Kuvempu

"Every child, at birth, is the Universal Man. But, as it grows, we turn it into "a petty man." It should be the function of education to turn it again into the original "Universal Man." The child which by birth was the universal man is fettered by us with such constraints as country, language, religion, caste, race and colour. To free it from all these limitations and transform it into "the enlightened soul", that is to say, the universal man, — this should become the first and foremost function of our education, culture, civilization, and what not."

"When I hear Kannada, my heart leaps up and I am all ears."

"It is not correct to say that Valmiki is the only Ramayana poet. There are thousands of Ramayana poets. There is a Ramayana poet in every village."

"Victory to you Mother Karnataka, The daughter of Mother India! Hail the land of beautiful rivers and forests! Hail the abode of saints and seers!"

"A new jewel in the crown of Goddess Earth, You are a trove of sandalwood, beauty and gold. Victory to you Mother Karnataka, the daughter of Mother India, where Rama and Krishna had their incarnations."

"Garden of peace for all communities, A sight that allures the connoisseurs, A garden where Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Parsis and the Jains (can grow together); The site where many kings like Janaka ruled; A haven for singers and musicians; The body of the children of Mother Kannada; The house where the Kannada Tongue plays in joy."

"Be unhoused, O my soul! Only the Infinite be your goal. Leave those myriad forms behind, Leave the million names that bind. A flash will pierce your heart and mind, And unhouse you, O my soul!"

"Winnow the chaff of a hundred creeds Beyond these systems, hollow as reeds, Turn unhorizened to where Truth leads, To be unhoused, O my soul!"

"The infinite Yoga knows no end, Endless the quest you apprehend. You'll grow infinite and ascend, When you are unhoused, O my soul!"

"In me is the sky, in me lies the earth."

"Amidst the early morning dew Walking across the greenery And in the evening that is scary While taking a breath, Oh, flower, I listen to your song, Oh flower, I defeat your love."

"When Manmatha kissed Rati, blood from her lips may have spilt on earth and blossomed into rose on the plant and kisses the viewer's eyes with its beauty now!"

"It was a day of blackest deed When Delhi streets of fame Did glitter well by cursed greed Of harsh Timoor the lame."

"Inspired by neo-Vedanta, Kuvempu considered the Vedas and Upanishads as India’s common spiritual heritage, not texts of Brahminical orthodoxy. A famous poem of Kuvempu, "Aniketana", asks that our consciousness not be bounded by the identities of caste, religion, gender, and even language, since they lessen our experience in the world. He wished that we aspire to become vishvamanava (universal human)."

"Kuvempu never visited temples, but believed in the presence of creator in each creature. In fact, whenever Kuvempu was not writing or teaching, he meditated. To him, worshipping nature was a path to attain Aadhyatma or The Supreme Soul."

"Many don't know Kuvempu wrote poems in English as early as 1922, bringing out a collection of seven poems titled Beginner's muse! In 1924, when Kuvempu got introduced to the Irish poet James Cousins through Dr M H Krishnamachar, he suggested to Kuvempu that he should write only in Kannada. Though he was initially disheartened by Cousin's advice, he later realised his full potential as a poet and a multi-faceted writer in the richness of Kannada."