Top 500 Swami Vivekananda Quotes (2025 Update)
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301. “Had I lived in Palestine, in the days of Jesus of Nazareth, I would have washed his feet, not with my tears, but with my heart’s blood!”

— Swami Vivekananda

302. “No one is ever really taught by another; each of us has to teach himself. The external teacher offers only the suggestion, which arouses the internal teacher, who helps us to understand things.”

— Swami Vivekananda

303. “I am neither the mind, nor the intellect, nor the ego, nor the mind-stuff.”

— Swami Vivekananda

304. “True religion comes not front the teaching of men or the reading of books; it is the awakening of the spirit within us, consequent upon pure and heroic action.”

— Swami Vivekananda

305. “Let the end and the means be joined into one.”

— Swami Vivekananda

306. “Attachment comes only where we expect a return.”

— Swami Vivekananda

307. “The mistake is that we cling to the body when it is the spirit that is really immortal.”

— Swami Vivekananda

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

— Swami Vivekananda

309. “Blame neither man, nor God, nor anyone in the world. When you find yourselves suffering, blame yourselves, and try to do better.”

— Swami Vivekananda

310. “The law of attraction which holds good for the heavenly bodies also holds good for the smallest particles.”

— Swami Vivekananda

311. “Man has infinite power within himself, and he can realise it – he can realise himself as the one infinite Self. It can be done; but you do not believe it. You pray to God and keep your powder dry all the time.”

— Swami Vivekananda

312. “If you really want to judge the character of a man, look not at his great performances. Watch a man do his most common actions.”

— Swami Vivekananda

313. “Jnana, bhakti, yoga and karma – these are the four paths which lead to spiritual freedom. One must follow the path for which one is best suited. But in this age, special stress should be laid on karma yoga.”

— Swami Vivekananda

314. “No great work can be achieved by humbug. It is through love, a passion for truth, and tremendous energy, that all undertakings are accomplished.”

— Swami Vivekananda

315. “God is not to be reached by the weak. Never be weak. You have infinite strength within you. How else will you conquer anything? How else will you come to God?”

— Swami Vivekananda

316. “God is cruel and not cruel. He is all being and not being at the same time. Hence He is all contradictions. Nature also is nothing but a mass of contradictions.”

— Swami Vivekananda

317. “The very reason for nature’s existence is for the education of the soul.”

— Swami Vivekananda

318. “I want each one of my children to be a hundred times greater than I could ever be. Everyone of you must be a giant- must, that is my word. Obedience, readiness, and love for the cause- if you have these three, nothing can hold you back.”

— Swami Vivekananda

319. “What do we call the river? Every moment the water is changing, the shore is changing, every moment the environment is changing, what is the river then? It is the name of this series of changes.”

— Swami Vivekananda

320. “Perfection does not come from belief or faith. Talk does not count for anything. Parrots can do that. Perfection comes through the disinterested performance of action.”

— Swami Vivekananda

321. “Anything that is western origin, first you verify it, then accept it. Anything that is Indian origin, first accept it, then verify it if necessary.”

— Swami Vivekananda

322. “The past was great no doubt, but I sincerely believe that the future will be more glorious still.”

— Swami Vivekananda

323. “You are the makers of your own fortunes. You make yourselves suffer, you make good and evil, and it is you who put your hands before your eyes and say it is dark. Take your hands away and see the light.”

— Swami Vivekananda

324. “You must all pay attention to your health first.”

— Swami Vivekananda

325. “May the shadow of the Almighty ever rest on all those you love.”

— Swami Vivekananda

326. “Art is – representing the beautiful. There must be Art in everything.”

— Swami Vivekananda

327. “Blame nobody else, do not commit the mistake of the ignorant.”

— Swami Vivekananda

328. “No one is to blame for our miseries but ourselves.”

— Swami Vivekananda

329. “Perfection is not to be attained, it is already within us.”

— Swami Vivekananda

330. “Internal and external nature, mind and matter, are in time and space, and are bound by the law of causation.”

— Swami Vivekananda

331. “We must plunge heart and soul and body into the work. And until we are ready to sacrifice everything else to one Idea and to one alone, we never, never will see the Light.”

— Swami Vivekananda

332. “Persevere on, my brave lads, We have only just begun. Never despond! Never say enough!”

— Swami Vivekananda

333. “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.”

— Swami Vivekananda

334. “All real progress must be slow.”

— Swami Vivekananda

335. “Never allow weakness to overtake your mind. Remember Mahavira, remember the Divine Mother! And you will see that all weakness, all cowardice will vanish at once.”

— Swami Vivekananda

336. “You yourselves are the Being you are seeking.”

— Swami Vivekananda

337. “Be grateful that the poor man is there, so that by making a gift to him you are able to help yourself.”

— Swami Vivekananda

338. “The sages are often ignorant of physical science, because they read the wrong book-the book within; and the scientists are too often ignorant of religion, because they too read the wrong book-the book outside.”

— Swami Vivekananda

339. “This world is not for cowards. Do not try to fly. Look not for success or failure. Join yourself to the perfectly unselfish will and work on.”

— Swami Vivekananda

340. “The more opposition there is, the better. Does a river acquire velocity unless there is resistance? The newer and better a thing is, the more opposition I will meet with at the outset. It is opposition which foretells success. Where there is no opposition there is no success either.”

— Swami Vivekananda

341. “To make a great future India, the whole secret lies in organization, accumulation of power, co-ordination of wills.”

— Swami Vivekananda

342. “The calm man is not the man who is dull. You must not mistake Sattva for dullness or laziness. The calm man is the one who has control over the mind waves. Activity is the manifestation of inferior strength, calmness, of the superior.”

— Swami Vivekananda

343. “Things do not grow better; they remain as they are. It is we who grow better, by the changes we make in ourselves.”

— Swami Vivekananda

344. “Man is the nearest approach to Brahman.”

— Swami Vivekananda

345. “It is only by doing good to others that one attains to one’s own good.”

— Swami Vivekananda

346. “Shri Ramakrishna use to say, “As Long as I Live, so long do I learn”. That man or that society which has nothing to learn is already in the jaws of death.”

— Swami Vivekananda

347. “All the strength and succour you want is within yourselves. Therefore make your own future. “Let the dead past bury its dead.” The infinite future is before you.”

— Swami Vivekananda

348. “To me an Indian is one who has got a Vedantic brain which probes deep and soars high; an Islamic body that is vibrant and valiant; a Buddhistic heart overflowing with compassion and kindness and Christian limbs of service and sacrifice.”

— Swami Vivekananda

349. “The power is with the silent ones, who only live and love and then withdraw their personality. They never say “me” and “mine”; they are only blessed in being instruments.”

— Swami Vivekananda

350. “The ideal person is he who, in the midst of the greatest silence and solitude, finds the intensest activity, and in the midst of the intensest activity finds the silence and solitude of the desert.”

— Swami Vivekananda