Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda
Swami VivekanandaBengali: , Shāmi Bibekānondo; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies 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 revival of Hinduism in...
NationalityIndian
ProfessionClergyman
Date of Birth12 January 1863
CountryIndia
Neither seek nor avoid, take what comes.
I, for one, thoroughly believe that no power in the universe can withhold from anyone anything they really deserve.
This life is a hard fact; work your way through it boldly, though it may be adamantine; no matter, the soul is stronger.
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.
Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true.
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.
You must have an iron will, if you would cross the ocean. You must be strong enough to pierce mountains.
Where no bondage is, there is no cause and effect.
Dare to be free, dare to go as far as your thought leads, and dare to carry that out in your life.
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.
Stand up and be strong! No fear. No superstition. Face the truth as it is!
Books are infinite in number and time is short. The secret of knowledge is to take what is essential. Take that and try to live up to it.
Hindu Dharma is the quintessence of our national life, hold fast to it if you want your country to survive, or else you would be wiped out in three generations.
We reap what we sow. We are the makers of our own fate. None else has the blame, none has the praise.