Quotes of Swami Vivekananda on India

• History itself bears testimony to the fact. All the soul-elevating ideas and

the different branches of knowledge that exist in the world are found on

proper investigation to have their roots in India.

• From time immemorial India has been the mine of precious ideas to human

society; giving birth to high ideas herself, she has freely distributed them

broadcast over the whole world.

• Proudly proclaim at the top of thy voice: "The Indian is my brother, the

Indian is my life, India's gods and goddesses are my God. India's society is

the cradle of my infancy, the pleasure-garden of my youth, the sacred

heaven, the Varanasi of my old age."

• Say, brother: "The soil of India is my highest heaven, the good of India is my

good," and repeat and pray day and night, "O Thou Lord of Gauri, O Thou

• Mother of the Universe, vouch safe manliness unto me! O Thou Mother of

Strength, take away my weakness…!"

• “To make a great future India, the whole secret lies in organization,

accumulation of power, co-ordination of wills.”

• Have that faith, each one of you, in yourself – that eternal power is lodged

in every soul - and you will revive the whole of India. Ay, we will then go to

• every country under the sun, and our ideas will before long be a

component of the many forces that are working to make up every nation in

the world

• “With every man, there is an idea; the external man is only the outward

manifestation, the mere language of this idea within. Likewise, every nation

has a corresponding national idea. This idea is working for the world and is

necessary for its preservation”

• “It is when the national body is weak that all sorts of disease germs, in the

political state of the race or in its social state, in its educational or

intellectual state, crowd into the system and produce disease. To remedy it,

therefore, we must go to the root of this disease and cleanse the blood of

all impurities.”

• If there is any land on this earth that can lay claim to be the blessed Punya

Bhumi, to be the land to which all souls on this earth must come to account

for Karma, the land to which every soul that is wending its way Godward

must come to attain its last home, the land where humanity has attained its

highest towards gentleness, towards generosity, towards purity, towards

calmness, above all, the land of introspection and of spirituality - it is India.

• Crossing over mountains, rivers, arid oceans, setting at naught, as it were,

the obstacles of the distance of space and time, the blood of Indian thought

has flowed, and is still flowing into the veins of other nations of the globe,

whether in a distinct or in some subtle unknown way. Perhaps to us

belongs the major portion of the universal ancient inheritance.

• “Do you love your country? Then come, let us struggle for higher and better

things; look not back, no, not even if you see the dearest and nearest cry.

Look not back, but forward!”

• “India must conquer the World and nothing less than that is my ideal.”

• “To make a great future India, the whole secret lies in organization,

accumulation of power, co-ordination of wills.”

• “Renunciation, that is the flag, the banner of India, floating over the world,

the one undying thought which India sends again and again as a warning to

dying races, as a warning to all tyranny, as a warning to wickedness in the

world.”

• “Each nation must give in order to live. When you give life, you will have

life; when you receive, you must pay for it by giving to all others.”

• Renunciation conquered India in days of yore; it has still to conquer India.

Still it stands as the greatest and highest of Indian ideals - this renunciation.

• “Make way for the life-current of the nation. Take away the blocks that bar

the way to the progress of this mighty river, cleanse its path, dear the

channel, and out it will rush by its own natural impulse, and the nation will

go on careering and progressing”

• “With all my love for India, and with all my patriotism and veneration for

the ancients, I cannot but think that we have to learn many things from

other nations. We must be always ready to sit at the feet of all, for, mark

you, everyone can teach us great lessons. At the same time we must not

forget that we have also to teach a great lesson to the world.”

• “When the real history of India will be unearthed, it will be proved that, as

in matters of religion, so in fine arts, India is the primal Guru of the whole

world.”

• “The Indian nation cannot be killed. Deathless it stands, and it will stand so

long as that spirit shall remain as the background, so long as her people do

not give up their spirituality.”

• Happy is the nation which can rise to the necessity of but few law books,

and needs no longer to bother its head about this or that institution. Good

men rise beyond all laws, and will help their fellows to rise under whatever

conditions they live. The salvation of India, therefore, depends on the

strength of the individual, and the realisation by each man of the divinity

within.

• One thing that is at the root of all evils in India is the condition of the poor.

