I have acquired many wonderful principles from my family, and I intend to follow these for the rest of my life.

Being Miss Universe is much more than having a sash and a crown. It is about taking pride in my commitment to serving as an ambassador to my country - and to women everywhere.

I'm just a normal girl who dreams, who fights for what I believe.

I consider myself a woman endowed with inner beauty.

Look at the plight of a devotee. One cannot even use the name of his favourite God. What sort of democracy is this?

It's awful because if you have a blessed life like me, where I've been so lucky, you end up saying things like, 'Oh, my God. I was just playing hide-and-seek with Penelope Cruz.'

The difficulty for most of us in the modern world is that the old-fashioned idea of God has become incredible or implausible.

The art of Peace I practice has room for each of the world's eight million gods, and I cooperate with them all. The God of Peace is very great and enjoins all that is divine and enlightened in every land.