Born Narendranath Dutta in 1863, Swami Vivekananda was a chief Indian saint and key disciple of mystic Ramakrishna Paramhansa.
Raised in Calcutta, he was influenced by his father’s liberal thinking and his mother’s spiritual nature.
Excelling in education, he developed a deep interest in various subjects, including religion, history and literature.
Vivekananda reintroduced Vedanta and Yoga philosophies to the Western world, earning significant acclaim for his speech at the Parliament of the World’s Religion in Chicago.
He emphasized Indian heritage and philosophy, bridging Eastern and Western cultures.
Vivekananda passed away in 1902 during meditation, with his disciples believing he reached mahasamādhi, a yogi’s final conscious exit from the body.
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He was cremated on a sandalwood pyre on the banks of the Ganga in Belur.
I have picked the most famous quotes by Swami Vivekananda for you.
Inspiring Swami Vivekananda Quotes
1. “The greatest sin is to think yourself weak.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
2. “Neither seek nor avoid, take what comes.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
3. “Do one thing at a time, and while doing it put your whole soul into it to the exclusion of all else.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
4. “The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
5. “Arise, awake, stop not until your goal is achieved.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
6. “In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
7. “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.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
8. “Anything that makes you weak – physically, intellectually and spiritually, reject it as poison.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
9. “In a day, when you don’t come across any problems, you can be sure that you are travelling in the wrong path.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
10. “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.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
11. “There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The more concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
12. “Whatever you think that you will be. If you think yourself weak, weak you will be; if you think yourself strong, you will be.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
13. “Dare to be free, dare to go as far as your thought leads, and dare to carry that out in your life. ” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
14. “Believe in yourself and the world will be at your feet.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
15. “Great work requires great and persistent effort for a long time. Character has to be established through a thousand stumbles.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
16. “All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in our own mind.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
17. “You can not believe in God until you believe in yourself.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
18. “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, and 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 – that is the way great spiritual giants are produced.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
19. “Each work has to pass through these stages: ridicule, opposition, and then acceptance. Those who think ahead of their time are sure to be misunderstood.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
20. “The brain and muscles must develop simultaneously. Iron nerves with an intelligent brain – and the whole world is at your feet.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
21. “Fear is death, fear is sin, fear is hell, fear is unrighteousness, and fear is wrong life. All the negative thoughts and ideas that are in the world have proceeded from this evil spirit of fear.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
22. “They alone live, who live for others.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
23. “The whole life is a succession of dreams. My ambition is to be a conscious dreamer, that is all.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
24. “Are great things ever done smoothly? Time, patience, and indomitable will must show.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
25. “Education is the manifestation of perfection already existing in man.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
Popular Swami Vivekananda Quotes
26. “Comfort is no test of truth. Truth is often far from being comfortable.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
27. “Don’t look back – forward, infinite energy, infinite enthusiasm, infinite daring,and infinite patience – then alone can great deeds be accomplished” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
28. “The fire that warms us can also consume us; it is not the fault of the fire.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
29. “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.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
30. “Are you unselfish? That is the question. If you are, you will be perfect without reading a single religious book, without going into a single church or temple.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
31. “Blessed are they whose bodies get destroyed in the service of others.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
32. “The world is ready to give up 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.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
33. “The great secret of true success, of true happiness, is this: the man or woman who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish person, is the most successful.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
34. “Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
35. “All powers are within you, you can do anything and everything.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
36. “The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
37. “Bless people when they revile you. Think how much good they are doing by helping to stamp out the false ego.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
38. “I, for one, thoroughly believe that no power in the universe can withhold from anyone anything they really deserve.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
39. “We reap what we sow, we are the makers of our own fate. The wind is blowing; those vessels whose sails are unfurled catch it, and go forward on their way, but those which have their sails furled do not catch the wind. Is that the fault of the wind? We make our own destiny.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
