Overcoming the World — In the Words of Kapil Gupta

The newest addition to Kapil Gupta’s wisdom nest is his latest book Overcoming the World. Below are my favorite quotes picked from this jewel:

• The one who desires to be famous dreams of a day when the people of the world will recognize him. Once he becomes famous he spends his time and money attempting to prevent himself from being recognized.
• He who values the opinions of the people becomes their own slave.
• He who performs for praise and applause is a circus clown. He is but an entertainer. Not an artist.
• He who seeks to change the world, knows nothing of the world.
• The world is not a thing to be changed.
• Doing what an accomplished man says, does not create an accomplished man.
• That which rises to the level of art will be ignored in the world.
• That which is shallow and commercial would be embraced in the world.
• Rare people are rare. But they do exist. And their rarity is a manifestation of the divine shining through them.
• The rarer the person, the less he will be known. And the less he will be appreciated. Rare people, like rare artists, are largely recognized after they have passed away.
• The moment a person attempts to be creative for the purposes of public acclaim, he loses a large portion of his creativity at that very instant.
• A true artist is as rare as the rarest jewel on earth.
• That which is temporary is not truth. That which is fleeting is not real.
• The things that one does greatest are the things he knows not how he does them.
• To overcome the world is not to change the world. To overcome the world is to cleanse oneself of the world.
• To overcome the world is to become free of the world. Free of false notions and concepts. Free of life attempting to live up to external ideals. Free of the need for validation from the people of the world. To overcome the world is to find freedom.
• The truth may be beautiful. But it is rarely pretty.