The generous wish to share with all what is precious, to spread broadcast priceless truths, to shut out none from the illumination of true knowledge, has resulted in a zeal without discretion that has vulgarised Christianity, and has presented its teachings in a form that often repels the heart and alienates the intellect.

Sun-worship and pure forms of nature-worship were, in their day, noble religions, highly allegorical but full of profound truth and knowledge.

Men are at every stage of evolution, from the most barbarous to the most developed; men are found of lofty intelligence, but also of the most unevolved mentality; in one place there is a highly developed and complex civilisation, in another a crude and simple polity.

As a man may be born with a mathematical faculty, and by training that faculty year after year may immensely increase his mathematical capacity, so may a man be born with certain faculties within him, faculties belonging to the soul, which he can develop by training and by discipline.

A myth is far truer than a history, for a history only gives a story of the shadows, whereas a myth gives a story of the substances that cast the shadows.

'Easter' is a movable event, calculated by the relative positions of sun and moon, an impossible way of fixing year by year the anniversary of a historical event, but a very natural and indeed inevitable way of calculating a solar festival. These changing dates do not point to the history of a man, but to the hero of a solar myth.

Clairvoyants can see flashes of colour, constantly changing, in the aura that surrounds every person: each thought, each feeling, thus translating itself in the astral world, visible to the astral sight.

Karma brings us ever back to rebirth, binds us to the wheel of births and deaths. Good Karma drags us back as relentlessly as bad, and the chain which is wrought out of our virtues holds as firmly and as closely as that forged from our vices.

Theosophy tries to bridge the gulf between Buddhism and Christianity by pointing to the fundamental spiritual truths on which both religions are built, and by winning people to regard the Buddha and the Christ as fellow-laborers, and not as rivals.

The idea that Buddhism denies what is called in the West 'individual immortality' is a mistake, so far as the Buddhist scriptures are concerned.

The Buddha over and over again spoke clearly and definitely on post-mortem states - as in his conversation with Vasetta.

Socialism is the ideal state, but it can never be achieved while man is so selfish.

I often think that woman is more free in Islam than in Christianity. Woman is more protected by Islam than by the faith which preaches monogamy.

I was perceiving myself as good as a man or equal to a man and as powerful and I wanted to look ambiguous because I thought that was a very interesting statement to make through the media. And it certainly did cause quite a few ripples and interest and shock waves.

A lot of music you might listen to is pretty vapid, it doesn't always deal with our deeper issues. These are the things I'm interested in now, particularly at my age.

I mean, I'm 48 years old and I've been through a lot in my life - you know, loss, whether it be death, illness, separation. I mean, the failed expectations... We all have dreams.

I want to branch out. I want to write. I write poetry. I want to see my children grow up well.

I would say that although my music may be or may have been part of the cultural background fabric of the gay community, I consider myself an outsider who belongs everywhere and nowhere... Being a human being is what truly counts. That's where you'll find me.

It's a very telling thing when you have children. You have to be there for them, you've got to set an example, when you're not sure what your example is, and anyway the world is changing so fast you don't know what is appropriate anymore.

Music is an extraordinary vehicle for expressing emotion - very powerful emotions. That's what draws millions of people towards it. And, um, I found myself always going for these darker places and - people identify with that.

Over the years, I was never really driven to become a solo artist, but I was curious to find out who I was as an individual creative person. It's taken some time, but now I feel I've truly paid my dues. I guess I'm at a point now where I'm more comfortable in my own skin.

The future hasn't happened yet and the past is gone. So I think the only moment we have is right here and now, and I try to make the best of those moments, the moments that I'm in.

When you're that successful, things have a momentum, and at a certain point you can't really tell whether you have created the momentum or it's creating you.

Dying is easy, it's living that scares me to death.

There are two kinds of artists left: those who endorse Pepsi and those who simply won't.

Ask yourself: Have you been kind today? Make kindness your daily modus operandi and change your world.

Whatever you do, you do out of a passion.

Those in the developing world have so few rights - we take a lot for granted in the developed world.

I think Scotland could take a stand in a wonderful way, ecologically and morally and ethically.

I have always felt a little homeless. It's a strange thing.

Although I have lived in London, I have never really considered London my home because it was always going to be a stopping-off point for me, and it has been too.

I see myself as a traveller.

When you go to Africa, and you see children, they're usually barefoot, dirty and in rags, and they'd love to go to school.

I was never much of a one to win prizes... and certainly never placed too much value on their acquisition.

The world is a heartbreaking place, without any question.

I'm just an ordinary person.

I don't have clear-cut positions. I get baffled by things. I have viewpoints. Sometimes they change.

I didn't want to be perceived as a girly girl on stage.

I can't understand why the front pages of newspapers can cover bird flu and swine flu and everybody is up in arms about that and we still haven't really woken up to the fact that so many women in sub-Saharan Africa - 60 percent of people in - infected with HIV are women.

HIV/AIDS has no boundaries.

I want people to start thinking about what it means to be HIV-positive and to ask questions about that.

People ask me so many questions.

I've had my share of dark days of the soul. I try not to focus on it too much so it doesn't get to me.

Most women are dissatisfied with their appearance - it's the stuff that fuels the beauty and fashion industries.

I would love to meet a dodo.

I'm not particularly attention-seeking.

I love to make music and stay grounded.

One wouldn't want to have the same dilemmas at 50 as one had at 15. And indeed I don't. I have a very different take on life.

I wouldn't say that I've mellowed. I'm less mellow, perhaps.

I have different hats; I'm a mother, I'm a woman, I'm a human being, I'm an artist and hopefully I'm an advocate. All of those plates are things I spin all the time.