2538745 GOLDEN WORDS Swami Vivekanand

7/31/2019 2538745 GOLDEN WORDS Swami Vivekanand

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GOLDEN

WORDS OF

SWAMI

VIVEKANAND

A


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Arise!

Awake!

And stop

not till

the goal


3/420

is

reached


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I shall inspire

men

everywhere

until the world

shall know


5/420

that it is one

with God.


6/420

Man never

progresses

from error to

truth, but

from truth to

truth, from


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lesser truth to

higher truth.

Spiritual

knowledge is

the only thing


8/420

that can

destroy our

miseries

forever.


9/420

He who has

no faith in

himself can

never have

faith in God.


10/420

What, Seekest

thou the

pleasures of

the world! He


11/420

is the fountain

of all Bliss.

Sympathy for

the poor, the

downtrodden,


12/420

even unto

deaththis is

our motto.

Great

convictions


13/420

are the

mothers of

great deeds.


14/420

What India

wants is a

new electric

fire to stir up

a fresh vigour

in the national

veins.


15/420

The greatest

truths are the

simplest

things in the

world, simple


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as your own

existence.

It is fear that

is the great


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cause of our

woes.


18/420

What I want is

muscles of

iron and

nerves of

steel, inside

which dwells a

mind of the


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same material

as that of

which the

thunderbolt is

made.


20/420

Love is the

gate of all the

secrets of the

universe.


21/420

Unselfishness

is more

paying, only

people have

not the


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patience to

practise.


23/420

Look not back,

no, not even if

you see the

dearest and

nearest cry.


24/420

Look not back,

but forward.

Let us all work

hard, my

brethren, this


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is no time for

sleep.

On our work

depends the

coming of the


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India of the

future.


27/420

I do not care

of liberation, I

would rather

go to a

hundred

thousand

hells, doing

good to others


28/420

(silently) like

the spring

this my

religion.

Shall India die?

Then from the

world all

spirituality will


29/420

be extinct; all

moral

perfection will

be extinct

such a thing

can never be.


30/420

Faith, faith,

faith in

ourselves,

faith, faith in

Godthis is the

secret of

greatness.


31/420

Doing good to

others is

virtue, injuring

others is sin.


32/420

Strength and

manliness are

virtues;

weakness and


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cowardice are

sins.


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Independence

is virtue;

hating others

is sin.


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Faith in God

and in ones

own self is


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virtue; doubt

is sin.


37/420

Knowledge of

oneness is

virtue;

seeking


38/420

diversity is

sin.


39/420

Give me few

men and

women who

are pure and

selfless, and I


40/420

shall shake

the world.


41/420

He who loves

lives, he who

is selfish is

dying.

Therefore,


42/420

love for loves

sake.


43/420

Any expansion

is life, all

contraction is

death.

He works best

who works


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without any

motive.


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I consider that

the great

national sin is

the neglect of

the masses

and that is


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one of the

causes of our

downfall.


47/420

If you think

yourselves

weak, weak

you will be; if

you think

yourselves


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strong, strong

you will be.


49/420

They alone

live who live

for others, the

rest are more

dead than

alive.


50/420

Truth is purity,

Truth is all

knowledge.

Truth must be

strengthening,

must be

enlightening,

must be


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invigorating.

Save yourself

by yourself!

There is none

to help you

never was, to


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think that

there is, is a

sweet

delusion.


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Stand up, be

bold, be

strong. Take

the whole

responsibility


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on your

shoulders.


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All the

strength and

succour you

want is within

yourselves.

Therefore


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make your

own future.


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Service to

humanity is

the highest


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form of

worship.


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The goal of

mankind is

knowledge.


60/420

It is better, far

better to die

on the field of

duty,

preaching the

Truth, than to


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die like a

worldly worm.


62/420

If there is sin,

this is the only

sin, to say

that you are

weak, or


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others are

weak.


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Work as if on

each of you

depended the

whole work.


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Duty is sweet

only through

love.


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The Indian

nation can not

be killed, so

long as her

people do not


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give up their

spirituality.


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Space is in the

soul and not

the soul in

space.


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Do not look

back upon

what has been


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done. Go

ahead!


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Men, men,

these are

wanted;

everything


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else will be

ready.


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Go from

village to

village, do

good to


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humanity and

to the world at

large.


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Go to hell

yourself to

buy salvation

for others.


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Death being

so certain it is

better to die


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for a good

cause.


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Cowards only

sin, brave

men never,


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no, not even

in mind.


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The universe

is objectified

God.


