#ethics

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.

Ignorance, the root and stem of every evil.

No bad man, then, lives as he wishes; and therefore no bad man is free.

Can you give yourself your own evil and your own good and hang your will above yourself like a law?

He who knows what is right will do what is right, for no one voluntarily chooses that which he knows will harm his own nature.

One must never do wrong in return, nor mistreat any human being, no matter what one has suffered at their hands.

Doing wrong is worse than suffering wrong, and escaping punishment when one has done wrong is the greatest of all evils.

A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it.

To live unjustly is to carry a festering wound within the core of one's own being.

It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.

Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now.

Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness.

Freedom is the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness.

Conscience can be understood as the organ of meaning. It can be defined as the capacity to sniff out the meaning in each situation.

There are two races of men in this world, but only these two: the 'race' of the decent man and the 'race' of the indecent man. Both are found everywhere.

No group consists entirely of decent or indecent people. In this sense, no group is of 'pure race.'

The ultimate test of what a truth means is indeed the conduct it dictates or inspires.

The glory of great men should always be measured by the means they used to acquire it.

As the letter 'A' is the first of all alphabets, so the Eternal Lord is the first of all the worlds. (Kural 1)

Humility is good for everyone; but it is an added jewel of immense beauty to the wealthy and powerful. (Kural 125)

Dream, dream, dream. Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts result in action.

You cannot change your future, but you can change your habits, and surely your habits will change your future.

If you want to shine like a sun, first burn like a sun.

Civilization is that mode of conduct which points out to man the path of duty.

Morality is the basis of things, and truth is the substance of all morality.

Rights that do not flow from duty well performed are not worth having.

Live simply so that others may simply live.

Purity or impurity depends on oneself, No one can purify another.

The roots of prosperity are planted in the soil of righteousness.

Knowledge without character is a dangerous weapon.