The poor in the West are devils; compared to them ours are angels, and it is

therefore so much the easier to raise our poor. The only service to be done

for our lower classes is to give them education, to develop their lost

individuality.

• “What India wants is a new electric fire to stir up a fresh vigour in the

national veins. Be brave, be brave, man dies but once!”

• “Shall India die? Then from the world all spirituality will be extinct; all moral

perfection will be extinct...such a thing can never be.”

• “What the nation wants is pluck and scientific genius. We want great spirit,

tremendous energy, and boundless enthusiasm.”

• “A nation is advanced in proportion as education & intelligence spread

among the masses. The chief cause of India's ruin has been the

monopolising of the whole education & intelligence of the land, by dint of

pride & royal authority, among a handful of men. If we are to rise again, we

shall have to do it in the same way, i.e. by spreading education among the

masses.”

• “Being of one mind is the secret of society. Our solution is renunciation,

giving up, fearlessness, and love, these are the fittest to survive.”

• “If there is any land on this earth that can lay claim to be the blessed Punya

Bhumi, to be the land to which all souls on this earth must come to account

for Karma, the land to which every soul that is wending its way Godward

must come to attain its last home, the land where humanity has attained its

highest towards gentleness, towards generosity, towards purity, towards

calmness, above all, the land of introspection and of spirituality — it is

India.”

• “The little toleration that is in the world, the little sympathy that is yet in

the world for religious thought, is practically here in the land of the Aryan,

and nowhere else. It is here that Indians build temples for Mohammedans

and Christians; nowhere else…The one great lesson, therefore, that the

world wants most, that the world has yet to learn from India, is the idea not

only of toleration, but of sympathy.”

• “One vision I can see clear as life before me that the ancient Mother has

awakened once more, sitting on her throne- rejuvenated, more glorious

than ever. Proclaim her to the entire world with the voice of peace and

benediction”

• The national ideals of India are RENUNCIATION AND SERVICE. Intensify her

in these channels, and the rest will take care of itself.

• “The uplift of the women, the awakening of the masses must come first,

and then only can any real good come about for the country, for India.”

Quotes of Swami Vivekananda on Thoughts

• “Mystery mongering and superstition are always signs of weakness. These

are always signs of degradation and of death. Therefore beware of them;

be strong, and stand on your own feet. Great things are there, most

marvellous things. We may call them supernatural things so far as our ideas

of nature go, but not one of these things is a mystery”

• “There is a great tendency in modern times to talk too much of work and

decry thought. Doing is very good, but that comes from thinking. Little

manifestations of energy through the muscles are called work. But where

there is no thought, there will be no work.”

• “Bless people when they revile you. Think how much good they are doing

by helping to stamp out the false ego. Hold fast to the real Self. Think only

pure thoughts, and you will accomplish more than a regiment of mere

preachers. Out of purity and silence comes the word of power.”

Quotes of Swami Vivekananda on Youth

• Go, all of you, wherever there is an outbreak of plague or famine, or

wherever the people are in distress, and mitigate their sufferings…Preach

this ideal from door to door, and you will yourselves be benefited by it at

the same time that you are doing good to your country. On you lie the

future hopes of our country.

• 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.

• “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”

• “Act on the educated young men, bring them together, and organise them.

Great things can be done by great sacrifices only. No selfishness, no name,

no fame, yours or mine, nor my Master's even! Work, work the idea, the

plan, my boys, my brave, noble, good souls - to the wheel, to the wheel put

your shoulders!”

• “Please everybody without becoming a hypocrite and without being a

coward. Hold on to your own ideas with strength and purity, and whatever

obstructions may now be in your way, the world is bound to listen to you in

the long run. . . .”

• "Talk to yourself once in a day…Otherwise you may miss meeting an

EXCELLENT person in this World"

• “It is very easy to point out the defects of institutions, all being more or less

imperfect, but he is the real benefactor of humanity who helps the

individual to overcome his imperfections under whatever institutions he

may live.”

• Onward! Upon ages of struggle a character is built. Be not discouraged. One

word of truth can never be lost; for ages it may be hidden under rubbish,

but it will show itself sooner or later. Truth is indestructible, virtue is

indestructible, purity is indestructible.