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Man should be

taught to be

practical and


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physically

strong.


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A dozen of

such lions will

conquer the

world, and not

millions of


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sheep can do

so.

To be good

and do good

that is the


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whole of

religion.


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It is a

privilege to

serve

mankind, for


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this is the

worship of

God.


88/420

Pay as much

attention to

the means as

to the end.


89/420

Every duty is

holy and

devotion to

duty is the

highest form


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91/420

The remedy

for weakness

is not

brooding over

weakness, but


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thinking of

strength.

You can not

believe in God

until you


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believe in

yourself.


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The difference

between God

and devil is in

nothing

except in

unselfishness

and

selfishness.


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96/420

worships

Shiva.


97/420

The national

ideals of India

are

RENUNCIATIO

N AND

SERVICE.


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Intensify her

in these

channels, and

the rest will


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take care of

itself.


100/420

Each soul is

potentially

divine.


101/420

So long as

millions live in

hunger and

ignorance, I

hold every man

a traitor, who,

having been

educated at

their expense,


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pays not the

least heed to

them.

Religion is

realization;

not talk, no

doctrine, nor

theories,


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however

beautiful they

may be. It is

being and

becoming.


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and that is of

God.


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Let New India

a riseout of

the peasants

cottage,

grasping the

plough; out of

the huts of

the fisherman,


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the cobbler,

and the

sweeper.

Death is

better than a

vegetating

ignorant life;


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it is better to

die on the

battlefield

than to live a

life of defeat.


110/420

This world is

the great

gymnasium

where we

come to make


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ourselves

strong.

Real

education is

that which


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enables one

to stand on

his own legs.


113/420

Utter no

words of

condemnation

. Close your

lips, and let


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your hearts

open.


115/420

He who

adjusts

himself best

lives the

longest.


116/420

That which is

selfish is

immoral, and

that which is


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unselfish is

moral.


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It is better to

wear out than

to rust out

specially for

the sake of


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doing good to

others.


120/420

He is an

atheist who

does not


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believe in

himself.


122/420

Knowledge is

nothing but

finding unity


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in the midst of

diversity.


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Purity,

patience and

perseverance

are the three

essentials of

success and


125/420

above all

Love.


126/420

Religion is the

idea which is

raising the

brute unto

man, and man

unto God.


127/420

What the

nation wants

is pluck and

scientific

genius. We

want great

spirit,


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tremendous

energy, and

boundless

enthusiasm.

The only

service to be

done for our


129/420

lower classes

is to give

them

education, to

develop their

lost

individuality.


130/420

Even thinking

of the least

good of others

gradually

instills into

the heart, the


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132/420

Him I call a

Mahatman

whose heart

bleeds for the

poor;

otherwise he


133/420

is a

Duratman.


134/420

India will be

raised, not

with the

power of the

flesh, but with

the power of

the spirit.


135/420

What we want

is vigour in

the blood,

strength in

the nerves,

iron muscles

and nerves of


136/420

steel, not

softening

namby-pamby

words.

I bequeath to

you, young


137/420

men, this

sympathy, this

struggle for

the poor, the

ignorant, the

oppressed.


138/420

Anything that

makes you

weak

physically,

intellectually

and spiritually,


139/420

reject as

poison.

Off at once, to

lay down your

life for your

own liberation


140/420

and for the

good of

others.


141/420

India wants

the sacrifice

of at least a

thousand of

her young

menmen


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and not

brutes.


143/420

Truth alone

gives

strength.

strength is the

medicine for


144/420

the worlds

disease.


145/420

To work

without

motive, to

work

unattached,

brings the


146/420

highest bliss

and freedom.


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148/420

to lie in

manliness.


149/420

Give up

jealousy and

conceit. Learn

to work


150/420


151/420

The only God

to worship is

the human

soul in the

human body.


152/420

It is struggle

against nature

and not

confinity to

nature that


153/420

makes man

what he is.


154/420

Whatever you

think, that you

become. If

you have to

think, think

good


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156/420

Even as an

intellectual

study, the

study of

Vedanta is the

healthiest.


157/420

When a man

has begun to

be ashamed

of his


158/420

ancestors, the

end has come.


159/420


160/420

Men are more

valuable than

all the wealth

of the world.


161/420

The

concentrated

mind is a

lamp that


162/420

shows us

every corner

of the soul.


163/420

Education is

the

manifestation

of the

perfection


164/420


165/420

Religion is the

manifestation

of the Divinity

already in

man.


166/420

What is the

watch-word of

all ethical


167/420

codes? Not I,

but thou.


