Recommended Reading
- ‘Raja Yoga‘ by Swami Vivekananda
- ‘Vivekananda: A Biography‘ by Swami Nikhilananda
- ‘Bhagavad Gita As Viewed by Swami Vivekananda‘ by Swami Vivekananda
- ‘Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda‘ by Swami Vivekananda and Sister Nivedita
- ‘Lectures on the Bhagavad Gita‘ by Swami Vivekananda
Inspirational Quotes by Swami Vivekananda (Indian Hindu Monk, Mystic)
Come out into the broad light of day, come out from the little narrow paths, for how can the infinite soul rest content to live and die in small ruts?
—Swami Vivekananda
Every act of love brings happiness; there is no act of love which does not bring peace and blessedness as its reaction.
—Swami Vivekananda
Truth, Purity, Unselfishness
wherever these are present,
there is no power below or above the Sun
to crush the possessor thereof.
—Swami Vivekananda
Nature, body, mind go to death, not we. We neither go nor come. The man Vivekananda is in nature, is born and dies; but the Self we see as Vivekananda is never born and never dies. It is the eternal and unchangeable Reality.
—Swami Vivekananda
This life is short, the vanities of the world are transient, but they alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive. If all of us think for the society and the country, all our problems will be solved.
—Swami Vivekananda
Perfection is always infinite. We are the Infinite already. You and I, and all beings, are trying to manifest that infinity.
—Swami Vivekananda
Whenever we attain a higher vision, the lower vision disappears of itself.
—Swami Vivekananda
Desire, ignorance, and inequality—this is the trinity of bondage.
—Swami Vivekananda
All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in our own mind.
—Swami Vivekananda
Good and bad are both bondages of the soul … If we do not attach ourselves to the work we do, it will not have any binding effect on our soul… This is the one central idea in the Gita: work incessantly, but be not attached to it.
—Swami Vivekananda
We came to enjoy; we are being enjoyed. We came to rule; we are being ruled. We came to work; we are being worked. All the time, we find that. And this comes into every detail of our life.
—Swami Vivekananda
All men and women try to make the most of whatever power or advantage they have.
—Swami Vivekananda
Have you got the will to surmount mountain-high obstructions? If the whole world stands against you sword in hand, would you still dare to do what you think is right?
—Swami Vivekananda
Be a hero. Always say, “I have no fear.” Tell this to everyone—“Have no fear.”
—Swami Vivekananda
The mind is but the subtle part of the body. You must retain great strength in your mind and words.
—Swami Vivekananda
Be for a lone moment really “hopeless”, and the mist will clear. For what to hope when one is the all of existence.
—Swami Vivekananda
A few heart-whole, sincere, and energetic men and women can do more in a year than a mob in a century.
—Swami Vivekananda
As soon as I think that I am a little body, I want to preserve it, to protect it, to keep it nice, at the expense of other bodies; then you and I become separate.
—Swami Vivekananda
The more you think of yourself as shining immortal spirit, the more eager you will be to be absolutely free of matter, body, and senses. This is the intense desire to be free.
—Swami Vivekananda
Let the end and the means be joined into one.
—Swami Vivekananda
First, believe in the world—that there is meaning behind everything.
—Swami Vivekananda
First, let us become gods and then help others to become gods. ‘Be and make.’ Let this be our motto.
—Swami Vivekananda
Be “unattached”; let things work; let brain centers work; work incessantly, but let not a ripple conquer the mind. Work as if you were a stranger in this land, a sojourner; work incessantly, but do not bind yourselves; bondage is terrible.
—Swami Vivekananda
Astrology and all these mystical things are generally signs of a weak mind; therefore as soon as they are becoming prominent in our minds, we should see a physician, take good food, and rest.
—Swami Vivekananda
Condemn none: if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way.
—Swami Vivekananda
Topics: Helping
Strength is Life, Weakness is Death.
Expansion is Life, Contraction is Death.
Love is Life, Hatred is Death.
—Swami Vivekananda
The less passion there is, the better we work. The calmer we are the better for us and the more the amount of work we can do. When we let loose our feelings, we waste so much energy, shatter our nerves, disturb our minds, and accomplish very little work.
—Swami Vivekananda
Religion as a science, as a study, is the greatest and healthiest exercise that the human mind can have.
—Swami Vivekananda
Why are people so afraid? The answer is that they have made themselves helpless and dependent on others. We are so lazy, we do not want to do anything ourselves. We want a Personal God, a Savior or a Prophet to do everything for us.
—Swami Vivekananda
Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth.
—Swami Vivekananda
Topics: Duty
What the world wants is character. The world is in need of those whose life is one burning love, selfless. That love will make every word tell like a thunderbolt.
—Swami Vivekananda
The highest manifestation of strength is to keep ourselves calm and on our own feet.
—Swami Vivekananda
Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached.
—Swami Vivekananda
Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so. If there is sin, this is the only sin? To say that you are weak, or others are weak.
—Swami Vivekananda
Be perfectly resigned, perfectly unconcerned; then alone can you do any true work. No eyes can see the real forces; we can only see the results. Put out self, forget it; just let God work, it is His business.
—Swami Vivekananda
The greatest source of strength for any society is its faith in God. The day it renounces such faith will be the day that society begins to die.
—Swami Vivekananda
This I have seen in life—those who are overcautious about themselves fall into dangers at every step; those who are afraid of losing honor and respect, get only disgrace; and those who are always afraid of loss, always lose.
—Swami Vivekananda
The whole life is a succession of dreams. My ambition is to be a conscious dreamer, that is all.
—Swami Vivekananda
Topics: Dreams
If we really want to be blessed, and make others blessed, we must go deeper. The first step is not to disturb the mind, not to associate with persons whose ideas are disturbing.
—Swami Vivekananda
Come up, O lions, and shake off the delusion that you are sheep; you are soul-immortal, spirits free, blest and eternal; you are not matter, you are not bodies; matter is your servant, not you the servant of matter.
—Swami Vivekananda
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