• Nothing will avail in our country without setting a glowing and living

example before the people. What we want are some young men who will

renounce everything and sacrifice their lives for their country's sake. We

should first form their lives and then some real work can be expected.

• “Neither money pays, nor name pays, nor fame, nor learning; it is

CHARACTER that cleave through adamantine walls of difference.”

• I stand for truth. Truth will never ally itself with falsehood. Even if all the

world should be against me, Truth must prevail in the end.

• “Learn everything that is good from others, but bring it in, and in your own

way absorb it; do not become others. Do not be dragged away out of this

Indian life; do not for a moment think that it would be better for India if all

the Indians dressed, ate, and behaved like another race.”

• “We have to bear in mind that we are all debtors to the world & the world

does not owe us anything. It is a great privilege for all of us to be allowed to

do anything for the world. In helping the world we really help ourselves.”

• Let your preparations be wise, correct and of such kind that will lead to

your true welfare, supreme good and lasting satisfaction and

happiness. This must engage your active, enthusiastic attention throughout

the period of your youth life.

• Supreme value of youth period is incalculable and indescribable. Youth life

is the most precious life. Youth is the best time. The way in which you

utilize this period will decide the nature of coming years that lie ahead of

you.

• “Practice virtue, persevere in virtue. Become established in virtue. Shine

as an embodiment of noblest virtue and heroic adherence to

goodness. Youth is meant for this grand process. Youth life is the active

development and fulfillment of these processes.”

• Brave, bold people, these are what we want. What we want is vigor in the

blood, strength in the nerves, iron muscles and nerves of steel, not

softening namby-pamby ideas. Avoid all these. Avoid all mystery

• “Youth means to place your firm confidence in yourself & exercise your

hopeful determination and resolution and willing good intentions in this

beautiful task of self-culture. This will truly bring supreme satisfaction and

fulfillment not only to you, but also to all concerned.”

• “Practise virtue, persevere in virtue. Become established in virtue. Shine as

an embodiment of noblest virtue and heroic adherence to goodness. Youth

is meant for this grand process. Youth life is the active development and

fulfillment of these processes.”

• Supreme value of youth period is incalculable and indescribable. Youth life

is the most precious life. Youth is the best time. The way in which you

utilize this period will decide the nature of coming years that lie ahead of

you.

• True progress is slow but sure. Work among those young men who can

devote heart and soul to this one duty — the duty of raising the masses of

India. Awake them, unite them, and inspire them with this spirit of

renunciation; it depends wholly on the young people of India.

• “Your country requires heroes; be heroes; your duty is to go on working,

and then everything will follow of itself.”

• “We must be always ready to sit at the feet of all, for, mark you, every one

can teach us great lessons…At the same time we must not forget that we

have also to teach a great lesson to the world.”

• Awake, awake, great ones! The world is burning with misery. Can you

sleep? Let us call and call, till the god within answers to the call. What more

is in life? What greater work?

• ‘Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die.’ Be of good cheer and

believe that we are selected by the Lord to do great things, and we will do

them.

• My boy, when death is inevitable, is it not better to die like heroes than as

stocks and stones? And what is the use of living a day or two more in this

transitory world? It is better to wear out than to rust out — specially for the

sake of doing the least good to others

• “This is the time to decide your future - while you possess the energy of

youth, not when you are worn out and jaded, but in the freshness and

vigour of youth. Work – this is the time; for the freshest, the untouched,

and unsmelled flowers alone are to be laid at the feet of the Lord”

• “When we let loose our feelings, we waste so much energy, shatter our

nerves, disturb our minds, and accomplish very little work. The energy

which ought to have gone out as work is spent as mere feeling, which

counts for nothing. It is only when the mind is very calm and collected that

the whole of its energy is spent in doing good work.”

• Go, all of you, wherever there is an outbreak of plague or famine, or

wherever the people are in distress, and mitigate their sufferings…Preach

this ideal from door to door, and you will yourselves be benefited by it at

the same time that you are doing good to your country. On you lie the

future hopes of our country.

• We have not done badly in the past, certainly not. Our society is

not bad but good, only I want it to be better still. Not from error to truth,

nor from bad to good, but from truth to higher truth, from good to better,

best. I tell my countrymen that so far they have done well — now is the

time to do better.

