Swami Vivekananda Quotes With Meaning And Images

Swami Vivekananda was a renowned Indian spiritual leader and philosopher. Here are 100 quotes attributed to him:

“Arise, awake, and stop not until the goal is achieved.”

It is a motivational exhortation by Swami Vivekananda. It encapsulates the essence of relentless pursuit of one’s aspirations. “Arise” calls for action, urging individuals to break free from inertia. “Awake” signifies mindfulness and consciousness of purpose. “Stop not” emphasizes persistence, urging one to overcome obstacles and failures. “Until the goal is achieved” underscores the importance of setting clear objectives and unwavering commitment. This quote serves as a powerful reminder to stay determined, overcome challenges, and work tirelessly towards achieving one’s dreams and aspirations in life.

“In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart.”
“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.”
“The greatest sin is to think yourself weak.”
“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; dream of it; think 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.”
“In a day when you don’t come across any problems, you can be sure that you are travelling on a wrong path.”
“You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.”
“The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.”
“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.”
“The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them.”
“Be a hero. Always say, ‘I have no fear.'”
“He who struggles is better than he who never attempts.”
“Stand up, be bold, and take the blame on your own shoulders. Do not go about throwing mud at other; for all the faults you suffer from, you are the sole and only cause.”
“The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves.”
“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.”
“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.”
“You have to remember that man does not live on bread alone, but also on other things.”
“Each soul is potentially divine, the goal is to manifest this divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal.”
“You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.”
“As long as we believe ourselves to be even the least different from God, fear remains with us; but when we know ourselves to be the One, fear goes; of what can we be afraid?”
“We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.”
“Do not wait for anybody or anything. Do whatever you can, build your hope on none.”
“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.”
“Anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually, and spiritually, reject as poison.”
“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.”
“Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest ideal, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth.”
“The best thermometer to the progress of a nation is its treatment of its women.”
“Conquer yourself and the whole universe is yours.”
“The will is not free – it is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect – but there is something behind the will which is free.”
“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.”
“Man is to become divine by realizing the divine. Idols or temples, or churches or books, are only the supports, the helps, of his spiritual childhood.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so. If there is sin, this is the only sin; to say that you are weak, or others are weak.”
“Do not hate anybody, because that hatred which comes out from you must, in the long run, come back to you. If you love, that love will come back to you, completing the circle.”
“The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.”
“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.”
“We reap what we sow. We are the makers of our own fate. None else has the blame, none has the praise.”
“Infinite power is yours. You are omnipotent, you can do anything. Everything is under your feet.”
“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.”
“Each soul is potentially divine, the goal is to manifest this divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal.”
“The only way to get rid of the suffering is to have the courage to stand it completely, to face it.”
“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 will is not free – it is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect – but there is something behind the will which is free.”
“They alone live, who live for others.”
“The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Even the greatest fool can accomplish a task if it were after his or her heart. But the intelligent ones are those who can convert every work into one that suits their taste.”
“You will understand the Bhagavad-Gita better with your biceps, your muscles, a little stronger.”
“The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them.”
“The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them.”
“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.”
“The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.”
“In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart.”
“The goal of mankind is knowledge.”
“The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.”
“All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.”
“It is the cheerful mind that is persevering. It is the strong mind that hews its way through a thousand difficulties.”
“The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves.”
“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.”
“All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.”
“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; dream of it; think 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.”
“The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.”
“Never say any man is hopeless, because he only represents a character, a bundle of habits, which can be checked by new and better ones.”
“We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.”
“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 the only law of life, just as you breathe to live.”
“You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.”
“The whole life is a succession of dreams. My ambition is to be a conscious dreamer, that is all.”
“The very reason for nature’s existence is for the education of the soul.”
“In a day, when you don’t come across any problems – you can be sure that you are travelling in a wrong path.”
“All that is real in me is God; all that is real in God is I. The gulf between God and me is thus bridged. Thus by knowing God, we find that the kingdom of heaven is within us.”
“When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place.”
“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.”
“You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.”
“If the mind is intensely eager, everything can be accomplished—mountains can be crumbled into atoms.”
“The fire that warms us can also consume us; it is not the fault of the fire.”
“Strength is life, weakness is death.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Purity, patience, and perseverance are the three essentials to success, and above all, love.”
“Do one thing at a Time, and while doing it put your whole Soul into it to the exclusion of all else.”
“Work and worship are necessary to take away the veil, to lift off the bondage and illusion.”
“Work hard; be holy; and you will reach the goal.”
“The cause of all the miseries we have in the world is that men foolishly think pleasure to be the ideal to strive for.”
“Comfort is no test of truth. Truth is often far from being comfortable.”
“You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.”
“Who is helping you, don’t forget them. Who is loving you, don’t hate them. Who is believing you, don’t cheat them.”
“Strength is the sign of vigor, the sign of life, the sign of hope, the sign of health, and the sign of everything that is good. As long as the body lives, there must be strength in the body, strength in the mind, strength in the hand.”
“We must have friendship for all; we must be merciful toward those that are in misery; when people are happy, we ought to be happy; and to the wicked, we must be indifferent. These attitudes will make the mind peaceful.”
“In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart.”
“Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so. If there is sin, this is the only sin; to say that you are weak, or others are weak.”
“Be a hero. Always say, ‘I have no fear.'”
“If you think that you are bound, you remain bound; you make your own bondage. If you know that you are free, you are free this moment. This is knowledge, knowledge of freedom. Freedom is the goal of all nature.”
“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.”
“The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.”
“Purity, patience, and perseverance are the three essentials to success, and above all, love.”
“Never say any man is hopeless, because he only represents a character, a bundle of habits, which can be checked by new and better ones.”
These quotes reflect Swami Vivekananda’s wisdom and philosophy on life, spirituality, and self-realization.