Top 1714 Quotes & Sayings by Swami Vivekananda

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an Indian priest Swami Vivekananda.
Last updated on September 16, 2024.
Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda, born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher and author. He was a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna. Influenced by Western esotericism, he was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian darsanas of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world, and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the late 19th century. He was a major force in the contemporary Hindu reform movements in India, and contributed to the concept of nationalism in colonial India. Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. He is perhaps best known for his speech which began with the words "Sisters and brothers of America ...," in which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893.

Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true.
That man has reached immortality who is disturbed by nothing material.
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
We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.
You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.
When an idea exclusively occupies the mind, it is transformed into an actual physical or mental state.
As different streams having different sources all mingle their waters in the sea, so different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to God.
The will is not free - it is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect - but there is something behind the will which is free.
If faith in ourselves had been more extensively taught and practiced, I am sure a very large portion of the evils and miseries that we have would have vanished.
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.
You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.
If money help a man to do good to others, it is of some value; but if not, it is simply a mass of evil, and the sooner it is got rid of, the better.
External nature is only internal nature writ large.
Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being. — © Swami Vivekananda
Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being.
God is to be worshipped as the one beloved, dearer than everything in this and next life.
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.
The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them.
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.
Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.
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.
Condemn none: if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way.
In one word, this ideal is that you are divine.
May He who is the Brahman of the Hindus, the Ahura-Mazda of the Zoroastrians, the Buddha of the Buddhists, the Jehovah of the Jews, the Father in Heaven of the Christians give strength to you to carry out your noble idea.
The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.
Arise! Awake! and stop not until the goal is reached.
The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him - that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free.
The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.
All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.
No one is ever really taught by another; each of us has to teach himself. The external teacher offers only the suggestion, which arouses the internal teacher, who helps us to understand things.
Say, "I can do everything ." "Even if poison of a snake is powerless if you can firmly deny it."
If you are pure, if you are strong, you, one man are equal to the whole world.
As soon as we react, we become slaves. A man blames me, and I immediately react in the form of anger. A little vibration which he created made me a slave.
It is the greatest manifestation of power to be calm.
Do not lower your goals to the level of your abilities. Instead, raise your abilities to the height of your goals.
You are strong, omnipotent, and omniscient. No matter that you have not expressed it yet, it is in you. All knowledge is in you, all power, all purity, and all freedom-why cannot you express this knowledge? Because you do not believe in it... Believe in it, and it must and will come out.
We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves.
Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvelous work. The moment you fear, you are nobody. Be a hero. Always say, 'I have no fear'. Tell this to everybody-'Have no fear'.
When a man is perfect, he sees perfection in others. When he sees imperfection, it is his own mind projecting itself.
Take up an idea, devote yourself to it, struggle on in patience, and the sun will rise for you. — © Swami Vivekananda
Take up an idea, devote yourself to it, struggle on in patience, and the sun will rise for you.
There is no other teacher but your own soul.
Talk to yourself atleast once in a Day.. Otherwise you may miss a meeting with an EXCELLENT person in this World.
Everything can be sacrificed for truth, but truth cannot be sacrificed for anything.
When I Asked God for Strength He Gave Me Difficult Situations to Face When I Asked God for Brain & Brawn He Gave Me Puzzles in Life to Solve When I Asked God for Happiness He Showed Me Some Unhappy People When I Asked God for Wealth He Showed Me How to Work Hard When I Asked God for Favors He Showed Me Opportunities to Work Hard When I Asked God for Peace He Showed Me How to Help Others God Gave Me Nothing I Wanted He Gave Me Everything I Needed.
Everything is easy when you are busy. But nothing is easy when you are lazy.
He who struggles is better than he who never attempts
The infinite library of the Universe is in your mind.
The history of the world is the history of a few men who had faith in themselves
Everyone goes with the flow... but the one who goes against the flow becomes someone remarkable in life.
Stand up and be strong! No fear. No superstition. Face the truth as it is! — © Swami Vivekananda
Stand up and be strong! No fear. No superstition. Face the truth as it is!
The best thermometer to the progress of a nation is its treatment of its women.
The best principles in our lives were those which we heard from our mothers through our ears.
You are incarnations of God, all of you. You are incarnations of the Almighty, Omnipresent, Divine Principle. You may laugh at me now, but the time will come when you will understand. You must. Nobody will be left behind.
Take Risks in Your Life If you Win, U Can Lead! If You Lose, You can Guide!
Marriage or non-marriage, good or evil, learning or ignorance, any of these is justified, if it leads to the goal.
It is faith that makes a lion of a man.
True progress is slow but sure.
Dependence is misery. Independence is happiness.
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.
Never say NO, Never say, 'I cannot', for you are INFINITE. All the power is WITHIN you. You can do anything.
Do not look back upon what has been done. Go Ahead.
When death is so certain, it is better to die for a good cause.
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