40. “Our first duty is not to hate ourselves, because to advance we must have faith in ourselves first and then in God. Those who have no faith in themselves can never have faith in God.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
41. “This universe is the wreckage of the infinite on the shores of the finite.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
42. “The greatest truths are the simplest things in the world, simple as your own existence.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
43. “Strength is life, Weakness is death.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
44. “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 law of life, just as you breathe to live.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
45. “However we may receive blows, and however knocked about we may be, the Soul is there and is never injured. We are that Infinite.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
46. “Neither seek nor avoid, take what comes.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
47. “So long as there is desire or want, it is a sure sign that there is imperfection. A perfect, free being cannot have any desire.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
48. “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.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
49. “All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
50. “See Christ, then you are a Christian; all else is talk.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
51. “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.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
52. “A Brahmin is not so much in need of education as a Chandala. If the son of a Brahmin needs one teacher, that of a Chandala needs ten.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
53. “If you have infinite patience and perseverance, success is bound to come. No mistake in that.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
54. “Be a hero. Always say, ‘I have no fear.’ Tell this to everyone – ‘Have no fear.’” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
55. “The whole point is to discipline the mind.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
56. “Do not lower your goals to the level of your abilities. Instead, raise your abilities to the height of your goals.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
57. “Ignorance is death, Knowledge is life.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
58. “Have faith in yourself, all power is in you, be conscious and bring it out.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
59. “Purity, patience and perseverance are the three essentials to success and above all love.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
60. “If the mind is intensely eager, everything can be accomplished – mountains can be crumbled into atoms.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
Top Swami Vivekananda Quotes
61. “Christ, Buddha, and Krishna are but waves in the Ocean of Infinite Consciousness that I am!” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
62. “The power of concentration is the only key to the treasure-house of knowledge.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
63. “We have to practice to become perfect.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
64. “Do not wait for anybody or anything. Do whatever you can. Build your hope on none.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
65. “Learn Everything that is Good from Others, but bring it in, and in your own way absorb it; do not become others.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
66. “The fruit falls from the tree when it gets ripe. So wait for the time to come. Do not hurry. Moreover, no one has the right to make others miserable by his foolish acts. Wait, have patience, everything will come right in time.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
67. “Hinduism is the mother of all religions.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
68. “Be brave! Be strong! Be fearless! Once you have taken up the spiritual life, fight as long as there is any life in you. Even though you know you are going to be killed, fight till you “are killed.” Don’t die of fright. Die fighting. Don’t go down till you are knocked down.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
69. “My countrymen should have nerves of steel, muscles of iron, and minds like thunderbolt.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
70. “Fill the brain with high thoughts, highest ideals, place them day and night before you, and out of that will come great work.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
71. “The gift of knowledge is the highest gift in the world.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
72. “The history of the world is the history of a few men who had faith in themselves.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
73. “We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
74. “Each soul is potentially divine.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
75. “Whatever you think, that you will be.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
76. “The earth is enjoyed by heroes.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
77. “Charity opens the heart.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
78. “Do not figure out big plans at first, but begin slowly, feel your ground and proceed up and up.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
79. “The Kingdom of Heaven is within us. God is within us. He is the Soul of our souls. See Him in your own soul. That is practical religion. That is freedom.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
80. “Help and not fight. Assimilation and not destruction. Harmony and Peace and not dissension.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
Famous Swami Vivekananda Quotes
81. “Neither money pays, nor name pays, nor fame, nor learning; it is CHARACTER that cleave through adamantine walls of difference.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
82. “Work unto death! I am with you, and when I am gone, my spirit will work with you. This life comes and goes; wealth, fame, enjoyments are only of a few days. It is better, far better to die on the field of duty, preaching the truth, than to die like a worldly worm. Advance!” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
83. “What makes you weep, my friend? In you is all power. Summon up your all-powerful nature, O mighty one, and this whole universe will lie at your feet. It is the Self alone that predominates, and not matter.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
