Gunther Schuller Quotes

There's a fundamental question that everyone has to answer: What fraction of your life do you spend in service to your fellow man? It's not something that science helps you answer at all. It's one of these questions like, Who are you gong to marry? Science doesn't really help you with the question.

I do not look upon my life as a sacrifice at all.

Our German language has a word which in a magnificent way denotes conduct based on this spirit: doing one's duty [Pflichterfüllung]-which means serving the community instead of contenting oneself. We have a word for the basic disposition which underlies conduct of this kind in contrast to egoism and selfishness-idealism. By 'idealism' we mean only the ability of the individual to sacrifice himself for the whole, for his fellow men.

I am not keen just for the position; I'm keen to help and to serve. If I can really avoid any bad things on my country, I will not hesitate one second.

Life becomes harder for us when we live for others, but it also becomes richer and happier.

I'd rather have happiness than money. People ask for it. Sometimes when I don't have it. I make other people's problems my problem because they want me to; they ask me to.

The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.

In everyday things the law of sacrifice takes the form of positive duty.

Existence is a strange bargain. Life owes us little; we owe it everything. The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose.

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.

Being an artist is being at the service of yourself; I am at the service of other people.

When you go into public service, you understand you're trading something. You want to feel good about what you do, but you're not going to make what people in private sector make.

We all have our own purpose in life and I feel very strongly that I have a bigger purpose than giving to just my immediate family and friends.

We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense.

You have tremendous flexibility in defining both the greater good and the greater community. If you don't succeed in this, then you will continue to pull that heavy wagon up the mountain, and despite the fact that you are pulling it, it will somehow run over your own foot.

You don't ever earn a right to stop doing anything if you feel there is an obligation to move in terms of public service.

No personal consideration should stand in the way of performing a public duty.

In all your acts, self interest shall be cast away. Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people, and have always in view not only the present, but of the coming generations.

Serve a cause greater than your self interest.

It is the essence of responsibility to put the public good ahead of personal gain.

The only reward in a public life is public progress. You stand back and say, 'What did I get out of it?' You look around, and the place is better, and that's it.

I'm bothered when people don't understand that they have an obligation to use their best measure of devotion, of resources, to sacrifice for the common good.

The blessed of us must save the less of us. I'm blessed, and yeah, I'm planning to go to Heaven.

There are only individual people, different individual people, with their own individual lives. Using one of these people for the benefit of others uses him and benefits the others. Nothing more. What happens is that something is done to him for the sake of others. Talk of an overall social good covers this up.

I lose around a couple of crores every year on the school, but even if I was to make profit from it, I would never use it for myself. I'd plough every penny back into improving facilities for the school. Just as I do with the cricket academies I run around the country. These are not for making money; for that, I have other avenues.