• “Be not afraid, my children. Look not up in that attitude of fear towards

that infinite starry vault as if it would crush you. Wait! In a few hours more,

the whole of it will be under your feet. Wait, money does not pay, nor

name; fame does not pay, nor learning. It is love that pays; it is character

that cleaves its way through adamantine walls of difficulties.”

• “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…You will understand the Gita

better with your biceps, your muscles, a little stronger. You will understand

the mighty genius and the mighty strength of Krishna better with a little of

strong blood in you.”

• “A few heart-whole, sincere, and energetic men and women can do more in

a year than a mob in a century.”

• “The infinite future is before you, and you must always remember that

each word, thought, and deed, lays up a store for you and that as the bad

thoughts and bad works are ready to spring upon you like tigers, so also

there is the inspiring hope that the good thoughts and good deeds are

ready with the power of a hundred thousand angels to defend you always

and forever.”

• “The earth is enjoyed by heroes—this is the unfailing truth. Be a hero.

Always say, “I have no fear."

• My faith is in the younger generation, the modern generation, out of them

will come my workers!

Quotes of Swami Vivekananda on Knowledge

• 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 goal of mankind is knowledge . . . What man "learns" is really what he

discovers by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite

knowledge.”

• “Stand on your own feet, and assimilate what you can; learn from every

nation, take what is of use to you”

• The education which does not help the common mass of people to equip

themselves for the struggle for life, which does not bring out strength of

character, a spirit of philanthropy, and the courage of a lion — is it worth

the name? Real education is that which enables one to stand on one's own

legs.

• “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.”

• Experience is a far more glorious teacher than any amount of speculation,

or any amount of books written by globe-trotters and hasty observers.

• “Great works are to be done, wonderful powers have to be worked out, we

have to teach other nations many things… This is the motherland of

philosophy, of spirituality, and of ethics, of sweetness, gentleness, and love.

These still exist, and my experience of the world leads me to stand on firm

ground and make the bold statement that India is still the first & foremost

of all the nations of the world in these respects.”

• “You are the greatest book that ever was or ever will be, the infinite

depository of all that is. Until the inner teacher opens, all outside teaching

is in vain.”

• Do you feel for others? If you do, you are growing in oneness. If you do not

feel for others, you may be the most intellectual giant ever born, but you

will be nothing; you are but dry intellect, and you will remain so.

• “Work purifies the heart and so leads to Vidyâ (wisdom)…Virtuous deeds

take off the veil from knowledge, and knowledge alone can make us see

God.”

• “Knowledge is power, and getting one you get the other. By knowledge you

can even banish the material world”

• “Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man. Religion is

the manifestation of the Divinity already in man. Therefore the only duty of

the teacher in both cases is to remove all obstructions from the way. Hands

off! as I always say, and everything will be right. That is, our duty is to clear

the way. The Lord does the rest.”

• "Two gifts are especially appreciated, the gift of learning and the gift of life.

But the gift of learning takes precedence. One may save a man's life, and

that is excellent; one may impart to another knowledge, and that is better.”

• “Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain and

runs riot there, undigested, all your life.”

• “We need technical education and all else which may develop industries, so

that men, instead of seeking for service, may earn enough to provide for

themselves, and save something against a rainy day.”

• “Knowledge is nothing but finding unity in the midst of diversity.”

• “The gift of knowledge is a far higher gift than that of food and clothes; it is

even higher than giving life to a man, because the real life of man consists

of knowledge”

• “Existence without knowledge and love cannot be; knowledge without love

and love without knowledge cannot be. What we want is the harmony of

Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss Infinite. For that is our goal. We want

harmony, not one-sided development.”

• “We want the education by which character is formed, strength of mind is

increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one’s

own feet.”

• “Knowledge can only be got in one way, the way of experience; there is no

other way to know.”

• You know but little of that which is within you. For behind you is the ocean

of infinite power and blessedness.

• The aim of education is to manifest in our lives the perfection, which is the

very nature of our inner self

Quotes of Swami Vivekananda on Hardwork

• “If the whole responsibility is thrown upon our own shoulders, we shall be

at our highest and best; when we have nobody to grope towards, no devil

to lay our blame upon, no personal God to carry our burdens, when we are

alone responsible, then we shall rise to our highest and best.”