84. “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.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
85. “Astrology and all these mystical things are generally signs of a weak mind.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
86. “Give me few men and women who are pure and selfless and I shall shake the world.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
87. “Stand up, be bold, and take the blame on your own shoulders. Do not go about throwing mud at others; for all the faults you suffer from, you are the sole and only cause.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
88. “The infinite library of the Universe is in your mind.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
89. “First, believe in the world-that there is meaning behind everything.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
90. “The powers of the mind are like the rays of the sun, when they are concentrated they illuminate.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
91. “It is the greatest manifestation of power to be calm.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
92. “Everything can be sacrificed for truth, but truth cannot be sacrificed for anything.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
93. “He who struggles is better than he who never attempts.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
94. “You must keep a strict eye on your health; let everything else be subordinated to that.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
95. “Take courage and work on. Patience and steady work- this is the only way.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
96. “Do not look back upon what has been done. Go Ahead.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
97. “Spirituality is the science of the Soul.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
98. “Be not Afraid of anything. You will do Marvelous work. it is Fearlessness that brings Heaven even in a moment.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
Short Swami Vivekananda Quotes
99. “The three essentials of Hinduism are belief in God, in the Vedas as revelation, in the doctrine of Karma and transmigration.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
100. “Take up an idea, devote yourself to it, struggle on in patience, and the sun will rise for you.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
101. “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.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
102. “All truth is eternal. Truth is nobody’s property; no race, no individual can lay any exclusive claim to it. Truth is the nature of all souls.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
103. “Was there ever a more horrible blasphemy than the statement that all the knowledge of God is confined to this or that book? How dare men call God infinite, and yet try to compress Him within the covers of a little book!” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
104. “The will is not free – it is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect – but there is something behind the will which is free.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
105. “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).
106. “Man is to become divine by realizing the divine. Idols or temples, or churches or books, are only the supports, the help of his spiritual childhood.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
107. “Stand up and be strong! No fear. No superstition. Face the truth as it is!” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
108. “We are what our thoughts have made us.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
109. “Go on bravely. Do not expect success in a day or a year. Always hold on to the highest. Be steady. Avoid jealousy and selfishness. Be obedient and eternally faithful to the cause of truth, humanity, and your country, and you will move the world.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
110. “Service to man is service to god.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
111. “Strength is Life, Weakness is Death. Expansion is Life, Contraction is Death. Love is Life, Hatred is Death.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
112. “Devotion to duty is the highest form of worship of God.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
113. “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.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
114. “The secret of karma yoga which is to perform actions without any fruitive desires is taught by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
115. “You must have an iron will, if you would cross the ocean. You must be strong enough to pierce mountains.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
116. “My child, what I want is muscles of iron and nerves of steel, inside which dwells a mind of the same material as that of which the thunderbolt is made.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
117. “Thoughts are living things – they travel far.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
118. “Purity, perseverance, and energy – these three I want.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
119. “Cowards never win victories. We have to fight fear and troubles and ignorance if we expect them to flee before us.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
120. “Music alone can take you to the Highest!” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
Best Swami Vivekananda Quotes
121. “He who is alone is happy. Do good to all, like everyone, but do not love anyone. It is a bondage, and bondage brings only misery. Live alone in your mind – that is happiness. To have nobody to care for and never minding who cares for one is the way to be free.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
122. “The seeker’s silence is the loudest form of prayer.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
123. “I am responsible for my fate, I am the bringer of good unto myself, I am the bringer of evil. I am the Pure and Blessed One. We must reject all thoughts that assert to the contrary.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
124. “Give up all desire for enjoyment in earth or heaven. Control the organs of the senses and control the mind. Bear every misery without even knowing that you are miserable. Think of nothing but spiritual freedom.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
125. “Strength and manliness are virtue; weakness and cowardice are sin.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
126. “To work with undaunted energy! What fear! Who is powerful enough to thwart you.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
