Quotations of Swami Vivekananda

An Indian monk, the chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna.He was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world.

  • “One vision I can see clear as life before me that the ancient Mother has awakened once more, sitting on her throne- rejuvenated, more glorious than ever. Proclaim her to the entire world with the voice of peace and benediction”
    Swami Vivekananda
  • “The Indian nation cannot be killed. Deathless it stands, and it will stand so long as that spirit shall remain as the background, so long as her people do not give up their spirituality.”
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "The ideal man is he who,in the midst of the greatest silence and solitude,finds the intensest activity,and in the midst of the intensest activity finds the silence and solitude of the desert.He has learnt the secret of restraint,he has controlled himself."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "History itself bears testimony to the fact. All the soul-elevating ideas and the different branches of knowledge that exist in the world are found on proper investigation to have their roots in India."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "When the real history of India will be unearthed, it will be proved that, as in matters of religion, so in fine arts, India is the primal Guru of the whole world."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "Jnâna, Bhakti, Yoga and Karma—these are the four paths which lead to salvation. One must follow the path for which one is best suited; but in this age special stress should be laid on Karma-Yoga."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "This is the great fact: strength is life, weakness is death. Strength is felicity, life eternal, immortal; weakness is constant strain and misery: weakness is death."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "Perfect sincerity, holiness, gigantic intellect, and all-conquering will. Let only a handful of men work with these, and the whole world will be revolutionized."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "No great work can be achieved by humbug. It is through love, a passion for truth, and tremendous energy, that all undertakings are accomplished."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "If you can think that infinite power, infinite knowledge and indomitable energy lie within you, and if you can bring out that power, you also can become like me."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "Be not in despair, the way is very difficult, like walking on the edge of a razor; yet despair not, arise, awake, and find the ideal, the goal."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "The great secret of true success, of true happiness, is this: the man or woman who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish person, is the most successful."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "The power of concentration is the only key to the treasure-house of knowledge.
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "When a man is perfect, he sees perfection in others. When he sees imperfection, it is his own mind projecting itself."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "Do not lower your goals to the level of your abilities. Instead, raise your abilities to the height of your goals."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark."
    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
  • "We are what our thoughts have made us;so take care about what you think.Words are secondary.Thoughts live;they travel far."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life, think of it, dream of it, live on that idea.This is the way to success."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "The great secret of true success, of true happiness, is this: the man or woman who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish person, is the most successful."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "One vision I can see clear as life before me that the ancient Mother has awakened once more, sitting on her throne- rejuvenated, more glorious than ever. Proclaim her to the entire world with the voice of peace and benediction.”
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "I want each one of my children to be a hundred times greater than I could ever be. Everyone of you must be a giant— must, that is my word. Obedience, readiness, and love for the cause— if you have these three, nothing can hold you back."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "If India had no unity herself, no unity could have been given to her. The unity which undoubtedly belonged to India was self-born and had its own destiny, its own functions and its own vast powers..." #SisterNivedita
  • "Even the least work done for others awakens the power within; even thinking the least good of others gradually instills into the heart the strength of a lion."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourself."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything"
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "Books are infinite in number and time is short. The secret of knowledge is to take what is essential. Take that and try to live up to it."
    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
  • "There are four key words which you must remember, abhaya(fearlessness), ahimsa(non-injury), asanga(non-attachment) and ananda(bliss).These words really sum up the essence of all our sacred books. Remember them."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "Shri Ramakrishna use to say, "As Long as I Live, so long do I learn". That man or that society which has nothing to learn is already in the jaws of death."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The more concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "The Vedanta recognizes no sin it only recognizes error. And the greatest error, says the Vedanta is to say that you are weak, that you are a sinner, a miserable creature, and that you have no power and you cannot do this and that."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "Blessed are they whose bodies get destroyed in the service of others."
    Swami Vivekananda
  • "So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every person a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them!"
    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
  • "The help which tends to make us spiritually strong is the highest help, next to it comes intellectual help and after that comes physical help."
    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
  • "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
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