• “Keep on steadily. So far we have done wonderful things. Onward, brave

souls, we will gain! Work hard. Be holy and pure and the fire will come.”

• Dreams can never become a reality without hard work.

Quotes of Swami Vivekananda on Success

• “Go on; remember — patience and purity and courage and steady work. . . .

So long as you are pure, and true to your principles, you will never fail”

• “May you be ever possessed of valour! It is the hero alone, not the coward,

who has liberation within his easy reach. Gird up your loins, ye heroes, for

before you are your enemies - the dire army of infatuation. It is

undoubtedly true that "all great achievements are fraught with numerous

impediments"; still you should exert your utmost for your end.”

• There is the danger of frittering away your energies by taking up an idea

only for its novelty, and then giving it up for another that is newer. Take

one thing up and do it, and see the end of it, and before you have seen the

end, do not give it up. He who can become mad with an idea, he alone sees

light.

• “Have you got the will to surmount mountain-high obstructions? If the

whole world stands against you sword in hand, would you still dare to do

what you think is right?”

• “All great undertakings are achieved through mighty obstacles. Keep up the

deepest mental poise. Take not even the slightest notice of what puerile

creatures may be saying against you.”

• “If it is impossible to attain perfection here and now, there is no proof that

we can attain perfection in any other life.”

• “Things do not grow better. They remain as they are; and we grow

better by the changes we make in them”

• “Be good, and evil will vanish for you. The whole universe will thus be

changed. This is the greatest gain to society. This is the great gain to the

human organism.”

• “Sincerity of conviction & purity of motive will surely gain the day; and even

a small minority, armed with these, is surely destined to prevail against all

odds.”

• The essence of true success is what you make of yourself. It is the conduct

of life that you develop, it is the character that you cultivate and it is the

type of person you become. This is the central meaning of successful

living.

• “Your success is not measured in terms of what all you obtained but in term

of what you become, how you live and what actions you do. Upon this

point reflect well and attain great happiness.”

• Live for an ideal, and that one ideal alone. Let it be so great, so strong, that

there may be nothing else left in the mind; no place for anything else, no

time for anything else.

• "Do not go for glass beads leaving the mine of diamonds. This life is a great

chance. What, seekest thou the pleasures of the world? He is the fountain

of all bliss. See for the highest, aim at that highest, and you shall reach the

highest."

• “If the mind is intensely eager, everything can be accomplished—

mountains can be crumbled into atoms.”

• “Arise and awake, for the time is passing & all our energies will be frittered

away in vain talking. Arise and awake, let minor things and quarrels over

little details and fights over little doctrines be thrown aside, for here is the

greatest of all works, here are the sinking millions…. And first of all, work it

out for your own country.”

• “Take care! Beware of everything that is untrue; stick to truth and we shall

succeed, maybe slowly, but surely.”

• “When you are doing any work, do not think of anything beyond. Do it as

worship, as the highest worship, and devote your whole life to it for the

time being.”

• “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.”

• So long as you have faith and honesty and devotion, everything will

prosper. So long as there is no feeling of disunion amongst you, through

grace of the Lord, I assure, there is no danger for you.

• "Spread ideas – go from village to village, from door to door – then only

there will be real work. Otherwise, lying complacently on the bed and

ringing the bell now and then is a sort of disease, pure and simple"

• “Do not lower your goals to the level of your abilities. Instead, raise your

abilities to the height of your goals.”

• “Take risks in your life. If you win, you can lead! If you lose, you can guide!”

• “All the great accomplishments are hard. Nothing worthwhile comes easy

but do not lower your ideal because it is difficult to attain. Hold the banner

of freedom aloft. Strength... Strength…Strength... Say that to yourself day

and night, you are strong, pure and free. No weakness in you, no sin, no

misery.”

• Stand upon the Self, only then can we truly love the world. Take a very high

stand; knowing our universal nature, we must look with perfect calmness

upon all the panorama of the world.

• “The history of the world is the history of a few men who had faith in

themselves. That faith calls the divinity within. You can do anything. You fail

only when you do not strive sufficiently to manifest infinite power.”

