Swami Vivekananda's Quotes

1. Be fearless, be fearless.
2. Be not weak either physically, mentally, morally nor spiritually.
3. The greatest sin is to think yourself weak.
4. Stand up, be bold, be strong.
5. He who struggles is better than he who never attempts.
6. We only get what we deserve.
7. Experience is the only teacher.
8. We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think.
9. So long as millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every person a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them.
10. Read man, he is the living poem.
11. There is nothing holier in the world than to keep good company.
12. He is an atheist who does not believe in himself. The old religions said that he was an atheist who did not believe in God. The new religion says that he is the atheist who does not believe in himself.
13. 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.
14. Be not afraid of anything, you will do marvellous work. The moment you fear, you are nobody. Be a hero. Always say, "I have no fear". Tell this to everybody—"Have no fear".
15. Young men, my hope is in you. Will you respond the call of your nation? Each one of you has a glorious future if you believe me.
16. I am no meta physician, no philosopher, nay, no saint. But I am poor, I love the poor. (volume V. 58)
17. The only hope of India is from the masses.The upper classes are physically and morally dead. (V. 106)
18. The peasants and weavers and the rest, who have been conquered by foreigners and are looked down upon by their own people- it is they who from time immemorial have been working silently, without even getting the remuneration of their labours! (Volume VII page 358)
19. Monks and Sannyasins and Brahamns of a certain type have thrown the country into ruin. Intent all the while on theft and wickedness, these pose as preachers of religion! They will take gifts from the people and at the same time cry, 'Don't touch me!' (Vol.VI. 318)
20. A country where millions of people live on flowers of the Mohua plant, and a million or two of Sadhus and a hundred million or so of Brahmans suck the blood out of these poor people, without even the least effort for their amelioration - is that a country of hell? Is that a religion, or a devil's dance? (vol. VI. 254)
21. "Do you love your fellow men? Where should you go to seek for God- are not all the poor, the miserable, the weak, gods? Why not worship them first? Why go to dig a well on the shores of the Ganga? (V. 51) You have read 'Matru devo bhava', 'Pitru devo bhava'- the poor, the illiterate, the ignorant, the afflicted- let these be your God.' (VI. 288)
22. Where are they [working class] through whose physical labour only are possible the influence of the Brahman, the prowess of Kshatriya, and the fortune of the Vaishya? (IV. 467)
23.  "ATMAVAT SARVA BHOOTESHU 'Looking upon all beings as your own self' - be confined to books alone? How will they (Brahmans) grant salvation who can not feed a hungry mouth with a crumb of bread? How will those who become impure at the mere breath of others, purify others? (VI. 320)
24. "What are we doing for their lively hood, for their improvement? We do not touch them, we avoid their company! Are we men? those thousands of Brahmans - what are they doing for low, downtrodden masses of India? 'Don't touch', 'Don't touch' is the only phrase that plays upon their lips! (V. 27)
25. "They [Padris] are converting the lower classes by lakhs; and in Travancore, the most priest-hidden country in India - where every bit of land is owned by the Brahmans and females (of lower castes), even of the royal family, hold it as high honour to live as the wives of the Brahmans - nearly one-fourth has become Christian! (L. 28) You have greatest religion which the world ever saw, and you feed the masses with stuff and nonsense. You have the perennial fountain flowing, and you give them ditch-water. (V. 223)"
26. "If the Brahman is born clever, he can educate himself without help. If the others are not born clever, let them have all the teaching and teachers they want. (III. 193)
27. "A Brahmin is not so much in need of education as a Chandala (Dalit). If a son of a Brahman needs one teacher, that of a Chandala needs ten. For greater help must be given to him whom 'nature' has not endowed acute intellect from birth. (VI. 319)
28. "What to speak separately of the distinct Shudra class of such a land, where the whole population has virtually come down to the level of the Shudra? ... That unity, by which ten men collect the strength of a million, is yet far away from the Shudra; hence. according to the law of the nature, the Shudras invariably from the subject race. But there is hope. In the mighty course of time, the Brahman and the other higher castes, too, are being brought down to the lower status of Shudras, and the Shudras are being raised to the higher ranks. (IV. 467-68)
29.  "I am a socialist not because I think it is a perfect system, but half a loaf is better than no bread. (VI. 381)
30.  "Our reformers do not see where the wound is.... The whole defect is here: The real nation who live in cottage have forgotten their manhood, their individuality. Trodden under the foot of the Hindu, Mussalman, or Christian, they have come to think that they are born to be trodden under foot of everybody who has money enough in his pocket. (VIII. 307)"
31.  "I consider that the great national sin is the neglect of the masses, and that is one of the causes of our downfall. (V. 222)
32.  "They who sucked the life blood of of the poor, whose very education was at their expense, whose very power was built on their poverty, were in their turn sold as slaves by hundreds and thousands, their wives and daughters dishonoured, their property robbed for the last 1000 years. (vol. VIII. 330)
