against yours. you will not find me in the stupas, not in Indian shrine rooms, nor in synagogues, nor in cathedrals: not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but vegetables. When you really look for me, you will see me instantly — you will find me in the tiniest house of time. Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God? He is the breath inside the breath.– Kabir, 1440 AD
17

Many have died; you also will die. The drum of death is being beaten. The world has fallen in love with a dream. Only sayings of the wise will remain.– Kabir, 1440 AD
18

Kabir, 1440. Photo: Government Of India
19

...But if a mirror ever makes
you sad
you should know
that it does
not know
you.– Kabir, 1440 AD
20

The river that flows in you also flows in me.– Kabir 1440 AD
21

One man may read the Bhagavata by the light of a lamp, and another may commit a forgery by that very light; but the lamp is unaffected. The sun sheds its light on the wicked as well as on the virtuous.– Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
22

As long as I live, so long do I learn.– Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
23

Bondage and Liberation are of the mind alone.– Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
24

Different creeds are but different paths to reach the same God.– Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
25

Swami Vivekananda
26

In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart.– Swami Vivekananda
27

In a day, when you don't come across any problems - you can be sure that you are travelling in a wrong path– Swami Vivekananda
28

The great secret of true success, of true happiness, is this: the man or woman who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish person, is the most successful.– Swami Vivekananda
29

True knowledge is not attained by thinking. It is what you are; it is what you become.– Sri Aurobindo
30

When mind is still, then truth gets her chance to be heard in the purity of the silence.– Sri Aurobindo
31

Sri Aurobindo, Photo: BCCL
32

The great are strongest when they stand alone, A God-given might of being is their force.– Sri Aurobindo
33

Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside.– Ramana Maharshi
34

Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world.– Ramana Maharshi
35

Your duty is to be and not to be this or that. 'I am that I am' sums up the whole truth. The method is summed up in the words 'Be still'. What does stillness mean? It means destroy yourself. Because any form or shape is the cause for trouble. Give up the notion that 'I am so and so'. All that is required to realize the Self is to be still. What can be easier than that?– Ramana Maharshi
36

Be as simple as you can be; you will be astonished to see how uncomplicated and happy your life can become.– Paramahansa Yogananda
37

You may control a mad elephant; You may shut the mouth of the bear and the tiger; Ride the lion and play with the cobra; By alchemy you may learn your livelihood; You may wander through the universe incognito; Make vassals of the gods; be ever youthful; You may walk in water and live in fire; But control of the mind is better and more difficult.– Paramahansa Yogananda (Autobiography of a Yogi)
38

There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first; when you learn to live for others, they will live for you.– Paramahansa Yogananda
39

Jiddu Krishnamurti
40

When you call yourself an Indian or a Muslim or a Christian or a European, or anything else, you are being violent. Do you see why it is violent? Because you are separating yourself from the rest of mankind. When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence. So a man who is seeking to understand violence does not belong to any country, to any religion, to any political party or partial system; he is concerned with the total understanding of mankind.– Jiddu Krishnamurti
41

Osho Rajneesh
42

Sadness is silent, it is yours. It is coming because you are alone. It is giving you a chance to go deeper into your aloneness. Rather than jumping from one shallow happiness to another shallow happiness and wasting your life, it is better to use sadness as a means for meditation. Witness it. It is a friend! It opens the door of your eternal aloneness.– Osho Rajneesh