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That action is

moral which

frees us from


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the bondage

of matter.


170/420

The happiest

moments we

ever know are

when we


171/420

entirely forget

ourselves.


172/420

Cleanse the

mind, this is

all of religion.


173/420

Read man, he

is the living

poem.


174/420

If your

freedom hurts

others, you


175/420

are not free

there.


176/420

He who

struggles is

better than he


177/420

who never

attempts.


178/420

Character has

to be

established

through a


179/420

thousand

stumbles.


180/420

The history of

civilization is

the

progressive

reading of


181/420

spirit into

matter.


182/420

All knowledge

depends upon

calmness of

mind.


183/420

The eternal

law is self-

sacrifice, not

self-assertion.


184/420

Inspiration is

much higher

than reason

but it must

not contradict

it.


185/420


186/420

unconscious

of giving.

Books are

useless to us


187/420

until our own

book opens.


188/420

The world is a

gymnasium in

which we

play; our life


189/420

is an eternal

holiday.


190/420

Choose the

highest ideal

and live your

life upto that.

Look at the

ocean and


191/420

not at the

wave.


192/420

All

condemnation

of others

really

condemns

ourselves.


193/420

Experience is

the only

teacher.


194/420

This is the

only world

where man


195/420

can work out

his salvation.


196/420


197/420

Instinct is like

ice, reason is

the water, and

inspiration is

the subtlest


198/420

form of

vapour.


199/420

Do not spend

your energy in

talking, but


200/420


201/420

The whole

ocean is

present at the


202/420

back of each

wave.


203/420

Melancholy is

an almost

insurmountabl

e barrier.


204/420

Seek the

science of the

maker, and


205/420

not that of the

made.


206/420

Guess against

the guess

makes fight.


207/420

Do not be

mere white

mice in a

treadmill,

working

always and


208/420

never

accomplishing

anything.


209/420

Only those

who want

nothing are

the masters of

nature.


210/420

Put God

behind

everything

man, animal,

food, work;


211/420

make this a

habit.


212/420

No man

should be

judged by his

defects.


213/420

A perfect

mans body

mechanically

does right.


214/420

Bear every

misery

without even

knowing that


215/420

you are

miserable.


216/420

The tyrannical

idea of duty is

a terrible

poison and is


217/420

destroying the

world.


218/420

Come to God

any way you

can; only

come. But in

coming do not


219/420

push any one

down.


220/420

The sum total

of all ideas of

help is God.


221/420

He alone, who

is always

awake to the

idea of


222/420


223/420

In eating,

dressing or

lying, in

singing or

playing, in

enjoyment or

disease,


224/420

always

manifest the

highest moral

courage.

Truth does not

pay homage


225/420

to society,

society has to

pay homage

to Truth or

die.


226/420


227/420


228/420

good

company.


229/420

Every being is

the temple of

the Most High.


230/420

Be brave and

be sincere;

then follow

the path with

devotion and

you must


231/420

reach the

Lord.

Religion

begins where

philosophy

ends.


232/420

Every great

achievement

is done slowly.


233/420

Art is

representing

the beautiful.

There must be


234/420

Art in

everything.


235/420

Our misery

comes, not

from work,

but by our

getting


236/420

attached to

something.


237/420

One atom has

the power of

the whole

universe at its

back.


238/420

Blows are

what awaken

us and help to


239/420

break the

dream.


240/420

The thirst

after body is

the great


241/420

bane of

human life.


242/420

A golden

chain is as

much a chain


243/420

as an iron

one.


244/420

Desire,

ignorance and

inequality

this is the


245/420

trinity of

bondage.


246/420

The cause of

today is the

effect of the

past and the


247/420

cause for the

future.


248/420

Character is

repeated

habits, and

repeated

habits alone


249/420

can reform

character.


250/420

It is character

that cleaves

its way

through

adamantine


251/420

walls of

difficulties.


252/420

My method of

work is to

construct and

not pull down.


253/420

Chastity is the

corner-stone

of all morality

and of all

religion.


254/420

No civilization

can grow

unless

fanaticism,

bloodshed,


255/420

and brutality

stop.


256/420

True

civilization

should mean

the power of

taking the


257/420

animal-man

out of his

sense-life.


258/420

There is no

greater sin

than

cowardice;

cowards are


259/420

never saved

that is sure.


260/420

It is spiritual

culture and

ethical culture

alone that can

change wrong

racial


261/420

tendencies for

the better.


262/420

It is the duty

of every

aristocracy to

dig its own

grave; and the

sooner it does


263/420

so, the better

for all.

