We often hear people indignantly asking others, Don't you know who I am? But if, instead, we could just ask ourselves, Do I know who I am? and perform sincere self-inquiry, we could find a permanent solution to all of life's problems. Tragically, our approach to education is lopsided. We spend our entire lives trying to learn everything about the external world and the lives of other people, yet we never try to learn about ourselves, the inner world.

Amritanandamayi's Address Upon Receiving an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the State University of New York (2010)