Swami Vivekananda was a Hindu monk, a spiritual leader, and a philosopher from India who lived from 1863 to 1902. He is famous for his contributions to Indian spirituality and his role as a social reformer. Swami Vivekananda is considered one of the most influential spiritual leaders in modern India and is credited with introducing Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world.
Swami Vivekananda is renowned for his historic speech at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago in 1893, which began with the iconic words “Sisters and brothers of America…” During his childhood, Swami Vivekananda had a natural inclination towards spirituality, and he would meditate in front of Hindu deities like Lord Shiva and Rama. After he found his guru, Shri Ramakrishna, he was inspired by his teachings, which emphasized that all living beings are embodiments of the divine self. Consequently, Swami Vivekananda believed that service to humankind was a means of serving God.
Swami Vivekananda’s teachings emphasized the importance of self-realization, self-discipline, and selfless service. He believed that every individual has the potential to achieve great things in life and that the key to success lies in harnessing one’s inner strength and willpower. He encouraged young people to develop a strong sense of self-confidence and to embrace their unique talents and abilities.
In addition to his spiritual teachings, Swami Vivekananda was also a social reformer who advocated for the empowerment of women, the abolition of the caste system, and the promotion of education for all. He believed that social and economic progress could only be achieved through the development of individual character and the cultivation of spiritual values.
Swami Vivekananda Quotes
These Swami Vivekananda quotes and thoughts on self-development, self-discipline and self-discovery teach you a lot about the way of life.
The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves.
Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.
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.
All power is within you; you can do anything and everything. Believe in that, do not believe that you are weak; do not believe that you are half-crazy lunatics, as most of us do nowadays.
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.
You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.
The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.
We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.
In a day, when you don’t come across any problems – you can be sure that you are travelling in a wrong path.
We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in the future can be produced by our present actions.
It is our own mental attitude which makes the world what it is for us. Our thoughts make things beautiful, our thoughts make things ugly. The whole world is in our own minds. Learn to see things in the proper light.
The greatest sin is to think yourself weak.
Anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually and spiritually, reject as poison.
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 more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them.
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.
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.
The will is not free – it is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect – but there is something behind the will which is free.
The moment you fear, you are nobody. It is fear that is the great cause of misery in the world.
The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.
The mind is everything. What you think you become.