• “How has all the knowledge in the world been gained but the concentration

of the powers of mind? The world is ready to give its secrets, if we only

know how to knock, how to give it the necessary blow. The strength and

force of the blow come through concentration.”

• “What work you do expect from the men of little hearts? Nothing in the

world! You must have an iron will if you would cross the ocean. You must

be strong enough to pierce mountains.”

• “The ideal of faith in ourselves is of the greatest help to us…Throughout the

history of mankind, if any motive power has been more potent than

another in the lives of all great men and women, it is that of faith in

themselves.”

• “Be always ready to concede to the opinions of your brethren, and try

always to conciliate. That is the whole secret. Fight on bravely! Life is short!

Give it up to a great cause”.

• “Action will come. Fill yourselves with the ideal; whatever you do, think

well on it. All your actions will be magnified, transformed, deified, by the

very power of the thought. If matter is powerful, thought is omnipotent.

Bring this thought to bear upon your life, fill yourselves with the thought of

your almightiness, your majesty, and your glory.”

• The mind uncontrolled and unguided will drag us down, down, for ever —

rend us, kill us; and the mind controlled and guided will save us, free us.

• They say, ‘Have faith in this fellow or that fellow’, but I say, ‘Have faith in

yourself first’, that’s the way. Have faith in yourself — all power is in you —

be conscious and bring it out. Say, ‘I can do everything.’ ‘Even the poison of

a snake is powerless if you can firmly deny it.’

• Every man should take up his own ideal and endeavour to accomplish it.

That is a surer way of progress than taking up other men's ideals, which he

can never hope to accomplish

• “He who struggles is better than he who never attempts…. Stand up for

God; let the world go. Have no compromise.”

• “The doors are open for us, and we can all get out without the competition

and struggle; and yet we struggle. The struggle we create through our own

ignorance, through impatience; we are in too great a hurry. The highest

manifestation of strength is to keep ourselves calm and on our own feet.”

• “The ideal man is he who, in the midst of the greatest silence and solitude,

finds the intensest activity, and in the midst of the intensest activity finds

the silence and solitude of the desert... That is the ideal of Karma-Yoga, and

if you have attained to that you have really learnt the secret of work.”

• “Do not be mere white mice in a treadmill, working always and never

accomplishing anything. Every desire is fraught with evil, whether the

desire itself be good or evil.”

• “Put on all powers, philosophy, work, prayer, meditation — crowd all sail,

put on all head of steam — reach the goal. The sooner, the better. . . .”

• “Strength is life, weakness is death; Strength is

felicity, life eternal, immortal! Weakness is constant strain and misery.”

• “Sincerity of conviction & purity of motive will surely gain the day; and even

a small minority, armed with these, is surely destined to prevail against all

odds.”

• “The concentrated mind is the lamp that shows us every corner of the soul.

When an idea exclusively occupies the mind, it is transformed into an actual

physical or mental state.”

• Choose the highest ideal and live your life up to that. Look at the “ocean”

and not at the “wave”

• “Never mind failures; they are quite natural, they are the beauty of life,

these failures. What would life be without them? It would not be worth

having if it were not for struggles. Where would be the poetry of life? Never

mind the struggles, the mistakes.”

• When once you consider an action, do not let anything dissuade you.

Consult your heart, not others, and then follow its dictates.

• “Know that every time you feel weak, you not only hurt yourself but also

the cause. Infinite faith and strength are the only conditions of success.”

• “What the nation wants is pluck and scientific genius. We want great spirit,

tremendous energy, and boundless enthusiasm.”

• “The cheerful mind perseveres and the strong mind hews its way through a

thousand difficulties.”

• “Be obedient and eternally faithful to the cause of truth, humanity, and

your country, and you will move the world. Remember it is the person, the

life, which is the secret of power — nothing else.”

• To succeed, you must have tremendous perseverance, tremendous will. "I

will drink the ocean." says the persevering soul, "At my will mountains will

crumble up." Have that sort of energy, that sort of will, work hard, and you

will reach the goal.

• The whole life is a succession of dreams. My ambition is to be a conscious

dreamer, that is all.

Quotes of Swami Vivekananda on Service

• “God allows you to work. He allows you to exercise your muscles in this

great gymnasium, not in order to help Him but that you may help yourself.

