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.

I believe that god exists all around us. In the flow of the river, in the rustle of the trees, in the whisper of the winds. He speaks to us all the time. All we need to do is listen.

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.

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

Like Lord Ram had said, 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. That is the law of nature and cannot be avoided.

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

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.’

According to his rule book, any man who took his own word so seriously was deserving of respect.

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

And the first rule of serendipity is that miracles come when we forget rational laws and have faith.

‘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.

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.

Civilisation is very fragile. All it takes is a few decades of chaos for us to forget humanity and turn into animals.