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Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda Quotes

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Famous Swami Vivekananda Quotes

“There must be no fear, no begging, but demanding - demanding the Highest. The true devotees of the Mother are as hard, as adamant and as fearless as lions. They are not in the least upset if the whole universe suddenly crumbles into dust at their feet. Make Her listen to you. None of that cringing to Mother! Remember, She is all-powerful; She can make heroes out of stones.”

IfsHardWholeRememberMotherUniversePowerfulFeetHeroHighestStonesDustFearlessUpsetLionsNo FearBeggingDevoteeAdamant
Author:Swami Vivekananda
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“What good is this body? Let it go in helping others. Did not the Master preach until the very end? And shall I not do the same? I do not care a straw if the body goes. You cannot imagine how happy I am when I find earnest seekers after truth to talk to. In the work of waking up Atman in my fellow men I shall gladly die again and again!”

IfsMenEndsHelpingBodyCareDiesImagineMastersWake UpFellowsHelping OthersWakingAgain And AgainEarnestFellow ManSeekersLet It GoStrawsAtman
Author:Swami Vivekananda
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“It is an irrational claim to believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ and at the same time to hold that the greater part of his teachings have no application at the present time. If you say that the reason why the powers do not follow them that believe (as Christ said they would) is because you have not faith enough and are not pure enough-that will be all right. But to say that they have no application at the present time is to be ridiculous.”

IfsBelieveSaidReasonEnoughJesusChristGreaterTeachingPureJesus ChristClaimsRidiculousReason WhyApplicationIrrationalPresent Time
Book:Complete Works
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“Religion is not an imitation of Jesus or Mohammed. Even if an imitation is good, it is never genuine. Be not an imitation of Jesus, but be Jesus, You are quite as great as Jesus, Buddha, or anybody else. If we are not ... we must struggle and be. I would not be exactly like Jesus. It is unnecessary that I should be born a Jew.”

IfsShouldJesusBornStruggleJewGenuineUnnecessaryImitation
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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““Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” This sentence alone would save mankind, if all books and prophets were lost. This purity of heart will bring the vision of God. It is the theme of the whole music of this universe. In purity is no bondage. Remove the veils of ignorance by purity; then we manifest ourselves as we really are and know that we were never in bondage. The seeing of 'many' is the great sin of all the world. See all as Self and love all; let all idea of separateness go.”

IfsKnowsWorldHeartBookIdeasSelfWholeUniverseJesusLostSinVisionSeeingMankindIgnorancePureAnd LoveBlessedSentencesProphetPurityThemeRemoveManifestVeilsBondageSeparateness
Author:Swami Vivekananda
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“Dâna, charity. There is no higher virtue than charity. The lowest man is he whose hand draws in, in receiving; and he is the highest man whose hand goes out in giving. The hand was made to give always. Give the last bit of bread you have even if you are starving. You will be free in a moment if you starve yourself to death by giving to another. Immediately you will be perfect, you will become God.”

IfsMenGivingMadeMomentsHandsLastsBitsPerfectVirtueHigherHighestDrawsCharityBreadReceivingLowestStarving
Book:Addresses on Bhakti Yoga: Art of living
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“You must also remember that the world has God to govern it, and He has not left it to our charity. The Lord God is its Governor and Maintainer, and in spite of these wine fanatics and cigar fanatics, and all sorts of marriage fanatics, it would go on. If all these persons were to die, it would go on none the worse.”

IfsWorldPersonsRememberDiesLeftLordGoes OnWineCharitySpiteGovernorsFanaticsCigarLord God
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“The power of meditation gets us everything. If you want to get power over nature, [you can have it through meditation]. It is through the power of meditation all scientific facts are discovered today. They study the subject and forget everything, their own identity and everything, and then the great fact comes like a flash.”

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Author:Swami Vivekananda
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“If you intend to study the mind, you must have systematic training; you must practice to bring the mind under your control, to attain to that consciousness from which you will be able to study the mind and remain unmoved by any of its wild gyrations. Otherwise the facts observed will not be reliable; they will not apply to all people and therefore will not be truly facts or data at all.”

PeopleIfsMindFactsAbleConsciousnessPracticeStudyDisciplineTrainingDataSystematic
Book:Prabuddha Bharata: Or Awakened India
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“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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“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.”

IfsWantLoveMayChildrenWealthPrayerLordBirthRewardsTrue LoveSakeTheeGod LoveGrants
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.”

IfsWorldEndsStatesMomentsLife IsDiesFightingTermSimplePerfectStruggleClearOur LivesFailingAirEffectsPerfectionComplexesCeaseInstanceContradictionDefeatedCompoundsEnd Of LifePerfect LifeTerm Life
Book:Karma Yoga
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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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“This is the gist of all worship: to be pure and to do good to others. He who sees Shiva in the poor, in the weak, and in the diseased, really worships Shiva. And if he sees Shiva only in the image, his worship is but preliminary. He who has served and helped one poor man seeing Shiva in him, without thinking of his caste or creed or race or anything, with him Shiva is more pleased than with the man who sees Him only in temples”

IfsThinkingMenPoorRaceSeeingHe ManPureWorshipWeakTemplesCreedsPoor ManCastesDiseasedShivaGist
Book:Lectures from Colombo to Almora
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“We should cultivate the optimistic temperament, and endeavour to see the good that dwells in everything. If we sit down and lament over the imperfection of our bodies and our minds, we profit nothing; it is the heroic endeavour to subdue adverse circumstances that carries our spirit upward.”

IfsShouldMindBodySpiritCircumstancesOptimismDown AndProfitOptimisticCarrieImperfectionHeroicTemperamentEndeavourLamentAdverse
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“If you are a strong man, very good! But do not curse others who are not strong enough for you. ...Everyone says, "Woe unto you people!!" Who says, "Woe unto me that I cannot help you?" The people are doing all right to the best of their ability and means and knowledge. Woe unto me that I cannot lift them to where I am!”

PeopleIfsMenInspirationalMeanEnoughHelpingStrongAbilityVery GoodLiftsCurseWoeStrong EnoughStrong ManNot StrongNot Strong EnoughWoe Unto
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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“Have faith in man, whether he appears to you to be a very learned one or a most ignorant one. Have faith in man, whether he appears to be an angel or the very devil himself. Have faith in man first, and then having faith in him, believe that if there are defects in him, if he makes mistakes, if he embraces the crudest and the vilest doctrines, believe that it is not from his real nature that they come, but from the want of higher ideals.”

IfsMenWantFirstsBelieveRealFaithMistakeHigherDevilAngelIdealsEmbraceDoctrineIgnorantMaking MistakesHave FaithDefects
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
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