The Immortals of Meluha (Shiva Trilogy, #1)

by Amish Tripathi

‘People do what their society rewards them for doing. If the society rewards trust, people will be trusting.’

The simple truth hit Shiva: if the entire society was conscious of its duties, nobody would need to fight for their individual rights. Since everybody’s rights would be automatically taken care of through someone else’s duties. Lord Ram was a genius!

It was a calm confidence which had not covered the ugly distance towards arrogance.

Only your karma is important. Not your birth. Not your sex. And certainly not the colour of your throat. Our entire society is based on merit.

‘In Lord Ram’s view, any society that conducted itself on any principle besides merit could not be stable. He believed that a person’s caste should be determined only by that person’s karma. Not his birth. Not his sex. No other consideration should interfere.’

‘I don’t believe that perfection can ever be achieved. It is more of a journey than a destination.

a person’s character is not tested in good times. It is only in bad times that a person shows how steadfast he is to his dharma.’

any philosophy, no matter how perfect, works only for a finite period.

‘Complete honesty is not just the bedrock of an individual relationship, but of any stable society,’

Deception is the instrument of the weak and even extenuating circumstances can provide no excuse.

‘I believe in science. It provides a solution and a rationale for everything. And if there is anything that appears like a miracle, the only explanation is that a scientific reason for it has not been discovered as yet.’

Most people find it easier to wait for the arrival of the Messiah rather than act to solve their own problems.’

whether a man is a legend or not is decided by history, not fortune-tellers.’

‘Faith is a very potent weapon, my Lord,’

‘Do you know what is the most powerful force in a man’s life?’ asked Daksha. Kanakhala and Parvateshwar looked at Daksha nonplussed. ‘It is his intense desire to impress the person he loves the most,’ expounded Daksha. ‘Look at me. I have always loved my father. My desire to impress him is what is driving me even today. Even after his death,

‘the most powerful force in a woman’s life is the need to be appreciated, loved and cherished for what she is.’

The last one had taken his own life since he was too wounded to escape. Better to meet one’s maker than to fall into enemy hands alive and reveal secrets.

‘I understand your longing, my friend,’ whispered Brahaspati. ‘But what you are hoping for is quite difficult. Almost impossible.’ ‘It can’t be easy when it’s so valuable, can it?’

every man or woman had to earn his station in life with training and preparation, and not just receive it on a silver platter

‘Sometimes one needs a little bit of faith when faced with a difficult situation. Reason doesn’t always work. We may also need a miracle.’

People can pursue their dreams only when they are living in a society where survival is not a daily threat. In a society without security and stability, there are no intellectuals or businessmen or artists or geniuses. Man is constantly in fight or flight mode. Nothing better than an animal.

‘If you want to know the strength of a cloth, you inspect the quality of its weave. If you want to understand a person’s character, look closely at his interpersonal behaviour or his transactions.’

‘There are many realities. There are many versions of what may appear obvious,’ continued the Pandit. ‘Whatever appears as the unshakeable truth, its exact opposite may also be true in another context. After all, one’s reality is but perception, viewed through various prisms of context.’

discretion is the better part of valour.’

There are no bystanders in a dharmayudh.

‘A man becomes a Mahadev when he fights for good. A Mahadev is not born as one from his mother’s womb. He is forged in the heat of battle, when he wages a war to destroy evil!’

‘The strength that evil has is overestimated, my friend. It is not so difficult to annihilate. All it takes is for a few good men to decide that they will fight it. At practically all the times that evil has raised its head, it has met the same fate. It has been destroyed.’