33. We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded and by which one can stand on one's own feet.
34. Bring light to the poor; and bring more light to the rich, for they require it more than the poor. Bring light to the ignorant, and more light to the educated, for the vanities of the education of our time are tremendous.
35. You should work like a master and not as a slave; work incessantly, but not do slave's work.
36. In their reaction against the privileged priesthood, Buddhist swept off almost every bit of the old ritual of the Vedas, subordinated the gods of the Vedas to the position of the servants to their human saints, and declared the 'Creator and Supreme Ruler' as an invention of priest craft and superstition. (VI. 161)
37. This upheaval was what is known as the Buddhistic reformation. On the religious side, it represented freedom from ceremonial; on the political side, overthrow of the priesthood by the Kshatriyas. (L.233)
38. Beware of everything that is untrue: stick to truth and we shall succeed, may be slowly, but surely.
39. It is a weakness to think someone is dependent on you, and that you can do good to him. This belief is the mother of all our attachment and through this attachment comes all our pain. Therefore developing the attitude of non-attachment is the great lesson to learn in life, and when we have learned it fully, we shall never be unhappy.
40. It is the heart, the heart that conquers, not the brain. Books and learning, Yoga and meditation and illumination - all are but dust compared with love. It is love that gives you the supernatural powers, love that gives you Bhakti, love that gives illumination, and love, again, that leads to emancipation. (VI. 400)
41. Most of what you talk of as social reform does not touch the poor masses. (V.334)
42. The earth is enjoyed by heroes – this is the unfailing truth. Be a hero. Always say, 'I have no fear'. Tell this to everybody – ' Have no fear'. Fear is death, fear is sin, fear is hell, fear is unrighteousness, fear is wrong life. All the negative thoughts and ideas that are in this world have proceeded from this evil spirit of fear.
43. Anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually or spiritually, reject as poison.
44. Stand and die in your own strength; if there is any sin in the world, it is weakness; avoid all weakness, for weakness is sin, weakness is death.
45. I am firmly persuaded that without the help of practical Islam, theories of Vedantism, however fine and wonderful they may be, are entirely valueless to the vast mass of mankind... For our own motherland a junction of two great systems, Hinduism and Islam - Vedanta brain and Islam body- is the only hope. I see in my mind's eye the future perfect India rising out of this chaos and strife, glorious and invincible, with Vedanta brain and Islam body. (VI. 416)
46. I believe it (Advaitism) is the religion of future enlightened humanity. The Hindus may get the credit of arriving at it earlier than other races, they being an older race than either the Hebrew or the Arab; yet practical Advaitism, which looks upon and behaves to all mankind as one's own soul, was never developed among Hindus... If ever any religion approached to this equality in an appreciable manner, it is Islam and Islam alone. (VI. 415)
47. Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; dream of it; think of it; live on that idea. Let the brain, the body, 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, and this is the way great spiritual giants are produced.