Do you think even an ant will die or want of your help? Most arrant

blasphemy

• “Call up the divinity within you, which will enable you to bear hunger and

thirst, heat and cold. Sitting in luxurious homes, surrounded with all the

comforts of life, and doling out a little amateur religion may be good for

other lands, but India has a truer instinct. It intuitively detects the mask.

You must give up. Be great. No great work can be done without

sacrifice…….”

• Have vairagya. Your ancestors gave up the world for doing great things. At

the present times there are men who give up the world to help their own

salvation. Throw away everything, even your own salvation, and go and

help others.

• With the conviction firmly rooted in your heart that you are the servants of

the Lord, His children, helpers in the fulfillment of His purpose, enter the

arena of work.

• “Set yourselves to work - to work! Do not tarry…Do not sit idle, thinking

that everything will be done in time, later. Mind - nothing will be done that

way.”

• “Now is wanted intense Karma-Yoga with unbounded courage and

indomitable strength in the heart. Then only will the people of the country

be roused.”

• “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.”

• Perfection does not come from belief or faith. Talk does not count for

anything. Parrots can do that. Perfection comes through selfless work.

• The wind of divine grace is always blowing. You just need to spread your

sail. Whenever you do anything, do it with your whole heart concentrated

on it. Think day and night, “I am of the essence of that Supreme Being-

Consciousness-Bliss. What fear and anxiety have I?”

• “Always first learn to be a servant, and then you will be fit to be a master.

Avoid jealousy, and you will do great works that are yet to be done.” (Can

be in success as well)

• The men of mighty will, the world has produced have all been tremendous

workers — gigantic souls, with wills powerful enough to overturn worlds,

wills they got by persistent work, through ages, and ages.

• Machines or instruments, cities, ships, or men-of-war, all these are simply

the manifestation of the will of man; and this will is caused by character,

and character is manufactured by Karma. As is Karma, so is the

manifestation of the will.

• Let us calmly go to work, instead of dissipating our energy in unnecessary

fretting and fuming.

• “Go from village to village; do good to humanity and to the world at large.

Go to hell yourself to buy salvation for others.”

• “Now is wanted intense Karma-Yoga with unbounded courage and

indomitable strength in the heart. Then only will the people of the country

be roused.”

• Give up jealousy and conceit. Learn to work unitedly for others. That is the

great need of our country. Have patience and be faithful unto death. Do not

fight among yourselves.

• “Work and worship are necessary to take away the veil, to lift off the

bondage and illusion.”

• Cultivate the virtue of obedience, but you must not sacrifice your own

faith…Give up jealousy and conceit. Learn to work unitedly for others. This

is the great need of our country.

• "We must be merciful towards those that are in misery; and to the wicked

we must be indifferent"

• “In this world always take the position of the giver. Give everything and

look for no returns. Give love, give help, give service, give any little thing

you can, but keep out barter. Make no conditions and none will be

imposed. Let us give out of our own bounty, just as God gives to us.”

• "Have faith in yourselves, great convictions are the mother of great deeds"

• “Who will give the world light? Sacrifice in the past has been the law, it will

be, alas, for ages to come. The earth's bravest and best will have to sacrifice

themselves for the good of many, for the welfare of all.”

• Let us work on, doing as we go whatever happens to be our duty, and being

ever ready to put our shoulders to the wheel. Then surely shall we see the

Light!

• “Let there be action without reaction; action is pleasant, all misery is

reaction…The happiest moments we ever know are when we entirely forget

ourselves. Work of your own free will, not from duty”

• “To attain liberation through work, join yourself to work but without desire,

looking for no result. Such work leads to knowledge, which in turn brings

emancipation. To give up work before you know, leads to misery.”

• Even thinking of the least good of others gradually instills into the heart,

the strength of a lion.

• “I do not care of liberation…’doing good to others (silently) like the spring’

this is my religion.”

• “Set yourselves to work - to work! Do not tarry - the time of death is

approaching day by day! Do not sit idle, thinking that everything will be

done in time, later. Mind - nothing will be done that way.”

