
Swami Vivekananda
Narendranath Datta
1863-1902 • Indian
HinduismVedanta
Indian Hindu monk who introduced Vedanta and yoga to the Western world. His 1893 Parliament of Religions speech was historic.
Key Works
- Complete Works
- Lectures
- Letters
110
quotes in library
Quotes by Swami Vivekananda
110 quotes“Look upon every man, woman, and everyone as God. You cannot help anyone, you can only serve: serve the children of the Lord, serve the Lord Himself, if you have the privilege.”
serviceKarma Yoga
“If God is not within yourself, then He never was anywhere.”
presenceKarma Yoga
“What our country now wants are muscles of iron and nerves of steel, gigantic wills, which nothing can resist.”
strengthLectures
“First of all, our young men must be strong. Religion will come afterwards.”
strengthLectures
“You will be nearer to heaven through football than through the study of the Gita.”
embodimentLectures
“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.”
selflessnessKarma Yoga
“The fool will have his rebirth; the wise will not.”
wisdomInspired Talks
“Pleasure is not the goal of man, but knowledge.”
purposeKarma Yoga
“Every action that helps us to manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.”
ethicsKarma Yoga
“The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.”
strengthKarma Yoga
“It is the patient building of character, the intense struggle to realize the truth, which alone will tell in the future of humanity.”
characterLectures
“What we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves.”
selfKarma Yoga
“Idleness is the greatest evil; do not yield to it.”
disciplineLetters
“Holiness, purity and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world, and every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character.”
unityChicago Address
“Every action that helps us to manifest our divine nature more and more is good.”
ethicsKarma Yoga
“All power is within you; you can do anything and everything. Believe in that, do not believe that you are weak.”
powerLectures
“Do not figure out big plans at first, but start slowly, feel the ground and proceed.”
wisdomLetters
“We may go through millions of books, but we cannot understand a word of religion or of God unless we attain spiritual realization.”
realizationBhakti Yoga
“Talk to yourself at least once a day. Otherwise, you may miss meeting an excellent person in this world.”
selfLetters
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