Sri Aurobindo Quotes

When I look upon seamen, men of science and philosophers, man is the wisest of all beings; when I look upon priests and prophets nothing is as contemptible as man.

The Truth lies not in the Yes and not in the No, but in the knowledge and the beginning from which the Yes and the No arise.

The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.

They would need to be already wise, in order to love wisdom.

All vital truth contains the memory of all that for which it is not true.

There are years that ask questions and years that answer.

The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth.

Poets are the sense, philosophers the intelligence of humanity.

We endeavor to stuff the universe into the gullet of an aphorism.

Many roads lead to the path, but basically there are only two: reason and practice.

Ah! destructive Ignorance, what shall be done to chase thee out of the World!

There are trivial truths and the great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.

I collect axioms, paradoxes, maxims, teaching stories, proverbs, and aphorisms of all sorts, because I love to see complex ideas distilled into a few words.

The history of thought may be summed up in these words: it is absurd by what it seeks and great by what it finds.

Happy is the one who knows the causes of things.

History and philosophy are the two eyes of wisdom. If one of them is missing, then one only has half vision.

Such a man, truly wise, creams off Nature leaving the sour and the dregs for philosophy and reason to lap up.

What transforms this world is - knowledge. Do you see what I mean? Nothing else can change anything in this world. Knowledge alone is capable of transforming the world, while at the same time leaving it exactly as it is. When you look at the world with knowledge, you realize that things are unchangeable and at the same time are constantly being transformed.

Even if I am but a pretender to wisdom, that in itself is philosophy.

Information is endlessly available to us; where shall wisdom be found?

And is there anything more closely connected with wisdom than truth?

Wisedome hath one foot on Land, and another on Sea.

Nothing is more useful than the useless.

Wisdom requires no form; her beauty must vary, as varies the beauty of flame. She is no motionless goddess, for ever couched on her throne.

The wisest man I ever knew taught me something I never forgot. And although I never forgot it, I never quite memorized it either. So what I’m left with is the memory of having learned something very wise that I can’t quite remember.