Swami Vivekananda Quotations | Page 2

You must have an iron will, if you would cross the ocean. You must be strong enough to pierce mountains.

All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction. Love is therefore the only law of life. He who loves lives, he who is selfish is dying. Therefore love for love's sake, because it is the only law of life, just as you breathe to live.

Work on with the intrepidity of a lion but at the same time with the tenderness of a flower.

This life is a hard fact; work your way through it boldly, though it may be adamantine; no matter, the soul is stronger.

We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves.

I, for one, thoroughly believe that no power in the universe can withhold from anyone anything they really deserve.

Neither seek nor avoid, take what comes.

It is the same India which has withstood the shocks of centuries, of hundreds of foreign invasions of hundreds of upheavals of manners and customs. It is the same land which stands firmer than any rock in the world, with its undying vigour, indestructible life. Its life is of the same nature as the soul, without beginning and without end, immortal; and we are the children of such a country.

Purity, patience and perseverance are the three essentials to success and above all love.

Women will work out their destinies — much better, too, than men can ever do for them. All the mischief to women has come because men undertook to shape the destiny of women.

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.

Do you know how much energy, how many powers, how many forces, are still lurking behind that frame of yours? What scientist has known all that is in man? Millions of years have passed since man came here, and yet but one infinitesimal part of his powers has been manifested. Therefore, you must not say that you are weak. How do you know what possibilities lie behind that degradation on the surface? You know but little of that which is within you. For behind you is the ocean of infinite power and blessedness.

Man is born to conquer nature and not to follow it.

Onward, my brave boys - money or no money - men or no men! Have you love? Have you God? Onward and forward to the breach, you are irresistible.

Spirituality as a science, as a study, is the greatest and healthiest exercise that the human mind can have.

It is always for greater joy that you give up the lesser. This is practical religion-the attainment of freedom, renunciation. Renounce the lower so that you may get the higher. Renounce! Renounce! Sacrifice! Give up! Not for zero. Not for nothing. But to get the higher.

All power is within you. Believe in that,do not believe that you are weak... Stand up and express the Divinity within you.

The earth is enjoyed by heroes”—this is the unfailing truth. Be a hero. Always say, “I have no fear.

When we use our imagination properly it is our greatest friend; it goes belyond reason and is the only light that takes us everywhere.

Doing good to others is the #‎ one great Universal Religion

Why are people so afraid? The answer is that they have made themselves helpless and dependent on others. We are so lazy, we do not want to do anything ourselves. We want a Personal God, a Savior or a Prophet to do everything for us.

Don't look back—forward, infinite energy, infinite enthusiasm, infinite daring, and infinite patience—then alone can great deeds be accomplished.

Let a man go down as low as possible; there must come a time when out of sheer desperation he will take an upward curve and will learn to have faith in himself.

Man is to become divine by realizing the divine. Idols or temples, or churches or books, are only the supports, the help of his spiritual childhood.

Learn Everything that is Good from Others, but bring it in, and in your own way absorb it; do not become others.

Wherever in any society there are too many laws, it is a sure sign that that society will soon die. If you study the characteristics of India, you will find that no nation possesses so many laws as the Hindus, and national death is the result.

All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in our own mind.

Never lose faith in yourself; you can do anything in the universe.

Feel, my children, feel; feel for the poor, the ignorant, the downtrodden; feel till the heart stops and the brain reels and you think you will go mad; then pour the soul out at the feet of the Lord, and then will come power, help and indomitable energy.

All work is simply to bring out the power of the mind which is already there, to wake up the soul. The power is inside every man, so is knowing; the different works are like blows to bring them out, to cause these giants to wake up.

Everything is easy when you are busy. But nothing is easy when you are lazy.

Ask nothing; want nothing in return. Give what you have to give; it will come back to you, but do not think of that now.

This misery that I am suffering is of my own doing, and that very thing proves that it will have to be undone by me alone.

Religion is the one and sole interest of the people of India.

The sky never changes: it is the cloud that is changing.

This, I have seen in life - those who are overcautious about themselves fall into dangers at every step. Those who are afraid of losing honor and respect, get only disgrace; and those who are always afraid of loss, always lose.

Say it with pride we are Hindus

As soon as you know the voice and understand what it is, the whole scene changes. The same world which was the ghastly battlefield of maya is now changed into something good and beautiful.

Oh, if only you knew yourselves! You are souls; you are Gods. If ever I feel like blaspheming, it is when I call you man.

If the mind is intensely eager, everything can be accomplished—mountains can be crumbled into atoms.

Be strong , my young friends; that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita. These are bold words; but I have to say them, for I love you. I know where the shoe pinches.

In the world take always the position of the giver. Give everything and look for no return. Give love, give help, give service, give any little thing you can, but keep out barter. Make no conditions and none will be imposed on you. Let us give out of our own bounty, just as God gives to us.

Look here we shall die! Bear this in mind always & then the spirit within will wake up. Only then will meanness vanish from you, practicality in work will come, you will get new vigor in mind & body, and those who come in contact with you will also feel that they have really got something uplifting from you.

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.

As long as we require someone else to make us happy, we are slaves.

Bear in mind, my children, that only cowards and those who are weak commit sin and tell lies. The brave are always moral. Try to be moral, try to be brave, try to be sympathising.

Society does not go down because of the activities of criminals, But because of the inactivities of the good people.

The brain and muscles must develop simultaneously. Iron nerves with an intelligent brain — and the whole world is at your feet.

Each nation has a main current in life; in India it is religion. Make it strong and the waters on either side must move along with it.

