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The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda

Book by Swami Vivekananda · 31 quotes · Men, Ifs, World

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The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Quotes

“Plunge into the world, and then, after a time, when you have suffered and enjoyed all that is in it, will renunciation come; then will calmness come. So fulfill your desire for power and everything else, and after you have fulfilled the desire, will come the time when you will know that they are all very little things; but until you have fulfilled this desire, until you have passed through that activity, it is impossible for you to come to the state of calmness, serenity, and self-surrender.”

KnowsWorldLittlesSelfStatesDesireImpossibleActivitySurrenderEnjoyedLittle ThingsSerenityFulfilledCalmnessPlungeRenunciationDesire For Power
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Can we see God? Of course not. Can we know God? Of course not. If God can be known, He will be God no longer. Knowledge is limitation. But I and my Father are one: I find the reality in my soul. These ideas are expressed in some religions, and in others only hinted. In some they were expatriated. Christ's teachings are now very little understood in this country. If you will excuse me, I will say that they have never been very well understood.”

IfsKnowsWellsHeartLittlesIdeasSoulCountryRealityCoursesFatherJesusChristKnownTeachingPureUnderstoodBlessedExcuseMy SoulLimitationKnowing GodExcuse Me
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“Every Hindu knows that astrologers try to fix the caste of every boy or girl as soon as he or she is born. That is the real caste - the individuality, and Jyotisha (astrology) recognises that. And we can only rise by giving it full sway again. This variety does not mean inequality, nor any special privilege.”

KnowsGivingTryingMeanDoeRealGirlBornBoysSpecialIndividualityPrivilegeInequalityVarietyAstrologyRecogniseCastes
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“The wind is blowing; those vessels whose sails are unfurled catch it, and go forward on their way, but those which have their sails furled do not catch the wind. Is that the fault of the wind? Is it the fault of the merciful Father, whose wind of mercy is blowing without ceasing, day and night, whose mercy knows no decay, is it His fault that some of us are happy and some unhappy? We make our own destiny. His sun shines for the weak as well as for the strong. His wind blows for saint and sinner alike. He is the Lord of all, the Father of all, merciful, and impartial.”

KnowsWayWellsNightFatherStrongLordDestinySunWindWeakMercyShiningFaultsSaintBlowUnhappySinnerDecaySailVesselDay And NightMercifulSun ShinesSaints And Sinners
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“As to the so-called Hindu idolatry - first go and learn the forms they are going through, and where it is that the worshippers are really worshipping, whether in the temple, in the image, or in the temple of their own bodies. First know for certain what they are doing - which more than ninety per cent of the revilers are thoroughly ignorant of - and then it will explain itself in the light of the Vedantic philosophy.”

KnowsFirstsPhilosophyBodyLightFormCertainWorshipIgnorantTemplesCentsNinetyIdolatryWorshippersIdol Worship
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“In Tibet there is no marriage, and there is no jealousy, yet we know that marriage is a much higher state. The Tibetans have not known the wonderful enjoyment, the blessing of chastity, the happiness of having a chaste, virtuous wife, or a chaste, virtuous husband. These people cannot feel that. And similarly they do not feel the intense jealousy of the chaste wife or husband, or the misery caused by unfaithfulness on either side, with all the heart-burnings and sorrows which believers in chastity experience. On one side, the latter gain happiness, but on the other, they suffer misery too.”

PeopleKnowsFeelsHeartStatesSufferingSidesKnownMarriageWifeWonderfulHigherSorrowBlessingHusbandGainsMiseryBelieverIntenseBurningEnjoymentLatterVirtuousChastityTibetanChasteTibetUnfaithfulness
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“Hold to the idea, "I am not the mind, I see that I am thinking, I am watching my mind act," and each day the identification of yourself with thoughts and feelings will grow less, until at last you can entirely separate yourself from the mind and actually know it to be apart from yourself.”

ThinkingKnowsMindIdeasFeelingsInspirationLastsGrowsPracticeMeditationEach DayIdentificationThoughts And Feelings
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“The devil comes in many guises-anger in the form of justice-passion in the form of duty. When it first comes, the man knows and then he forgets. Just as your pleaders' conscience; at first they know it is all Badmashi (roguery), then it is duty to their clients; at last they get hardened.”

KnowsMenFirstsLastsFormPassionJusticeForgetHe ManDutyDevilConscienceAngerClientsGuiseHardened
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“Every atom is trying to go and join itself to the next atom. Atoms after atoms combine, making huge balls, the earths, the suns, the moons, the stars, the planets. They in their turn, are trying to rush towards each other, and at last, we know that the whole universe, mental and material, will be fused into one.”

KnowsTryingWholeEarthLastsTurnsUniverseNextStarsSunPlanetsMaterialsHugeMoonBallsAtoms
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“Today the West is awakening to its wants; and the "true self of man and spirit" is the watchword of the advanced school of Western theologians. The student of Sanskrit philosophy knows where the wind is blowing from, but it matters not whence the power comes so longs as it brings new life.”

KnowsMenWantSelfMatterPhilosophyTodaySchoolSpiritStudentsWindWestWesternAwakeningTrue SelfNew LifeTheologianSanskrit
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“After every happiness comes misery; they may be far apart or near. The more advanced the soul, the more quickly does one follow the other. What we want is neither happiness nor misery. Both make us forget our true nature; both are chains-one iron, one gold; behind both is the Atman, who knows neither happiness nor misery. These are states, and states must ever change; but the nature of the Atman is bliss, peace, unchanging. We have not to get it, we have it; only wash away the dross and see it.”

KnowsWantMayDoeSoulStatesPeaceForgetBehindsGoldMiseryChainsBlissIronTrue NatureUnchangingAtmanDross
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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