Swami Vivekananda Quotes on Divinity

There is one thing to be remembered: that the assertion ‘I am God’ cannot be made with regard to the sense-world.

The mind is but the subtle part of the body. You must retain great strength in your mind and words.

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.

Religion is the manifestation of the Divinity already in man.

Astrology and all these mystical things are generally signs of a weak mind. Therefore as soon as they are becoming prominent in our minds, we should see a physician, take good food, and rest.

As soon as I think that I am a little body, I want to preserve it, to protect it, to keep it nice at the expense of other bodies; then you and I become separate. First get rid of the delusion ‘I am the body’, then only will we want real knowledge.

A few heart-whole, sincere, and energetic men and women can do more in a year than a mob in a century.

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 essence of Vedanta is that there is but one Being and that every soul is that Being in full, not a part of that Being.

So long as there is desire or want, it is a sure sign that there is imperfection. A perfect, free being cannot have any desire.

However we may receive blows, and however knocked about we may be, the Soul is there and is never injured. We are that Infinite.

This life is a hard fact; work your way through it boldly, though it may be adamantine; no matter, the soul is stronger.

When we let loose our feelings, we waste so much energy, shatter our nerves, disturb our minds, and accomplish very little work.

The less passion there is, the better we work. The calmer we are the better for us and the more the amount of work we can do.

The varieties of religious belief are an advantage, since all faiths are good, so far as they encourage us to lead a religious life. The more sects there are, the more opportunities there are for making a successful appeal to the divine instinct in all of us.

You are the soul, free and eternal, ever free, ever blessed. Have faith enough and you will be free in a minute.

We are ever free if we would only believe it, only have faith enough.

Don’t look back – forward, infinite energy, infinite enthusiasm, infinite daring, and infinite patience. Then alone can great deeds be accomplished.

The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves!

Every individual is a center for the manifestation of a certain force. This force has been stored up as the resultant of our previous works, and each one of us is born with this force at our back.

You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.

Nature, body, mind go to death, not we. We neither go nor come. The man Vivekananda is in nature, is born and dies. But the Self we see as Vivekananda is never born and never dies. It is the eternal and unchangeable Reality.

It is the duty of every person to contribute in the development and progress of India.

‘Comfort’ is no test of truth; on the contrary, truth is often far from being ‘comfortable’.

We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.

Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true.

It is our own mental attitude which makes the world what it is for us. Our thought make things beautiful, our thoughts make things ugly. The whole world is in our own minds. Learn to see things in the proper light.

As body, mind, or soul, you are a dream; you really are Being, Consciousness, Bliss (satchidananda). You are the God of this universe.

Impurity is a mere superimposition under which your real nature has become hidden. But the real you is already perfect, already strong.

Are great things ever done smoothly? Time, patience, and indomitable will must show.

Truth does not pay homage to any society, ancient or modern. Society has to pay homage to Truth or die.

Work and worship are necessary to take away the veil, to lift off the bondage and illusion.

Whatever you think, that you will be. If you think yourself weak, weak you will be; if you think yourself strong, strong you will be.

It is the patient building of character, the intense struggle to realize the truth, which alone will tell in the future of humanity.

We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves.

Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being.

This, I have seen in life – those who are overcautious about themselves fall into dangers at every step. Those who are afraid of losing honor and respect, get only disgrace; and those who are always afraid of loss, always lose.

The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.

Be a hero. Always say, ‘I have no fear.’ Tell this to everyone – ‘Have no fear.’

To devote your life to the good of all and to the happiness of all is religion. Whatever you do for your own sake is not religion.

We reap what we sow. We are the makers of our own fate. None else has the blame, none has the praise.

Blows are what awaken us & help to break the dream. They show us the insufficiency of this world & make us long to escape, to have freedom.

Who makes us ignorant? We ourselves. We put our hands over our eyes and weep that it is dark.

Watch people do their most common actions; these are indeed the things that will tell you the real character of a great person.

Purity, patience, and perseverance are the three essentials to success and, above all, love.

Superstition is our great enemy, but bigotry is worse.

All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.