Chanakya

A man is born alone and dies alone; And he experiences the good and bad consequences of his karma alone; And he goes alone to hell or the supreme abode.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Never settle for anything less than what you deserve. It’s not pride, it’s self respect.

There is no present and future of the lazy.

No one can defeat a powerful mind.

The poor wish for wealth, animals for the faculty of speech, men for heaven and godly persons for liberation.

Before you start some work always ask yourselves three questions why i am doing it? what the results might be? and will I be successful? Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.

We should not fret for what is past, nor should we be anxious about the future; Men of discernment deal only with the present moment.

You can win over a greedy person by offering money, a proud person by covering before him. You can win a foolish by agreeing with him and you can win a scholar by truth only.

There are three gems upon this earth: food, water and pleasing words. Fools consider pieces of rocks as gems.

Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourselves.

As long as your body is healthy and under control and death is distant try to save your soul; when death is immanent what can you do?

God is not present in idols. Your feelings are your god. The soul is your temple.

As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it.

There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a better truth.

Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous.

Give your wealth only to the worthy and never to others. The water of the sea received by the clouds is always sweet.

As a single withered tree, if set aflame, causes a whole forest to burn, so does a rascal son destroy a whole family.

The world’s biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman.

Do not reveal what you have thought upon doing, but by wise council keep it secret being determined to carry it into execution.

One whose knowledge is confined to books and whose wealth is in the possession of others, can use neither his knowledge nor wealth when the need for them arises.

There is poison in the fang of the serpent, in the mouth of the fly and in the sting of a scorpion; but the wicked man is saturated with it.

Test a servant while in the discharge of his duty, a relative difficulty, a friend in adversity, and a wife in misfortune.

Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such friendships will never give you any happiness.

God dwells not in the wooden, or stone or earthen idols. His abode is in our feeling, our thoughts. It is only through the feeling that we deem God existing in these idols.

Once you start a working on something, don’t be afraid of failure and don’t abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest.

Books are as useful to a stupid person as a mirror is useful to a blind person.

A good wife is one who serves her husband in the morning like a mother does, loves him in the day like a sister does and pleases him like a prostitute in the night.

Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education beats the beauty and the youth.

A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.

Never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.

He who is overly attached to his family members experiences fear and sorrow, for the root of all grief is attachment. Thus one should discard attachment to be happy.

Time perfects man as well as destroys them.

The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions.

A man is great by deeds, not by birth.