It's totally freeing when I stay in tune with scripture. I don't have to worry if I miss a dive. I go into competition and it's like, "Praise God no matter what."

Ultimately when you have the perspective of why you're competing and what you're trying to pursue, the rest just falls into place.

Are the odds you face (in life) defeating or motivating you?

Competition is all about you. It's about feeding your selfish needs. It feeds the depravity of your heart.

After quitting gymnastics in 2000, I was looking for that next thing where I could defy gravity. I was looking for something that had the flipping and the twisting and allowed me to be acrobatic.

Our worst pain is confined within our own skin.

At times I felt that the universe fabricated from the power of imagination had stronger and more lasting contours than the blurred realm of the flesh-and-blood creatures around me.

India needs to be liberated both from the 'high GDP growth hedgehogs' and the 'conservation at all costs hedgehogs.'

Most people go not by argument, but by sympathies.

It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.

We sometimes freeze the specimen with liquid nitrogen, which is extremely cold, you know. This is another technique we use now - but the specimens are not alive.

Habit: Often mistaken for love.

Always remember, Son, the best boss is the one who bosses the least. Whether it's cattle, or horses, or men; the least government is the best government.

I think we are warranted in contending that a society thus constituted, and which may be rendered so admirable an engine of improvement, far from meriting reproach, deserves highly of the community.

I can only think of one experience which might exceed in interest a few hours spent under water, and that would be a journey to Mars.