Munshi Premchand

“People are so selfish. Those you help are the ones who turn against you.”

“As long as the shackles of wealth and property bind us, we will remain accursed forever and never attain the altar of humanity, which is life's ultimate goal.”

“To be successful in life what you need is education, not literacy and degrees.”

“Wealth and compassion are opposites.”

“What people think in their heart gets out, no matter how much they try to hide it.”

“The world assumes that we are very happy with high mansions, fine carriages, servants and attendants, huge investments, and concubines. But he who is without the honor and strength of the soul can be anything but happy.”

“We all have to die some day. Not very many immortals have shown up in this world.”

“We think these big people are very happy, but the truth is they are worse than us. We are just worried about one thing - hunger; they have a thousand worries.”

“Since the day Brahma created the world to this day, no one's ever been able to satisfy a wedding guest. They always find some opportunity or other to find fault and criticise. One who can't even afford a dry piece of bread at home becomes a lord at the wedding party.”

“Secrets of the past! Who does not wish to keep the past locked in a cage like a ferocious beast? The rich are sleepless for fear of thieves. The respectable have to guard their reputations in the same way.”

“If there were a being in the world whose eyes could look into other people's hearts, very few men or women would be able to face up to it.”

“Illness and problems are the specialties of life. But the death of a child is a cause of mental agony which can be overcome if one concedes this world to be a stage or stadium wherein praiseworthy are those who are not proud of their achievement and those who do not cry at their defeat.”

“Beauty doesn't need ornaments. Softness can't bear the weight of ornaments.”

“I believe that if man and woman cherish the same ideals and think alike, then the marriage can be complementary to each other's work instead of being a hindrance.”

“Trust is the first step to love.”

“Trees bear fruits only to be eaten by others; the fields grown grains, but they are consumed by the world. Cows give milk, but she doesn't drink it herself - that is left to others. Clouds send rain only to quench the parched earth. In such giving, there is little space for selfishness.”

“A household can never appear prosperous without a cow. How auspicious it is to wake up in the morning to the mooing of your own cow!”

“If someone ensures us two square meals a day, we will sing and pray all our waking hours. If one has to hoe sugarcane all day, devotion to God vanishes like smoke.”

“My life is simple and rough.”

“If brothers don't help each other in times of need, how do you think life will ever go on?”