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Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda Quotes

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Famous Swami Vivekananda Quotes

“Faith, faith, faith in ourselves, faith, faith in God, this is the secret of greatness.If you have faith in all the three hundred and thirty millions of your mythological Gods, and in all the Gods which foreigners have now and again introduced into your midst, and still have no faith in yourselves, there is no salvation for you.”

IfsStillsFaithThreeSecretMillionsGreatnessHundredSalvationThirtyMidstHave FaithFaith In GodForeignersHave Faith In God
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“Salvation means knowing the truth. We do not become anything; we are what we are. Salvation [comes] by faith and not by work. It is a question of knowledge! You must know what you are, and it is done. The dream vanishes. This you [and others] are dreaming here. When they die, they go to [the] heaven [of their dream]. They live in that dream, and [when it ends], they take a nice body [here], and they are good people.”

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Author:Swami Vivekananda
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“Well has it been said that man is the only animal that naturally looks upwards; every other animal naturally looks down. That looking upward and going upward and seeking perfection are what is called salvation; and the sooner a man begins to go higher, the sooner he raises himself towards this idea of truth as salvation.”

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Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“I believe that the Hindu faith has developed the spiritual in its devotees at the expense of the material, and I think that in the Western world the contrary is true. By uniting the materialism of the West with the spiritualism of the East I believe much can be accomplished. It may be that in the attempt the Hindu faith will lose much of its individuality.”

ThinkingWorldBelieveMaySpiritualI BelieveLosesMaterialsWestWesternIndividualityEastContraryAccomplishedMaterialismExpensesHinduismWestern WorldSpiritualismDevoteeUniting
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“The present Hindu society is organised only for spiritual men, and hopelessly crushes out everybody else. Why? Where shall they go who want to enjoy the world a little with its frivolities? Just as our religion takes in all, so should our society. This is to be worked out by first understanding the true principles of our religion and then applying them to society. This is the slow but sure work to be done.”

MenWorldWantShouldFirstsLittlesDoneSpiritualEnjoyUnderstandingPrinciplesCrushOur SocietyHinduismOrganisedWork To Be DoneFrivolity
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“Hinduism threw away Buddhism after taking its sap. The attempt of all the Southern Acharyas was to effect a reconciliation between the two. Shankaracharya's teaching shows the influence of Buddhism. His disciples perverted his teaching and carried it to such an extreme point that some of the later reformers were right in calling the Acharya's followers "crypto-buddhists".”

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Book:Complete Works
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“That the Hindus, absorbed in the ideal, lacked in realistic observation is evident from this. Take painting and sculpture. What do you see in the Hindu paintings? All sorts of grotesque and unnatural figures. What do you see in a Hindu temple? A Chaturbhanga Narayana or some such thing. But take into consideration any Italian picture or Grecian statue-what a study of nature you find in them! A gentleman for twenty years sat burning a candle in his hand, in order to paint a lady carrying a candle in her hand.”

YearsHandsOrderStudyFiguresPaintingIdealsTwentiesPaintObservationBurningGentlemanSatConsiderationTemplesItalianRealisticHinduismCandleEvidentSculptureStatuesUnnaturalGrotesque
Author:Swami Vivekananda
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“All sectarian religions take for granted that all men are equal. This is not warranted by science. There is more difference between minds than between bodies. One fundamental doctrine of Hinduism is that all men are different, there being unity in variety. Even for a drunkard, there are some Mantras-even for a man going to a prostitute!”

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Book:Complete Works
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“Too early religious advancement of the Hindus and that superfineness in everything which made them cling to higher alternatives, have reduced them to what they are. The Hindus have to learn a little bit of materialism from the West and teach them a little bit of spirituality.”

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Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“The fault with all religions like Christianity is that they have one set of rules for all. But Hindu religion is suited to all grades of religious aspiration and progress. It contains all the ideals in their perfect form. For example, the ideal of Shanta or blessedness is to be found in Vasishtha; that of love in Krishna; that of duty in Rama and Sita; and that of intellect in Shukadeva. Study the characters of these and of other ideal men. Adopt one which suits you best.”

MenCharacterFormFoundReligiousPerfectChristianityStudyProgressExampleDutyIdealsFaultsIntellectSuitsAspirationGradesHinduismRamaKrishnaBlessednessSuits YouIdeal ManHindu ReligionSita
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“Individuality in universality is the plan of creation. Each cell has its part in bringing about consciousness. Man is individual and at the same time universal. It is while realising our individual nature that we realise even our national and universal nature. Each is an infinite circle whose centre is everywhere and circumference nowhere. By practice one can feel universal Selfhood which is the essence of Hinduism. He who sees in every being his own Self is a Pandita (sage).”

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Author:Swami Vivekananda
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“A man ought to live in this world like a lotus leaf, which grows in water but is never moistened by water; so a man ought to live in the world - his heart to God and his hands to work.”

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Book:Swami Vivekanand's Chicago Speech: Swami Vivekananda’s Speech At World Parliament Of Religion, Chicago
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“Hindu religion does not consist in struggles and attempts to believe a certain doctrine or dogma, but in realizing not in believing, but in being and becoming.”

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Book:Swami Vivekanand's Chicago Speech: Swami Vivekananda’s Speech At World Parliament Of Religion, Chicago
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“It is good to love God for hope of reward, but it is better to love God for love's sake; and the prayer goes: O Lord, I do not want wealth nor children nor learning. If it be Thy will, I shall go from birth to birth. But grant me this, that I may love thee without the hope of reward 'love' unselfishly for love's sake.”

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Book:Swami Vivekanand's Chicago Speech: Swami Vivekananda’s Speech At World Parliament Of Religion, Chicago
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“A perfect life is a contradiction in terms. Life itself is a state of continuous struggle between ourselves and everything outside. Every moment we are fighting actually with external nature, and if we are defeated, our life has to go. It is, for instance, a continuous struggle for food and air. If food or air fails, we die. Life is not a simple and smoothly flowing thing, but it is a compound effect. This complex struggle between something inside and the external world is what we call life. So it is clear that when this struggle ceases, there will be an end of life.”

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Book:Karma Yoga
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“I am really not "cyclonic" at all. Far from it. What I want is not here, nor can I longer bear this "cyclonic" atmosphere. This is the way to perfection, to strive to be perfect, and to strive to make perfect a few men and women. My idea of doing good is this: to evolve out a few giants, and not to strew pearls before swine, and so lose time, health, and energy.”

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Book:Swami Vivekananda on Himself
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“Let us realise [that] we are the infinite power. Who put a limit to the power of mind? Let us realise we are all mind. Every drop has the whole of the ocean in it. That is the mind of man. The Indian mind reflects upon these [powers and potentialities] and wants to bring [them] all out. For himself he doesn't care what happens. It will take a great length of time [to reach perfection]. If it takes fifty thousand years, what of that!”

IfsMenWantYearsMindWholeHappensCareThousandLimitsOceanPerfectionInfiniteIndianFiftyLengthRealisingThousand YearsPower Of The MindInfinite PowerHe Doesn't Care
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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