Skip links

Inspirational Quotations

by RightAttitudes.com

Inspirational Quotes by Swami Vivekananda (Indian Hindu Monk, Mystic)

Inspirational Quotations by Swami Vivekananda (Indian Hindu Monk, Mystic)

Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902,) born Narendra Nath Datta, is one of the most admired spiritual leaders of India. He was the chief disciple of the 19th-century Hindu mystic Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and the driving force behind the Ramakrishna Mission.

Born in Calcutta in British India, Swami Vivekananda was an associate of the Brahmo Samaj, a Hindu reform movement, and training to be a lawyer. When he stumbled upon Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda had a forceful religious experience and became one of Ramakrishna’s disciples. After his master’s death, he founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. He became a mendicant, traveled the length and breadth of India on foot, meditating and propagating his interpretation of Ramakrishna’s teachings.

Swami Vivekananda proposed that, underneath their seeming diversity, all religions are one. His appeal for universal tolerance attracted much attention at the Chicago World Parliament of Religions in 1893, where he introduced Hinduism with an inspiring speech that began, “Sisters and brothers of America…, it fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us.”

Swami Vivekananda was a crucial figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedānta and Yoga to the Western world and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the late 19th century. He was a significant force in the revival of Hinduism in India and contributed to the concept of nationalism in colonial India.

In India, Swami Vivekananda is widely regarded as the patriot saint of modern India and a source of inspiration. His notable literary works include Karma Yoga (1896,) Raja Yoga (1896,) and The East and the West (1909.)

More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Swami Vivekananda

Recommended Reading

Inspirational Quotes by Swami Vivekananda (Indian Hindu Monk, Mystic)

Knowledge can only be got in one way, the way of experience; there is no other way to know.
—Swami Vivekananda

Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached.
—Swami Vivekananda

Superstition is our great enemy, but bigotry is worse. If superstition enters, the brain is gone.
—Swami Vivekananda

A tremendous stream is flowing toward the ocean, carrying us all along with it; and though like straws and scraps of paper we may at times float aimlessly about, in the long run we are sure to join the Ocean of Life and Bliss.
—Swami Vivekananda

Face the brutes. That is a lesson for all life—face the terrible, face it boldly. Like the monkeys, the hardships of life fall back when we cease to flee before them.
—Swami Vivekananda

The highest manifestation of strength is to keep ourselves calm and on our own feet.
—Swami Vivekananda

We must have friendship for all; we must be merciful toward those that are in misery; when people are happy, we ought to be happy; and to the wicked we must be indifferent. These attitudes will make the mind peaceful.
—Swami Vivekananda

Thou brave one, be bold take courage,
be proud that thou art an Indian and proudly proclaim,
I am an Indian… The Indian is my brother,
the Indian is my life, the good of India is my good,
take away my weakness, take away my unmanliness and make me a man.
—Swami Vivekananda

We are ever free if we would only believe it, only have faith enough. You are the soul, free and eternal, ever free, ever blessed. Have faith enough and you will be free in a minute.
—Swami Vivekananda

Mercy is heaven itself; to be good, we have all to be merciful. Even justice and right should stand on mercy.
—Swami Vivekananda

If good impressions prevail, the character becomes good; if bad, it becomes bad. If a man continuously hears bad words, thinks bad thoughts, does bad actions, his mind will be full of bad impressions; and they will influence his thought and work without his being conscious of the fact.
—Swami Vivekananda

The essential thing in religion is making the heart pure; the Kingdom of Heaven is within us, but only the pure in heart can see the King. While we think of the world, it is only the world for us; but let us come to it with the feeling that the world is God, and we shall have God.
—Swami Vivekananda

Our first duty is not to hate ourselves, because to advance we must have faith in ourselves first and then in God. Those who have no faith in themselves can never have faith in God.
—Swami Vivekananda

All search is vain, until we begin to perceive that wisdom is within ourselves … then we may know the sun is rising, that the morning is breaking for us.
—Swami Vivekananda
Topics: Wisdom

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

Time is like river. You can’t touch the same water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again.
—Swami Vivekananda

We reap what we sow. We are the makers of our own fate. None else has the blame, none has the praise.
—Swami Vivekananda

Freedom can never be reached by the weak. Throw away all weakness. Tell your body that it is strong, tell your mind that it is strong, and have unbounded faith and hope in yourself.
—Swami Vivekananda

Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.
—Swami Vivekananda

Great work requires great and persistent effort for a long time. … Character has to be established through a thousand stumbles.
—Swami Vivekananda

Learning and wisdom are superfluities, the surface glitter merely, but it is the heart that is the seat of all power.
—Swami Vivekananda

Is there any sex-distinction in the Atman (Self)? Out with the differentiation between man and woman—all is Atman! Give up the identification with the body, and stand up!
—Swami Vivekananda
Topics: Opportunity, Anxiety, Security, Fear

Good Motive, Sincerity and Infinite love can conquer the world. One single soul possessed of these virtues can destroy the dark designs of millions of hypocrites and brutes.
—Swami Vivekananda

When a man has done so much good work and thought so many good thoughts that there is an irresistible tendency in him to do good in spite of himself and even if he wishes to do evil, his mind, as the sum total of his tendencies, will not allow him to do so; the tendencies will turn him back; he is completely under the influence of the good tendencies. When such is the case, a man’s good character is said to be established.
—Swami Vivekananda

Fill the brain with high thoughts, highest ideals, place them day and night before you, and out of that will come great work.
—Swami Vivekananda

This is the first lesson to learn: be determined not to curse anything outside, not to lay the blame upon anyone outside, but stand up, lay the blame on yourself. You will find that is always true. Get hold of yourself.
—Swami Vivekananda

There is no help for you outside of yourself; you are the creator of the universe. Like the silkworm you have built a cocoon around yourself…. Burst your own cocoon and come out as the beautiful butterfly, as the free soul. Then alone you will see Truth.
—Swami Vivekananda

As body, mind, or soul, you are a dream; you really are Being, Consciousness, Bliss (satchidananda). You are the God of this universe.
—Swami Vivekananda

There is one thing to be remembered: that the assertion—I am God—cannot be made with regard to the sense-world.
—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

A few heart-whole, sincere, and energetic men and women can do more in a year than a mob in a century.
—Swami Vivekananda

God is merciful to those whom He sees struggling heart and soul for realization. But remain idle, without any struggle, and you will see that His grace will never come.
—Swami Vivekananda

Whenever we attain a higher vision, the lower vision disappears of itself.
—Swami Vivekananda

The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you free.
—Swami Vivekananda

Liberation means entire freedom — freedom from the bondage of good, as well as from the bondage of evil.
—Swami Vivekananda

Anything that makes weak – physically, intellectually and spiritually, reject it as poison.
—Swami Vivekananda

Are great things ever done smoothly? Time, patience, and indomitable will must show.
—Swami Vivekananda

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life—think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is way great spiritual giants are produced.
—Swami Vivekananda
Topics: Dreams, Perseverance

Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders, and know that you are the creator of your own destiny. All the strength and succor you want is within yourselves. Therefore, make your own future.
—Swami Vivekananda

Each work has to pass through these stages—ridicule, opposition, and then acceptance. Those who think ahead of their time are sure to be misunderstood.
—Swami Vivekananda

Wondering Whom to Read Next?