Unto him

comes


264/420

everything

who does not

care for

anything.


265/420

Dirt cannot

wash dirt,

hate cannot

cure hate.


266/420

Before

reaching the

highest ideal,

mans duty is

to resist evil;

let him work,

let him fight,


267/420

let him strike

straight from

the shoulder.

Our duty is to

encourage

every one in his

struggle to live

up to his own


268/420

highest ideal,and strive at the

same time tomake the ideal

as near aspossible to the

truth.


269/420

Education is

not the

amount of

information

that is put into

your brain and

runs riot

there,


270/420

undigested,

all your life.

It is man-

making

education all


271/420

round that we

want.


272/420

We want that

education by

which

character is

formed,

strength of

mind is

increased, the

intellect is


273/420

expanded, and

by which one

can stand on

ones own feet.

That action is

moral which

frees us from


274/420

the bondage

of matter.


275/420

If the poor

cannot come

to education,

education

must reach

them, at the


276/420

plough, in the

factory,

everywhere.


277/420

One particle

of matter has

all the energy

of the

universe at its

back.


278/420

Enjoyment

lies not in

physical

development,

but in the

culture of the


279/420

mind and the

intellect.


280/420

No privileges

for anyone,

equal chances

for all; let

everyone


281/420

work out his

own salvation.


282/420

Chastity is the

first virtue in

man or

woman.


283/420

This is the

way to

perfection, to

strive to be

perfect, and

to strive to


284/420

make perfect

a few men

and women.


285/420

We need to

have three

things; the

heart to feel,

the brain to


286/420

conceive, the

hand to work.


287/420

What we want

now is an

immense

awakening of

Rajasika

energy, for

the whole


288/420


289/420


290/420

Infinite

patience,

infinite purity

and infinite

perseverance

are the secret


291/420

of success in a

good cause.

The cause of

evil is our

desire to be


292/420

superior to

others and our

selfishness.


293/420

This disease

of fanaticism

is one of the

most

dangerous of

all diseases.


294/420

The only

religion that

ought to be

taught is the


295/420

religion of

fearlessness.


296/420

When the

heart has

been purified,

into that heart


297/420

will come the

love of God.

It is preferable

to live on


298/420

grass for the

sake of doing

good to

others.


299/420

The power of

love is

infinitely of

greater

potency than


300/420

the power of

hatred.

It is hatred

that separates

man from


301/420

man,

therefore it is

wrong and

false.


302/420

If we cannot

help

ourselves,

there is none

to help us.


303/420

In helping the

world we

really help

ourselves.


304/420

Defeat is the

ornament the

hero adorns

himself with.


305/420

If a Hindu is

not spiritual, I

do not call

him a Hindu.


306/420

The Hindu

must not give

up his

religion, but

must keep

religion within

its proper


307/420

limits and give

freedom to

society to

grow.

The Hindu

religion does

not consist in

struggles and


308/420

attempts to

believe a

certain doctrine

or dogma, but

in realizingnot

in believing, but

in being and

becoming.


309/420

Hindus are

head and

shoulders

above all

other nations

in morality

and

spirituality.


310/420

No religion on

earth

preaches the

dignity of

humanity in

such a lofty


311/420

strain as

Hinduism.


312/420

East or West,

home is best.


313/420

Humanity

travels not

from error to

truth, but


314/420

from truth to

truth.


315/420

The real evil is

idleness,

which is the

principal


316/420

cause of our

poverty.


317/420

There is only

one country in

the world

which

understands


318/420

religion. It is

India.


319/420

Religion is the

backbone, the

bed-rock, the

foundation

upon which

the national


320/420

edifice has

been built.

Religion and

religion alone

is the life of


321/420

India, and

when that

goes India will

die.


322/420

Here in India,

religion is the

one and the

only


323/420

occupation of

life.


324/420

Religion, in

India, means

realization

and nothing

short of that.


325/420

National union

in India must

be a gathering

up of all


326/420

scattered

spiritual force.


327/420


328/420

and

spirituality.


329/420

Renunciation

and

spirituality are

the two great

ideas of India.


330/420


331/420

has been

spirituality

and

philosophy.


332/420

Whether you

believe in

spirituality or

not, for the

sake of the

national life,

you have to


333/420

get hold on

spirituality

and keep to it.

A nation in

India must be

a union of


334/420

those whose

hearts beat to

the same

spiritual tune.


335/420

No amount of

politics would

be of any

avail until the

masses in

India are once

more well-


336/420

educated,

well-fed and

well-cared for.

