George Washington Carver was once called 'black Leonardo', and no other man lived to disagree with this. A painter, a poet, a biologist, a geologist, and an activist, Carver proved that there's so much a man can do. Henry Ford once said that George was the greatest scientist that existed in the century. However, it's sad that not many people remember him more than a man who used to do something with peanuts.
George was crushed by the racist atmosphere that prevailed in his time. His entire family was a victim of racism as Black men were treated as slaves back then. He became an orphan really early in life and led a life full of struggle. He was a poor black, uneducated child, but he chose to change his fate. And at the age of 12, he decided he wanted to get highly educated and took charge of his education. Due to the colour of his skin, he would often be rejected from schools and colleges. But he did not let these experiences take a toll on him or turn him bitter.
His contribution to science and humanity are the very reasons he is considered one of the most respected African Americans to ever exist. He was a complex but humble man. He was a scientist with a belief in God. He was a spark of genius in science as well as art. He was a man of rare talents. Below are some of the famous George Washington Carver Quotes.
Whatever you love opens its secrets to you.
Love is one of the most mysterious feelings in the world. Only when we begin to love someone or something, we discover hidden facts and meanings about that something or someone. As our love deepens, our understanding of the thing we love likewise deepens.
When our thoughts, which bring actions are filled with hate against anyone, black or white, we are in a living hell. That is as real as hell will ever be.
There are many ideas of hell. Racism is Mr Carver's idea of hell. When we begin hating people via our thoughts or actions, we create hell for the people around and ourselves. Though there may be many ideas of hell, this is as real hell can get. This is the most logical and absolute idea of hell; this is the closest man can get to the devil.
Since new developments are the products of a creative mind, we must therefore stimulate and encourage that type of mind in every way possible.
Creativity is the peak of human genius. A man's creativity must be protected. Because creativity brings ideas into existence, which thereafter shapes into developments, be it technological developments or human developments. Creativity must be encouraged and stimulated, and so must be the person behind that creativity. Thus, the world will become a better place.
There are two ways, one is right; the other is wrong. If your work is only about right, then it is wrong.
It is often debatable that what is right and what isn't. Of every thought we think of to every deed we do, we cannot truly say if what we do is the ultimate right or wrong. It's the feeling towards things with which we distinguish between right and wrong. If one assumes and is bullish about being always right then, he is most certainly wrong.
Continue reading some more George Washington Carver Quotes...
There is no shortcut to achievement. Life requires through preparation – veneer isn't worth anything.
To achieve something worthwhile requires hard work, resilience, motivation and dedication. There is never a shortcut that directly takes us towards success by skipping all the hard work. To become, we have to prepare. To put on a façade does no one any good.
Fear of something is at the root of hate for others, and hate within will eventually destroy the hater.
Mr Carver is from the school of thought which believes that fear is what drives people to become haters. When we are fearful of someone, we eventually begin hating them. For instance, people were first fearful of black men and in an attempt to tame black men, people began hating them. Though hate may feel like a defence mechanism, hatred will destroy the person who gives out hate.
Start where you are, with what you have. Make something of it and never be satisfied.
People often complain of how many little they have, how their lives are not happy enough, and their resources aren't good enough. No matter how privileged, every person can think in such a lousy manner, but this behaviour does no one any good. With however little we have, we must start our own journey. And make something big out of it. And keep doing so. The day we become satisfied is the day we are reduced to our lesser selves, so we never stop.
I would never allow anyone to give me money, no difference how badly I needed it. I wanted literally to earn my living.
Carver was a man of dignity. And when a person is so poor, it is very hard to maintain this dignity. But Carver chose the hard way. He would never borrow money even when he very badly needed it. He wanted to make his own living and become independent on his own.
We get closer to God as we get more intimately and understandingly acquainted with the things he has created. I know of nothing more inspiring than that of making discoveries for one's self.
Carver was a discoverer. He was a scientist and an observer. To him, everything under the sun was a source of curiosity. And nature especially intrigued him. He was a man of logic and a man of God. His way of praising God was praising his creations. He got closer to God in this way and thought that the creation of God is very inspiring.
Few more George Washington Carver Quotes...
Where there is no vision, there is no hope.
Vision is the key to success. Every person that has ever achieved anything first had a mental picture of what he wanted. If one does not have a vision for various reasons like lack of a goal, fear of failure, procrastination, etc., then there's no hope that he will ever achieve anything great. We may succeed or be defeated, but we will certainly remain stagnant if we have no vision.
Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.
Men are good and evil in this world. Racism, apartheid, oppression, greed, jealously, lust are all part of the sins of this very world. Only the men who get educated achieve true freedom because freedom enables them to understand their human rights. Freedom enables them to understand the national laws created to protect them. Education helps them get out of poverty, which is the root cause of all problems in many cases. Thus education becomes our key to freedom.
Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.
Making excuses is the worst thing a person can do to himself and that is because the habit of making excuses hides us from our own hidden potential. Excuses make us procrastinate, and we become lazier. And this eventually turns us into failures because making excuses becomes our comfort zone.
Education, in the broadest of truest sense, will make an individual seek to help all people, regardless of race, regardless of color, regardless of condition.
True education makes a person broad-minded with unbiased opinions. Education rids us of all biases that the world and society wrongly have taught us. And regardless of whatever and whoever a person maybe, we see them through the lens of a humanitarian.
Few more George Washington Carver Quotes...
I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.
Here Carver metaphorically compares media stations and God. He says that, like broadcasting stations, God is always saying something. All we have to do is to tune in to his channel. We have to only understand the message God is trying to give us.
Young people, I want to beg of you always keep your eyes open to what Mother Nature has to teach you. By so doing you will learn many valuable things every day of your life.
George Washington Carver was forever a man who was very close to nature. Since his early life, he was drawn to plants. He was heartbroken to see the earth being destroyed and the planet's resources wasted and wanted to stop such behaviour. In the fits of such emotions, he urged the young people to take care of mother nature, learn valued lessons from it, and never take it for granted.
Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God.
George Washington Carver was a complex man. He was a man who believed in both science and religion. He was a humanitarian and a scientist both, which was quite a rare combination of thoughts and beliefs. He said that theoretical knowledge about nature is good but to really go and take in walk in nature and listen to it is real knowledge. While doing so do we hear the voice of God and what he has to say.
We have become ninety-nine percent money mad. The method of living at home modestly and within our income, laying a little by systematically for the proverbial rainy day which is due to come, can almost be listed among the lost arts.
Our creator is the same and never changes despite the names given Him by people here and in all parts of the world. Even if we gave Him no name at all, He would still be there, within us, waiting to give us good on this earth.
The idea of God has changed over the centuries. It has changed amongst people of various religions, castes and creeds. But God has always been there as the god force of this earth even if we've believed in him or not and whether we've named him or not.
When I was young, I said to God, 'God, tell me the mystery of the universe.' But God answered, 'That knowledge is for me alone.' So I said, 'God, tell me the mystery of the peanut.' Then God said, 'Well George, that's more nearly your size.' And he told me.
The world is a big place. The universe is far wider than the horizon we observe. When a question is posed to the almighty about the questions about the universe, he rather thinks questions about peanuts make more sense for humans. That is how small we are in this vast multiverse.
Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough. Not only have I found that when I talk to the little flower or to the little peanut they will give up their secrets, but I have found that when I silently commune with people they give up their secrets also – if you love them enough.
Love is an illogical and irrational feeling, but it is a very important feeling because we all live to love and be loved in a way. And when the person we love begins trusting us and starts telling us about its deepest secrets. This happens in the case of nature as well as humans.
