“Even soul-force, when it is effective, destroys. Only those who have used it with eyes open, know how much more destructive it can be than the sword and the cannon”
"Kurukshetra" in Essays on the Gita (1995), p. 39
Context: Even soul-force, when it is effective, destroys. Only those who have used it with eyes open, know how much more destructive it can be than the sword and the cannon; and only those who do not limit their view to the act and its immediate results, can see how tremendous are its after-effects, how much is eventually destroyed and with that much all the life that depended upon it and fed upon it. Evil cannot perish without the destruction of much that lives by the evil, and it is no less destruction even if we personally are saved the pain of a sensational act of violence.
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Sri Aurobindo 224
Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, gur… 1872–1950Related quotes

Source: Letter to Lord Grenville (25 October 1795), quoted in The Manuscripts of J. B. Fortescue, Esq, Volume III (1899), p. 143

Les Loix du Mouvement et du Repos, déduites d'un Principe Métaphysique (1746)

“Fools, they do not even know how much more is the half than the whole.”
Source: Works and Days (c. 700 BC), line 40; often translated as "The half is greater than the whole."

“How can assured destruction deter those who glorify self-destruction and call it martyrdom?”
Iran, Regime Change or Behavior Change: A false choice http://www.rezapahlavi.org/details_article.php?article=104&page=5, Hudson Institute, Apr. 3, 2007.
Speeches, 2007
Context: How can assured destruction deter those who glorify self-destruction and call it martyrdom? Just as suicide bombing has changed domestic security policies, dealing with the nuclearization of this new kind of “other-worldly” state requires a different approach in international relations. Far from acting to avoid assured destruction, they invite it with tireless exaltation of martyrdom!

Angelus (10 September 1978) http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_i/angelus/documents/hf_jp-i_ang_10091978_en.html; in an audience with Philippine bishops on 28 September 1978, he further elaborated: According to tales told by ancient men to attain their political objectives "God is the Father." According to what we really know "God is the Mother."
Context: We are the objects of undying love on the part of God. We know: he has always his eyes open on us, even when it seems to be dark. He is our father; even more he is our mother. He does not want to hurt us, He wants only to do good to us, to all of us. If children are ill, they have additional claim to be loved by their mother. And we too, if by chance we are sick with badness, on the wrong track, have yet another claim to be loved by the Lord.