[1863-1902]
The unknown monk of India suddenly leapt into fame at the Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893, at which he represented Hinduism. People who saw or heard Vivekananda even once still cherish his memory after a lapse of more than half a century.
"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, that is way great spiritual giants are produced."
"Perfection does not come from belief or faith. Talk does not count for anything. Parrots can do that. Perfection comes through selfless work."
"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 future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act."
"You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself."
"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."
"The goal of mankind is knowledge. Now this knowledge is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside - it is all inside. What we say a man 'knows', should, in strict psychological language, be what he 'discovers' or 'unveils'; what man 'learns' is really what he discovers by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge."
"We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far."
"Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being."
"The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong."
The unknown monk of India suddenly leapt into fame at the Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893, at which he represented Hinduism. People who saw or heard Vivekananda even once still cherish his memory after a lapse of more than half a century.
"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, that is way great spiritual giants are produced."
"Perfection does not come from belief or faith. Talk does not count for anything. Parrots can do that. Perfection comes through selfless work."
"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 future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act."
"You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself."
"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."
"The goal of mankind is knowledge. Now this knowledge is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside - it is all inside. What we say a man 'knows', should, in strict psychological language, be what he 'discovers' or 'unveils'; what man 'learns' is really what he discovers by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge."
"We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far."
"Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being."
"The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong."