Our chief defect is that we are more given to talking about things than to doing them.
Jawaharlal NehruRead
Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.
Interpretation
Culture enriches our understanding and connects us to deeper aspects of life.
Jawaharlal Nehru's quote emphasizes the importance of culture in expanding our intellectual and emotional capacities. He suggests that by engaging with diverse cultures, we can broaden our perspectives and enhance our spiritual growth, fostering a more profound connection to humanity and the world around us.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of education, one might reference this quote to highlight the value of cultural awareness.
Our chief defect is that we are more given to talking about things than to doing them.
India has known the innocence and insouciance of childhood, the passion and abandon of youth, and the ripe wisdom of maturity that comes from long experience of pain and pleasure; and over and over a gain she has renewed her childhood and youth and age
Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.
Crises and deadlocks when they occur have at least this advantage, that they force us to think.
What we really are matters more than what other people think of us.
Loyal and efficient work in a great cause, even though it may not be immediately recognized, ultimately bears fruit.
The point of asylum is not to declare to the world what country you think is the pinnacle of civilization. The point of asylum is to find a country that's both willing and able to protect you from political persecution. In no way is asylum an endorsement of a country's politics, laws, or values.
I'm not sure anything makes you an outright good person or bad person - that we're all capable of doing good or bad things. And if you want to know how much good you can do, and how much hurt you can do, just ask somebody you love.
There's an ancient tension between wanting to savor the world as it is and wanting to improve on the world as given.
Judging yourself to be full of virtue paralyses. Judging yourself to be full of guilt also paralyses.
To get rid of an enemy one must love him.
We all want things we can't have. Being a decent human being is accepting that.
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