"Alone let him constantly meditate in solitude on that which is salutary for his soul, for he who meditates in solitude attains supreme bliss."

"Let God's grace be the mosque, and devotion the prayer mat. Let the Quran be the good conduct."

"Asceticism doesn't lie in mere words; He is an ascetic who treats everyone alike. Asceticism doesn't lie in visiting burial places; it lies not in wandering about nor in bathing at places of pilgrimage. Asceticism is to remain pure amidst impurities."

"The production of children, the nurture of those born, and the daily life of men, of these matters woman is visibly the cause."

"Owing to ignorance of the rope the rope appears to be a snake; owing to ignorance of the Self the transient state arises of the individualized, limited, phenomenal aspect of the Self."

"One cannot comprehend Him through reason, even if one reasoned for ages."

"Sing the songs of joy to the Lord, serve the Name of the Lord, and become the servant of His servants."

"There are worlds and more worlds below them, and there are a hundred thousand skies over them. No one has been able to find the limits and boundaries of God. If there be any account of God, then alone the mortal can write the same; but God's account does not finish, and the mortal himself dies while still writing."

"Me, the bard out of work, the Lord has applied to His service. In the very beginning, He gave me the order to sing His praises night and day. The Master summoned the minstrel to His True Court. He clothed me with the robe of His true honour and eulogy. Since then, the True Name had become my ambrosial food."

"I am neither a child, a young man, nor an ancient; nor am I of any caste."

"I am neither male nor female, nor am I sexless. I am the Peaceful One, whose form is self-effulgent, powerful radiance."

"By singing the Guru's hymns, I, the minstrel spread the Lord's glory. Nanak, by praising the True Name, I have obtained the perfect Lord."

"That one plant should be sown and another be produced cannot happen; whatever seed is sown, a plant of that kind even comes forth."

"There is but one God. True is His Name, creative His personality and immortal His form. He is without fear sans enmity, unborn and self-illumined. By the Guru's grace He is obtained."

"Nanak, the whole world is in distress. He, who believes in the Name, becomes victorious."

"Whatever kind of seed is sown in a field, prepared in due season, a plant of that same kind, marked with the peculiar qualities of the seed, springs up in it."

"Offspring, the due performance on religious rites, faithful service, highest conjugal happiness and heavenly bliss for the ancestors and oneself, depend on one's wife alone."

"Asceticism doesn't lie in ascetic robes or in walking staff nor in the ashes. Asceticism doesn't lie in the earring nor in the shaven head nor blowing a conch. Asceticism lies in remaining pure amidst impurities."

"He who regards all men as equals is religious."

"Through shallow intellect, the mind becomes shallow, and one eats the fly, along with the sweets."

"Whatever be the qualities of the man with whom a woman is united according to the law, such qualities even she assumes, like a river, united with the ocean."

"What should the yogi have to fear? Trees, plants, and all that is inside and outside, is He Himself"

"I am not the born; how can there be either birth or death for me?"

"Thou has a thousand eyes and yet not one eye; Thou host a thousand forms and yet not one form."

"Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live."

"Do not read as children do to enjoy themselves, or, as the ambitious do to educate themselves. No, read to live."

"Be steady and well-ordered in your life so that you can be fierce and original in your work."

"Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work."

"There is not a particle of life which does not bear poetry within it"

"Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars."

"Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world."

"One can be the master of what one does, but never of what one feels."

"It’s hard to communicate anything exactly and that’s why perfect relationships between people are difficult to find."

"Doubt … is an illness that comes from knowledge and leads to madness."

"She wanted to die, but she also wanted to live in Paris."

"Never touch your idols: the gilding will stick to your fingers." (Il ne faut pas toucher aux idoles: la dorure en reste aux mains.)"

"I am irritated by my own writing. I am like a violinist whose ear is true, but whose fingers refuse to reproduce precisely the sound he hears within."

"The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe."

"An infinity of passion can be contained in one minute, like a crowd in a small space."

"To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost."

"It is always sad to leave a place to which one knows one will never return. Such are the melancolies du voyage: perhaps they are one of the most rewarding things about traveling."

"The one way of tolerating existence is to lose oneself in literature as in a perpetual orgy."

"You don’t make art out of good intentions."

"Pleasure is found first in anticipation, later in memory."

"Pleasure is found first in anticipation, later in memory."

"One's duty is to feel what is great, cherish the beautiful, and to not accept the conventions of society with the ignominy that it imposes upon us."

"There are two infinities that confuse me: the one in my soul devours me; the one around me will crush me"

"Everything, even herself, was now unbearable to her. She wished that, taking wing like a bird, she could fly somewhere, far away to regions of purity, and there grow young again."

"I don't believe that happiness is possible, but I think tranquility is."

"You must write for yourself, above all. That is your only hope of creating something beautiful."