I've met the Dalai Lama briefly, but I would probably say my grandfather was the wisest person I ever met. He was my mother's father, an Indian, a family doctor, and very unlike me in that he was deeply religious.
Interpretation
The speaker emphasizes the wisdom of their grandfather over the Dalai Lama, highlighting the personal connection and respect for family wisdom.
In this quote, Salman Rushdie reflects on the profound impact his grandfather had on him, suggesting that wisdom can often be found in familial relationships rather than solely in renowned figures. He contrasts his grandfather's deep religious faith with his own identity, underscoring how personal experiences shape our understanding of wisdom.
In practice
Use this quote during a family gathering to highlight the importance of familial wisdom.
I've been fascinated by Machiavelli since I was very young. I've always felt that he had a bad rap from history, and that he was actually a person quite unlike what we now think of as Machiavellian. He was a republican. He disliked totalitarian government.
Killing people because you don't like their ideas - it's a bad thing.
faith without doubt is addiction
I am clearly vulnerable to these more passionate and volatile unstable relationships. I am trying to not be so vulnerable.
In India, as elsewhere in our darkening world, religion is the poison in the blood. Where religion intervenes, mere innocence is no excuse. Yet we go on skating around this issue, speaking of religion in the fashionable language of 'respect.' What is there to respect in any of this, or in any of the crimes now being committed almost daily around the world in religion's dreaded name?
Reality is a question of perspective; the further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems - but as you approach the present, it inevitably seems more and more incredible.
Today's headlines and history's judgment are rarely the same. If you are too attentive to the former, you will most certainly not do the hard work of securing the latter.
A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.
Spiritual people should not be ashamed of being wealthy.
For me it's all about personal vision; is there something about a subject that uniquely speaks to me.
The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
The river has taught me to listen; you will learn from it, too. The river knows everything; one can learn everything from it. You have already learned from the river that it is good to strive downwards, to sink, to seek the depths.
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