India must

conquer the


337/420

world, and

nothing less

than that is

my ideal.


338/420

The ideal

woman in

India is the

mother, the

mother first,


339/420

and the

mother last.

The world has

yet to learn

from India the

idea not only


340/420

of toleration,

but of

sympathy.


341/420

He who can

become mad

with an idea,

he alone sees

light.


342/420

The leaders of

our societies

have never

been either

generals or


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kings but

Rishis.


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Life is too

short to be

spent in

talking about


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frauds and

cranks.

When you

give life, you

will have life.


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Multitude

counts for

nothing.


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A few hearts

whole,

sincere, and

energetic men

can do more

in a year, than


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a mob in a

century.

All misery of

the world is

caused by the


349/420

slavery to the

senses.


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Everything

that

strengthens

the will by

revealing the


351/420

real nature is

moral.


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We cant be

twisted and

tortured into

the shape of

other nations.


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A nation is

advanced in

proportion to

education and

intelligence


354/420

spread among

the masses.


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In the well-

being of ones

own nation is

ones own

well-being.


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He who is

overcautious

about himself

falls into


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dangers at

every step.


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The first of

everything

should go to

the poor; we

have only a


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right to what

remains.


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Even the least

work done for

others

awakens the

power within.


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One ounce of

practice is

worth a

thousand


362/420

pounds of

theory.


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The test of

progress is

the amount of

renunciation


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that one has

attained.


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Purity in

thought,

speech and

act is

absolutely

necessary for


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any one to be

religious.


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Workthis is

the time; for

the freshest,

the

untouched,

and

unsmelled

flowers alone


368/420

are to be laid

at the feet of

the Lord.

It is reason

that develops

into

inspiration


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and therefore

inspiration

does not

contradict

reason but

fulfils it.


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Meddle not

with so-called

social reform,

for, there

cannot be any

reform

without


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spiritual

reform first.


372/420

It is life to do

good; it is

death not to


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do good to

others.


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Science and

religion will

meet and

shake hands.


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It is an insult

to a starving

people to

offer them

religion.


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If a religion

cannot help

man wherever

he may be,

wherever he

stands, it is


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not of much

use.


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The goal of all

religions is the

same but the

language of


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the teachers

differs.


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The man who

is frightened

into religion

has no

religion at all.


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The greatest

religion is to

be true to

your own

nature.


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Religion is

realization;

not talk, nor

doctrine, nor

theories,

however


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beautiful they

may be.

All that man

has to do is to

take care of

three things;


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good thought,

good word,

good deed.

Sanskrit and

prestige go


385/420

together in

India.


386/420

The Lord has

hidden

Himself best

and His work

is best; he

who hides

himself best,


387/420

accomplishes

most.

Self-sacrifice,

indeed, is the


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basis of all

civilization.


389/420

Blessed are

they whose

bodies get

destroyed in


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the service of

others.


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What makes

one man

great and

another weak


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and low is

Sraddha.

Spirit speaks

unto spirit in

silence and

yet in most


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unmistakable

language.

He alone is a

sinner who

sees a sinner


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in another

man.


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Slave of thebody, slave of

the mind, slaveof the world,

slave of a goodword, slave of a

bad word, slave

of passion, slave

of happiness,

slave of life,


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slave of death,slave of

everything, thisslavery has to be

broken.


397/420

Slave wants

power to

make slaves.


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That society is

the greatest

where the

highest truths


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become

practical.


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Being of one

mind is the

secret of

society.


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Our solution is

renunciation,

giving up,

fearlessness,

and love,


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these are the

fittest to

survive.


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No other ideal

can put into

us the same

mass of


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energy as the

spiritual.


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We must keep

a firm hold on

spirituality,

that

inestimable


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gift handed

down to us by

our ancient

forefathers.


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The best

guide in life is

strength.


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What this

world wants

today, more

than it ever


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did before, is

strength.


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The degree of

unselfishness

marks the

degree of


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success

everywhere.


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The great task

is to revive

the whole

man, as it

were, in order


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to make him

the complete

master of

himself.


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Whatever we

shall be in the

future will be

the result of


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what we think

and do now.

The world is

waiting for


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this grand

idea of

universal

toleration.


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The whole

idea of human

life can be put

into that one


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word,

unselfishness.


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The perfectly

unselfish man

is the most

successful.


420/420

Whatever

retards the

onward

progress or

helps the

downward fall

2538745 GOLDEN WORDS Swami Vivekanand

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Transcript of 2538745 GOLDEN WORDS Swami Vivekanand