127. “Everything will come right if you are pure and sincere. We want hundreds like you bursting upon society and bringing new life and vigor of the spirit wherever they go.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
128. “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. I know where the shoe pinches.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
129. “A few heart-whole, sincere, and energetic men and women can do more in a year than a mob in a century.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
130. “Man can become like God and acquire control over the whole universe if he multiplies infinitely his centre of self-consciousness.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
131. “Even the least work done for others awakens the power within; even thinking the least good of others gradually instills into the heart the strength of a lion.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
132. “Marriage and sex and money the only living devils.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
133. “One may gain political and social independence, but if one is a slave to his passions and desires, one cannot feel the pure joy of real freedom.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
134. “Man is the highest being in creation, because he attains to freedom.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
135. “The more we grow in Love, Virtue and Holiness, the more we see Love, Virtue and Holiness outside.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
136. “All these ideas such as astrology, although there may be a grain of truth in them, should be avoided.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
137. “A man ought to live in this world like a lotus leaf, which grows in water but is never moistened by water; so a man ought to live in the world – his heart to God and his hands to work.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
138. “Man makes the mistake of separating himself from God and identifying himself with the body.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
139. “Even forgiveness, if weak and passive, is not true: fight is better. Forgive when you could bring legions of angels to the victory.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
140. “Above all, India is the land of religion.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
141. “Be proud that thou art an Indian, and proudly proclaim, “I am an Indian, every Indian is my brother.” Say, “The ignorant Indian, the poor and destitute Indian, the Brahmin Indian, the Pariah Indian, is my brother.”” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
142. “Love and charity for the whole human race, that is the test of true religiousness.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
143. “Say it with pride we are Hindus.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
144. “Never forget that a man is made great and perfect as much by his faults as by his virtues. So we must not seek to rob a nation of its character, even if it could be proved that the character was all faults.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
145. “This is the principle of Universal Brotherhood of man with one another, with all life down to the little ants.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
146. “All is the Self or Brahman. The saint, the sinner, the lamb, the tiger, even the murderer, as far as they have any reality, can be nothing else, because there is nothing else.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
147. “Everything is easy when you are busy. But nothing is easy when you are lazy.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
148. “Take off the veil of hypnotism which you have cast upon the world, send not our thoughts and words of weakness unto humanity.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
149. “Take Risks in Your Life If u Win, U Can Lead! If u Lose, U Can Guide!” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
150. “It may be that I shall find it good to get outside of my body – to cast it off like a disused garment. But I shall not cease to work! I shall inspire men everywhere, until the world shall know that it is one with God.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
151. “So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
152. “All misery and pain come from attachment.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
153. “Man is born to conquer nature and not to follow it.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
154. “Never mind these failures, these little backslidings; hold the ideal a thousand times, and if you fail a thousand times, make the attempt once more.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
155. “If there is one word that you find coming out like a bomb from the Upanishads, bursting like a bombshell upon masses of ignorance, it is the word “fearlessness.”” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
156. “The present is determined by our past actions, and the future by the present.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
157. “In real meditation you forget the body. You may be cut to pieces and not feel it at all. You feel such pleasure in it. You become so light. This perfect rest we will get in meditation.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
158. “Be not in despair, the way is very difficult, like walking on the edge of a razor; yet despair not, arise, awake, and find the ideal, the goal.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
159. “The mind has to be gradually and systematically brought under control.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
160. “You see, no one can teach anybody. The teacher spoils everything by thinking that he is teaching. Thus Vedanta says that within man is all knowledge-even in a boy it is so-and it requires only an awakening, and that much is the work of a teacher.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
161. “Everyone wants to command, and no one wants to obey; and this is owing to the absence of that wonderful brahmacharya system of yore. First, learn to obey. The command will come by itself. Always first learn to be a servant, and then you will be fit to be a master.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
162. “Out of purity and silence comes the word of power.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
163. “Manifest the divinity within you and everything will be harmoniously arranged around it.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
164. “The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
165. “If you can think that infinite power, infinite knowledge and indomitable energy lie within you, and if you can bring out that power, you also can become like me.” ~ (Swami Vivekananda).
