Swami Vivekananda's Birthday

DEAR ALL,

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA JAYANTHI,  JANUARY 12 2011

 

Swami Vivekananda was born in Calcutta (Now Kolkata) Monday in a traditional family, on 12 January. His father Vishwanath Dutta was an attorney of Calcutta High Court. He was considered generous, and

had a liberal and progressive outlook in social and religious matters. His mother Bhuvaneshwari Devi was pious and had practiced austerities and a devotee of Lord Shiva. Swami Vivekananda’s thinking and personality were influenced by his parents—the father by his rational mind and the mother by her religious temperament. From his mother he learnt the power of self-control. 

 

Swami Vivekananda taught the principles of the universe, and his teachings are popular even today. His ageless words will touch the life of all. No matter whether old or young; the spiritual messages quotations and sayings of great Swami Vivekananda will bring wisdom and enlighten our life.

He was a man of great brilliance and had a tremendous presence. I am sharing some of the quotes.

Religion is not in doctrines, in dogmas, nor in intellectual argumentation,

It is being and becoming, it is realization.

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

First of all, our young men must be strong. Religion will come afterwards. Be strong, my young friends; that is my advice to you.

The secret of religion lies not in theories but in practice. To be good and do good - that is the whole of religion.

The very fact of disputations and fighting among sects shows that they do not know anything about religion. Religion to them is a mere mass of frothy words, to be written in books.

Religion is not going to church, or putting marks on the forehead, or dressing in a peculiar fashion. You may paint yourselves in all the colours of the rainbow, but if the heart has not been opened, if you have not realized God, it is all vain.

The basic aim of religion is to bring peace to man. It is not a wise thing for one to suffer in this life so that one can be happy in the next. One must be happy here and now. Any religion that can bring that

about is the true religion for humanity.

TRUTH:

Truth, purity, and unselfishness - whenever these are present, there is no power below or above the sun to crush the possessor thereof. Equipped with these, one individual is able to face the whole universe in opposition.

Everything can be sacrificed for truth, but truth cannot be sacrificed for anything.

Stick to truth, but we shall succeed, may be slowly, but surely.  

Pray all the time, read all the scriptures in the world, and worship all the gods there are but unless you realize the Truth, there is no freedom.

Practice truthfulness.Tweleve years of absolute truthfulness in thought, word and deed gives a man what he wills.

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

Good motives, sincerity, and infinite love can conquer the world. One single soul possessed of these virtues can destroy the dark designs of millions of hypocrites and brutes.

The ignorant man, by prayer and devotion, can reach beyond the philosopher. To know God, no philosophy is necessary. Our duty is not to disturb the faith of others.

First have faith in yourselves.Know that though one may be a little bubble and another may be a mountain high wave, yet behind both the bubble and the wave there is the infinite ocean.

Accept the beneficial and discard the pleasant.

It is good and very grand to conquer external nature, but grander still it is to conquer internal nature.

If a man with an ideal makes a thousand mistakes, I am sure that the man without an ideal makes fifty thousand. Therefore, it is better to have an ideal.

If you have assimilated five ideas, and made them your life and character, you have more education than anyman who has got by heart a whole library.

Do good to all, like everyone, but do not love anyone. 

If you really want the good of others, the whole universe may stand against you and cannot hurt you. It must crumble before your power of the Lord Himself in you if you are sincere and really unselfish.

Out of purity and silence comes the word of power.

In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart. "

When once you consider an action, do not let anything dissuade you. Consult your heart, not others, and then follow its dictates.

Perfection does not come from belief or faith. Talk does not count for anything. Parrots can do that. Perfection comes through selfless work.

Please everyone without becoming a hypocrite or a coward.

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 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."

Ask nothing; want nothing in return. Give what you have to give; it will come back to you, but do not think of that now."

"Learn everything that is good from others, but bring it in, and in your own way absorb it; do not become others."

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

"Do one thing at a Time, and while doing it put your whole Soul into it to the exclusion of all else."

Have Faith in Man, whether he appears to you to be a very learned one or a most ignorant one."

The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them."

Above all, beware of compromises. Hold on to your own principles in weal or woe and never adjust them to others’.

"It is the Level-headed Man, the Calm Man, of Good Judgement and cool nerves, of Great sympathy and love, who does good work and so does good to himself."

Neither money pays, nor name pays, nor fame, nor learning; it is CHARACTER that cleave through adamantine walls of difference”

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 ones feet.

In eating, dressing or lying, in singing or playing, in enjoyment or disease, always manifest the highest moral courage.If you can build your character after such an ideal, then a thousand others will follow.

Help if you can; if you cannot, fold your hands and stand by and see things go on. Do not injure, if you cannot render help”

Three things are necessary to make every man great, every nation great”

1.Conviction of the powers of goodness

2.Absence of jealousy and suspicion

3.Helping all who are trying to be and to do good.

Nature wants us to react, to return blow for blow, cheating for cheating,

lie for lie, to hit back with all our might, then it requires a super divine power not hit back, to keep control, to be unattached”

The very essence of education is concentration of mind, not collecting of facts. Develop the power of concentration of mind and detachment and then with a perfect instrument collect facts at will.

Persons are but the embodiments, the illustration of principles. If the principles are there, the persons will come by the thousands and millions.

A "GOOD WORLD" A "HAPPY WORLD" AND SOCIAL PROGRESS are all terms equally intelligible with "Hot Ice" or "dark light".There is no progress without corresponding digression. 

 

Swami vivekananda's words are not ordinary words of inspiration. Each word of his utterances is potent with a latent power.I tried my best to bring out the gist of his sayings. There are many quotes and I made a small attempt to forward a few of his quotes and utterances. 

 

Every quote and utterances of swami vivekanada has a great power. In many speeches he used to oft quote one of the sayings of his mother :

 

"Remain pure all your life; guard your own honor and never transgress the honor of others. Be very tranquil, but when necessary, harden your heart.  

 

 

A mere reading of the ideas presented here won't do.The ideas must be aasimilated and should be put in to practice.understand the quotes in their spirit and apply to work in the light.Swami