These days no one challenges us,' he said. 'And because there is no challenge, there is no reason to work hard. And with no reason to work hard, we have all become lazy.

Enlightenment, and the death which comes before it, is the primary business of Varanasi.

With an enthusiastic team you can achieve almost anything.

A journey, I reflected, is of no merit unless it has tested you.

Respect was one thing. Survival was another. It was important that I kept my priorities in the right order.

Calcutta's the only city I know where you are actively encouraged to stop strangers at random for a quick chat.

Where does one go in a tremendous city like Calcutta to find insider information? I recalled India's golden rule: do the opposite of what would be normal anywhere else.

I believe that Marrakech ought to be earned as a destination. The journey is the preparation for the experience. Reaching it too fast derides it, makes it a little less easy to understand.

My father used to say that stories are part of the most precious heritage of mankind.

Contemplation is a luxury, requiring time and alternatives.

Most journeys have a clear beginning, but on some the ending is less well-defined. The question is, at what point do you bite your lip and head for home?

It is an infantile superstition of the human spirit that virginity would be thought a virtue and not the barrier that separates ignorance from knowledge.

Culture has little to do with how refined a man's intellect is

Don't give in to the darkness, for there is so much life ahead of you.

Every minute we waste in frustration over a task that seems overwhelming is a minute subtracted from the time we've allotted to enjoy life.

It is not enough to have a vision. In order to have its power, you must enact your vision on earth for all to see. Only then do you have the power.

Timing is the essence of life, and definitely of comedy.

Leadership is the readiness to stand out in a crowd.

I am not against Israel, I am against Zionists.

I've seen how the left has used it to accuse opponents of their version of reform of being bigots and racists.

I came to think of myself, not as a dance and chaos of molecules, but as a brief and minute portion of that majestic process