• “What Karma-Yoga means; even at the point of death to help anyone,

without asking questions. Never vaunt of your gifts to the poor or expect

their gratitude, but rather be grateful to them for giving you the occasion of

practicing charity to them.”

• “Let us perfect the means; the end will take care of itself. For the world can

be good and pure, only if our lives are good and pure. It is an effect, and we

are the means. Therefore, let us purify ourselves. Let us make ourselves

perfect.”

• “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, it will come back

multiplied a thousand fold — but the attention must not be on that. Yet

have the power to give: give, and there it ends.”

• “Desire to live a hundred years, have all earthly desires, if you wish, only

deify them, convert them into heaven. Have the desire to live a long life of

helpfulness, of blissfulness and activity on this earth. Thus working, you will

find the way out.”

• “When you help a poor man, do not feel the least pride. That is worship for

you, and not the cause of pride. Is not the whole universe you? Where is

there any one that is not you? You are the Soul of this universe. You are the

sun, moon, and stars, it is you that are shining everywhere.”

• 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.

• Work on with the intrepidity of a lion but at the same time with the

tenderness of a flower.

• Wait with patience and love and strength. If helpers are not ready now,

they will come in time. Why should we be in a hurry? The real working

force of all great work is in its almost unperceived beginnings.

• “Every duty is holy, and devotion to duty is the highest form of worship of

God.”

• The ideal of work is to work for work’s sake.

• Blessed are they whose bodies get destroyed in the service of others.

Quotes of Swami Vivekananda on Spirituality

• Whether you believe in spirituality or not, for the sake of the national life,

you have to get a hold on spirituality and keep to it. Then stretch the other

hand out and gain all you can from other races, but everything must be

subordinated to that one ideal of life; and out of that a wonderful, glorious,

future India will come - I am sure it is coming - a greater India than ever

was.

• “Freedom is only possible to the being who is beyond all conditions, all

laws, all bondages of cause and effect. In other words, the unchangeable

alone can be free and, therefore, immortal.”

• Beware of compromises. Hold on to your own principles in weal or woe and

never adjust them to others’ “fads” through the greed of getting

supporters. Your Atman is the support of the universe—whose support do

you stand in need of?

• "Truth, purity and unselfishness—wherever these are present, there is no

power below or above the sun to crush the possessor thereof. Equipped

with these, one individual is able to face the whole universe in opposition."

• The real individuality is that which never changes and will never change;

and that is the God within us.

• All idea of separation is bondage, that of non-differentiation is Mukti. Let

not the words of people dead-drunk with worldliness terrify you. Be

fearless; ignore the ordinary critics as worms!”

• Where should you go to seek for God -- are not all the poor, the miserable,

the weak, Gods? Why not worship them first? Why go to dig a well on the

shores of the Ganga?

• Be thankful that you are allowed to exercise your power of benevolence &

mercy in the world and thus, become pure and perfect. 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 fellowmen?

• Each soul is potentially Divine. The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by

controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work or worship

or psychic control or philosophy- by one or more all of these- and be free.

This is the whole of RELIGION. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or

temples, or forms, are but secondary details.

• “He is an atheist who does not believe in himself. The old religions said that

he was an atheist who did not believe in God. The new religion says that he

is an atheist who does not believe in himself.”

• “Perpetuating old myths in the form of allegories and giving them undue

importance fosters superstition and is really weakness. Truth must have no

compromise. Teach truth and make no apology for any superstition; neither

drag truth to the level of the listener.”

• “He who sees Siva in the poor, in the weak, and in the diseased, really

worships Siva; and if he sees Siva only in the image, his worship is but

preliminary. He who has served and helped one poor man seeing Siva in

him without thinking of his caste, creed or race, or anything, with him Siva

is more pleased than with the man who sees Him only in temples.”

• Despondency is not religion, whatever else it may be. By being pleasant

always and smiling, it takes you nearer to God, nearer than any prayer

• “What makes one man great and another weak and low is Shraddha. This

Shraddha must enter into you...This Shraddha is what I want, and what all

of us here want, this faith in ourselves, and before you is the great task to

get that faith. Give up the awful disease that is creeping into our national

blood, that idea of ridiculing everything, that loss of seriousness. Be strong

and have this Shraddha, and everything else is bound to follow.”

• “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.”