Vivekananda Quote - 11

Death is only a change of condition. Time and space are in you; you are not in timeand space. It is enough to know that as we make our lives purer and nobler, eitherin the seen or the unseen world, the nearer we approach God, who is the center of all spiritual beauty and eternal joy.

Conversation at the Brooklyn Ethical Society, USA. Complete Works, 5.313.

Vivekananda Quote - 10

Our pessimism is a dread reality, our optimism is a faint cheering, making the bestof a bad job.

From notes discovered among Swami Vivekananda's papers. He evidently intendedto write a book and jotted down these points for the work. Complete Works, 5:430

Vivekananda Quote - 9

Make the heart like an ocean, go beyond all the trifles of the world, be mad withjoy even at evil. See the world as a picture and then enjoy its beauty, knowingthat nothing affects you.

Retreat given at the Thousand Island Park, USA. June 25, 1895. Complete Works, 7.13

Vivekananda Quote - 8

I propound a philosophy which can serve as a basis to every possible religious system in the world, and my attitude toward all of them is one of extreme sympathy-my teaching is antagonistic to none. I direct my attention to the individual, to make them strong, to teach them that they are divine, and I call upon them to make themselves conscious of the divinity within. That is really the ideal conscious or unconscious of every religion.

Interview, October 23, 1895. Complete Works, 5: 187-88.

Vivekananda Quote - 7

"Fools alone say that work and philosophy are different, not the learned" (Gita,5.4). The learned know that, though apparently different from each other, theyat last lead to the same goal of human perfection.

Class on Karma Yoga. New York, January 3, 1896. Complete Works, 1.93.

Vivekananda Quote - 6

We are not individuals now, in our present earthly environment. We shall not havereached individuality until we shall have ascended to the higher state, when thedivine spirit within us will have a perfect medium for the expression of its attributes.

Conversation at the Brooklyn Ethical Society, USA. Complete Works, 5: 312-13.

Vivekananda Quote - 5

Good and evil are our slaves, not we theirs. It is the nature of the brute to remainwhere he is and not make progress. It is the nature of man to seek good and avoidevil. It is the nature of God to seek neither but just be eternally blissful. Letus be God!

Retreat given at the Thousand Island Park, USA. June 25, 1895. Complete Works, 7.13.

Vivekananda Quote - 4

There are many things to be done, but means are wanting in this country [India].We have brains but no hands. We have the doctrine of Vedanta, but we have not thepower to put it into practice. In our books there is the doctrine of universal equality,but in work we make great distinctions. It was in India that unselfish and disinterested work of the most exalted type was preached, but in practice we are awfully cruel, awfully heartless--unable to think of anything besides our own mass-of-flesh bodies.

Letter to Sarala Ghoshal, Editor of Bharati. Written from Darjeeling on April 6, 1897. Complete Works,5.126-27.

Vivekananda Quote - 3

We are struggling hard to conquer pain, succeeding in the attempt,and yet creating new pains at the same time.

From notes discovered among Swami Vivekananda's papers. He evidently intended to write a book and jotted down these points for the work. Complete Works, 5:429.

Vivekananda Quote - 2

Each of the four yogas is fitted to make us perfect even without the help of the others, because they have all the same goal in view. The yogas of work (karma), of wisdom (jñāna), and of devotion (bhakti) are all capable of serving as direct and independent means for the attainment of spiritual freedom (mokṣa).

Class on Karma Yoga. New York, January 3, 1896. Complete Works, 1.93.

Vivekananda Quote - 1

Why are millions trampled underfoot? Why do people starve who never did anything to cause it? Who is responsible? If they had no hand in it, surely, God would be responsible. Therefore the better explanation is that one is responsible for themisery one suffers. If I set the wheel in motion, I am responsible for the result.And if I can bring misery, I can also stop it. It necessarily follows that we arefree. There is no such thing as fate. There is nothing to compel us. What we havedone, we can undo.

Talk given at Unity Hall, Hartford (Connecticut), USA, on March 8, 1895,as reported in "Hartford Times" (March 11, 1895). Complete Works, 1.320.