Sri Aurobindo's sayings

Samurai Philosophy

Read more quotes in the e-book Samurai: Legend by A. R. Berg

  • According to Buddhists, saving an ant from drowning is a greater act than building an empire. The truth in this idea can be easily exaggerated.
    To exalt one virtue above all others, even compassion, is to blind the eyes of wisdom. God always moves towards harmony.

    Virtue and vice were made to help the soul struggle and progress; but the results belong to God, who fulfills himself beyond them.

    The virtue we should encourage is divine, masterful, untroubled compassion and helpfulness rather than pity which scars the heart and weakens the soul.



    We must move quickly for our goal is far and the teacher is waiting at the end.

    O soldier and hero of God, where for thee is sorrow or shame or suffering? For thy life is a glory, thy deeds a consecration, victory thy apotheosis, defeat thy triumph.

    Crush the outdated systems of the past but preserve its achievements and its spirit, or else you will deprive yourself of the future.

    If you, the one who does great deeds with great consequences, are able to realize that you’re doing nothing, know that God has lifted the veil from your eyes.

    Love God in your enemy, even when you strike him down; then you will be both saved from hell.

    The one who does not kill when told so by God does a great damage to the world.

    Courage and love are the only two virtues that are really necessary; even if all the others weaken or fall asleep, those two alone will keep the soul alive.

    If Krishna alone was to battle the modern world with its troops, shrapnel and machine guns, he would choose divine solitude.

    Don’t be scared of the world running you over, shrapnel tearing you to pieces, or horses stamping your remains in the dirt by the side of the road; the mind has always been but a make-believe and the body but a shell; while the spirit, freed of its restraints, travels freely and joyfully.

    If defeat scares you, don’t engage in fighting, even if you are stronger. No one can trick fate. Force is not obliged to serve its owner. However, a defeat is a new beginning, gates to a new life rather than the end.

    As long as the cause is supported by at least one soul whose faith is unwavering, it cannot fail.
    Nothing is lost, even when from a man’s standpoint it looks hopeless. Everything is lost only when one can no longer fight.

    Fight while your hands are not tied, use your hands, your voice, your brain and all the other kinds of weapons available. What if your enemies chained you and gagged you? Fight with the power of your silent, universal soul and your long-distance will; once you are dead, keep fighting with the universal power that emanates from the God inside you.

    Oh Death, our secret friend, bursting with hidden opportunities! Before unlocking the gates, don’t be afraid to tell us in advance; we will not be shocked by their steely clank.

    Who can kill you, oh immortal soul? Who can hurt you, oh God of eternal joy?
    Power is noble when it is beyond anger; destruction is grand but it loses its grandeur when it is driven by a vengeful feeling.
    Get rid of both as they are for the lesser humans.

    Back to the Blog

    Sri Aurobindo's quotes are taken from Samurai: Legend by A. R. Berg
    samurai books

You may also like:


Samurai jisei

Jisei: death poems

 

Takeda shingen and uesugi kenshin

Takeda shingen and uesugi kenshin

 

miyamoto musashi samurai books

Miyamoto musashi