Quotes from Shiv Khera Book - Freedom is not Free

Some interesting passages are reproduced here for your  reading.

v One day, a rich man took his young son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a day and a night on the farm of a very poor family. When they returned from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

“Very good, Dad!”

“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Yeah!”

“And what did you learn?”

The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog at home, and they have four. We have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden, they have the stars. Our patio reaches only till the front yard and they have a whole horizon.”

Upon hearing what the little boy said, his father was left speechless.

vI am more afraid of an army of one hundred sheep led by a lion than an army of one hundred lions led by a sheep – Charles Maurice.

v To a patriot serving the nation is not a sacrifice but a privilege.

v Positive culture is reflected as an asset on the balance sheet of society.

v Swami Vivekananda was a patriotic saint. Once, while addressing a large audience, he repeatedly referred to India as, “My Country ..my motherland”. Someone from the audience asked him, “The whole world is your country. Why do you limit yourself to geographical boundaries?” Swami Vivekananda replied, “A country is like a mother. If you don’t respect your own mother, how will you respect someone else’s mother?”

v Pseudo-patriotism is about pulling down another nation to prove your own superiority.

v Patrick O’Henry gave a speech in the US, in March 1775, which is considered historical: ‘If we wish to be free, we must fight. Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it. Almighty God! I know now what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.’

v A jellyfish sometimes swallows a snail and since the snail is protected in the shell, it remains alive. But for its survival, it needs food. So, it starts eating the jellyfish from inside and keeps growing till it consumes the entire jellyfish. This is nature in its true form. This is not fiction. It is always the enemy within that consumes and destroys society.

v Terrorism is a SIN and ACCEPTANCE of it is a bigger sin.

v A busload of politicians fell off a road deep into a farmer’s fields. Seeing this, the farmer rushed to the spot and started to dig a hole to bury the politicians. Next day, the police came to investigate. They asked the farmer, ‘You buried all of them. But where they all dead?’ The farmer replied, ‘Some of them said that they were not. But you know, how politicians lie.’

v It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag,

who allows the protestor to burn the flag.  - Father Denis Edward O’Brien, USM.

v Joan of Arc was burnt and declared a witch by the Pope. Had she committed any sin? Was the Pope both the judge and the jury? Was the final authority? The courageous young woman who fought and won freedom for her country, caused much jealousy and heart-burn in others. When people found out the truth, they gradually raised their voices against  her crucifixation and 300 years later, another Pope declared her a great saint. Interestingly, one Pope had her burnt alive and 300 years later, his own successor, another Pope, bestowed sainthood on her. Dilemma for the common man: Does the verdict bring greater clarity or confusion in the name of religion?

v Politicians gather votes based on what the public falls for, not what the politicians themselves stand for. Later they don’t walk the talk but do exactly what they want.

v Citizens who value their privileges over principles, end up losing both.

v Most people read history, Many teach history but, very few create history.

v I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour, than that she should in a cowardly manner become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonour. – Mahatma Gandhi.

v A nation can never be strong abroad if it is weak at home.

v Many times, we hear people say, ‘We are a young democracy and we need time to grow up. These are growing pains.’ The sad part is – these are not growing pains, but pains for not growing up.

v Tolerance beyond the point of absurdity is not a virtue, but cowardice. Corrupt government neither let citizens live with respect, nor die with dignity.

vWhen citizens believe that corruption is intolerable and not inevitable, we will see a different India.

v In a corrupt society, bureaucracy brings forth corruption of the people, by the people, for the people.

v A good citizen should run for office, stand for office, but not lie for office.

v Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice.

v Freedom fighters confine their attacks only to security forces who were in a position to defend themselves. Terrorists were those who killed innocent civilians. – Ronald Reagen

v A nation suffers when popular opinions become more important than values and justice.

v The director of an orphanage went to a politician to ask for help. The politician, in order to get rid of him said, ‘I will do whatever I can’. Two weeks later he sent the director two orphans!

v Poor eyes limit your sight but poor vision limits your actions.

v Not only does absolute power corrupt absolutely, absolute liberty too, corrupts absolutely. The tree of freedom grows only when it is watered with the sweat of people who love freedom.

v A signboard outside a lawyer’s chamber, ‘Where there is a will, there is a way, Where there is a way, there is a law. Where there is a law, there is a rule. Where there is a rule, there is a loophole. Where there is a loophole, there is a lawyer. And I am here.

v After a politician had inaugurated an auto manufacturing plant, the chairman of the plant as a goodwill gesture presented him a car which was duly rejected by the politician by saying ‘I will not take anything for free’. Then the Chairman said, ‘If you really feel so strongly about it, I will subsidise the rate and charge you a token fee for the car. Give me five bucks for the car.’ The politician pulled of fifty bucks from his pocket and gave it to the chairman and said, ‘Well, in that case, I shall take ten cars.’