If a man, day and night, thinks he is miserable, low and nothing, nothing he becomes. If you say yea, yea, "I am, I am", so shall you be;

Do one thing at a Time, and while doing it put your whole Soul into it to the exclusion of all else.

Perfection is always infinite. We are the Infinite already.You and I, and all beings, are trying to manifest that infinity.

Neither money pays, nor name pays, nor fame, nor learning; it is CHARACTER that cleave through adamantine walls of difference.

Never say, ‘No’, never say, ‘I cannot’, for you are infinite. Even time and space are as nothing compared with your nature. You can do anything and everything, you are almighty

Never mind these failures, these little backslidings; hold the ideal a thousand times, and if you fail a thousand times, make the attempt once more.

Weak or wicked, great or small, in men and in animal, resides the same omnipresent, omniscient soul. The difference is not in the soul, but in the manifestation. Between me and the smallest animal the difference is only of manifestation, but as a principle he is the same as I am, he is my brother, he has the same soul as I have. This is the principle of Universal Brotherhood of man with one another, with all life down to the little ants.

Who makes us ignorant? We ourselves. We put our hands over our eyes and weep that it is dark.

Let us work without desire for name or fame or rule over others. Let us be free from the triple bonds of lust, greed of gain, and anger. And this truth is with us!

My hope of the future lies in the youths of character, intelligent, renouncing all for the service of others, and obedient - good to themselves and the country at large

How can there be any progress of the country without the spread of education, the dawning of knowledge?

The more we grow in love and virtue and holiness, the more we see love and virtue and holiness outside. All condemnation of others really condemns ourselves. Adjust the microcosm (which is in your power to do) and the macrocosm will adjust itself for you. It is like the hydrostatic paradox, one drop of water can balance the universe.

Meditate upon the Om that is in the heart.

Anything that is western origin, first you verify it, then accept it. Anything that is Indian origin, first accept it, then verify it if necessary.

Things do not grow better; they remain as they are. It is we who grow better, by the changes we make in ourselves.

To me an Indian is one who has got a Vedantic brain which probes deep and soars high; an Islamic body that is vibrant and valiant; a Buddhistic heart overflowing with compassion and kindness and Christian limbs of service and sacrifice.

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.

As long as we believe ourselves to be even the least different from God, fear remains with us; but when we know ourselves to be the One, fear goes; of what can we be afraid.?

Neither numbers nor powers nor wealth nor learning nor eloquence nor anything else will prevail, but purity, living the life, in one word, anubhuti, realisation. Let there be a dozen such lion-souls in each country, lions who have broken their own bonds, who have touched the Infinite, whose whole soul is gone to Brahman, who care neither for wealth nor power nor fame, and these will be enough to shake the world.

This is no world. It is God Himself. In delusion we call it world.

We must patiently practice every day.

Be moral. Be brave. Be a heart-whole man, strictly moral, brave unto desperation. Don't bother your head with religious theories. Cowards only sin, brave men never, no, not even in mind.

If you think about disaster, you will get it. Brood about death and you hasten your demise. Think positively and masterfully, with confidence and faith, and life becomes more secure, more fraught with action, richer in achievement and experience.

The infinite library of the Universe is in your mind.

My countrymen should have nerves of steel, muscles of iron, and minds like thunderbolt.

Only by practice and non-attachment can we conquer mind.

My faith is in the younger generation, the modern generation. Out of them will come my workers. They will work out the whole problem like lions

Have faith in yourself, all power is in you, be conscious and bring it out

Experience is the only teacher we have. We may talk and reason all our lives, but we shall not understand a word of truth until we experience it ourselves.

The fruit falls from the tree when it gets ripe. So wait for the time to come. Do not hurry. Moreover, no one has the right to make others miserable by his foolish acts. Wait, have patience, everything will come right in time.

If the Absolute becomes limited by the mind, It is no more Absolute; It has become finite.

Religion and religion alone is the life of India, and when that goes India will die, in spite of politics, in spite of social reforms, in spite of Kubera's wealth poured upon the head of every one of her children.

The present is determined by our past actions, and the future by the present.

No one should be judged by their defects. The great virtues a person has are his or her especially. But their errors are the common weakness of humanity and should never be counted in estimating a person’s character.

If you have knowledge and see a man weak, do not condemn him. Go to his level and help him if you can. He must grow.

Let him who has courage in his mind and love in his heart come with me. I want none else.

Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing ones.

Religion is the life of India, religion is the language of this country, the symbol of all its movements.

A brave, frank, clean-hearted, courageous and aspiring youth is the only foundation on which the future nation can be built.

The powers of the mind are like the rays of the sun when they are concentrated they illumine.

The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves.

Be not Afraid of anything. You will do Marvelous work. it is Fearlessness that brings Heaven even in a moment.

Work unto death! I am with you, and when I am gone, my spirit will work with you. This life comes and goes; wealth, fame, enjoyments are only of a few days. It is better, far better to die on the field of duty, preaching the truth, than to die like a worldly worm. Advance!

Be Grateful to the Man you help, think of Him as God. Is it not a great privilege to be allowed to worship God by helping our fellow men?

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

I fervently wish no misery ever came near anyone; yet it is that alone that gives us an insight into the depths of our lives, does it not? In our moments of anguish, gates barred forever seem to open and let in many a flood of light.

Christ said, "I and my father are one", and you repeat it. Yet it has not helped mankind. For nineteen hundred years men have not understood that saying. They make Christ the saviour of men. He is God and we are worms!

The cheerful mind perseveres and the strong mind hews its way through a thousand difficulties.

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.

Be free; hope for nothing from anyone. I am sure if you look back upon your lives you will find that you were always vainly trying to get help from others which never came.

Accumulate power in silence and become a dynamo of spirituality.