Swami Vivekananda 1893 Chicago Speech Part II Audio & Video /Vivekananda Chicago Speech 1893 Video

Swami Vivekananda 1893 Chicago Speech Part II Audio & Video /Vivekananda Chicago Speech 1893 Video:

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Swami Vivekananda 1893 Chicago Speech Part I/ VIvekananda Chicago Speech 1893

Swami Vivekananda 1893 Chicago Speech Part I Audio & Video/ VIvekananda Chicago Speech 1893 Video:

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QUOTES BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON LIFE,RELIGION,LEARNING,GOD AND DIVINE

QUOTES BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON LIFE,RELIGION,LEARNING,GOD AND DIVINE:

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on life

Let each one of us pray day and night for the downtrodden millions who are held fast by poverty, priestcraft, and tyranny. Pray day and night for them. I care more to preach religion to them than to the high and the rich.

Swami Vivekananda

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on Freedom

Real freedom is not merely doing what you like, but also NOT doing what you like.

Swami Vivekananda

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on divine and image

“We say that if a temple, or a symbol, or an image helps you to realize the Divine within, you are welcome to it. Have two hundred images if you like. If certain forms and formulas help you to realize the Divine, God speed you; have, by all means, whatever forms, temples, whatever ceremonies you want to bring you nearer to God. But do not quarrel about them; the moment you quarrel, you are not going Godward, you are going backward towards the brutes."     

Swami Vivekananda

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on Religion

Religion is a question of being and becoming, not of believing.

Swami Vivekananda

QUOTES BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON LIFE,RELIGION,LEARNING,GOD AND DIVINE:

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on learning

"Education is the manifestation of what is already within man"

Swami Vivekananda

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on  knowledge, consciousness, and mind

All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in our own mind.

Swami Vivekananda

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on spirituality, soul, and wisdom

You have to grow from inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.

Swami Vivekananda

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QUOTES BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON LIFE,SOUL,SPIRITUALITY,KNOWLEDGE,NATURE,YOGA AND MEDITATION

QUOTES BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON LIFE,SOUL,SPIRITUALITY,KNOWLEDGE,NATURE,YOGA AND MEDITATION:

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on freedom

We must always bear in mind that we are not going to be free, but are free already.  Every idea that we are bound is a delusion.

Swami Vivekananda

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on life, living, teaching, and wisdom

You cannot teach a child any more than you can grow a plant. All you can do is on the negative side - you can only help. It is a manifestation from within; it develops its own nature - you can only take away obstructions.

Swami Vivekananda

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on universal, god, shiva, and worship

"This is the gist of all worship: to be pure and to do good to others. He who sees Shiva in the poor, in the weak, and in the diseased, really worships Shiva. And if he sees Shiva only in the image, his worship is but preliminary. He who has served and helped one poor man seeing Shiva in him, without thinking of his caste or creed or race or anything, with him Shiva is more pleased than with the man who sees Him only in temples"

Swami Vivekananda

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on vivekananda, knowledge, consciousness, and mind

All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in our own mind.

Swami Vivekananda

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on spirituality, soul, and wisdom

You have to grow from inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.

Swami Vivekananda

QUOTES BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON LIFE,SOUL,SPIRITUALITY,KNOWLEDGE,NATURE, YOGA AND MEDITATION:

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda

Throw away all weakness. Tell your body that it is strong, tell your mind that it is strong, and have unbounded faith and hope in yourself.   

Swami Vivekananda

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on peace, bliss, states-of-being, and true-nature

After every happiness comes misery; they may be far apart or near. The more advanced the soul, the more quickly does one follow the other. What we want is neither happiness nor misery. Both make us forget our true nature; both are chains--one iron, one gold; behind both is the Atman, who knows neither happiness nor misery. These are states, and states must ever change; but the nature of the Atman is bliss, peace, unchanging. We have not to get it, we have it; only wash away the dross and see it.

Swami Vivekananda

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on purpose, yoga, and meditation

“Those who really want to be yogis must give up, once and for all, this nibbling at things. 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 other ideas alone.”

Swami Vivekananda

A Quote by Swami Vivekananda on purpose, yoga, and meditation

“The mind generally takes up various objects, runs into all sorts of things. That is the lower state. 

There is a higher state of the mind, when it takes up one object and excludes all others.”

Swami Vivekananda

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SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS|SWAMI VIVEKANANDA BEST QUOTES COLLECTION

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS|SWAMI VIVEKANANDA BEST QUOTES COLLECTION:

QUESTION 1. — Whom can we call a Guru?

SWAMIJI. — He who can tell your past and future is your Guru.

   

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Q.2 — If unity is the only reality, how could duality which is perceived by all every moment have arisen?

SWAMIJI. — Perception is never dual; it is only the representation of perception that involves duality. If perception were dual, the known could have existed independently of the knower, and vice versa.

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Q.3 — What is the true meaning of the assertion that we should depend on ourselves?

SWAMIJI. — Here self means the eternal Self. But even dependence on the non-eternal self may lead gradually to the right goal, as the individual self is really the eternal Self under delusion.

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Q. 4— How can one have Bhakti?

SWAMIJI. — There is Bhakti within you, only a veil of lust-and-wealth covers it, and as soon as that is removed Bhakti will manifest by itself.

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Q.5 — How is harmonious development of character to be best effected?

SWAMIJI. — By association with persons whose character has been so developed.

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Q.6— Is the relation between concepts and words necessary and immutable, or accidental and conventional?

SWAMIJI. — The point is exceedingly debatable. It seems that there is a necessary relation, but not absolutely so, as appears from the diversity of language. There may be some subtle relation which we are not yet able to detect.

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Q.7 — Is the division of time into four Yugas astronomical or arbitrary calculation?

SWAMIJI. — There is no mention of such divisions in the Vedas. They are arbitrary assumptions of Paurânika times.

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Q.8 — What should be our attitude to the Vedas?

SWAMIJI. — The Vedas, i.e. only those portions of them which agree with reason, are to be accepted as authority. Other Shâstras, such as the Purânas etc., are only to be accepted so far as they do not go against the Vedas. All the religious thoughts that have come subsequent to the Vedas, in the world, in whatever part of it have been derived from the Vedas.

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Q.9 — What should be the principle to be followed in working within India?

SWAMIJI .— First of all, men should be taught to be practical and physically strong. A dozen of such lions will conquer the world, and not millions of sheep can do so. Secondly, men should not be taught to imitate a personal ideal, however great.

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SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS|SWAMI VIVEKANANDA BEST QUOTES COLLECTION:

Q.10 —Can a man attain Mukti by image-worship?

SWAMIJI. — Image-worship cannot directly give Mukti; it may be an indirect cause, a help on the way. Image-worship should not be condemned, for, with many, it prepares the mind for the realisation of the Advaita which alone makes man perfect.

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Q. 11— Does the Kundalini really exist in the physical body?

SWAMIJI. — Shri Ramakrishna used to say that the so-called lotuses of the Yogi do not really exist in the human body, but that they are created within oneself by Yoga powers.

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Q.12 — Is retrograde reincarnation from the human stage possible?

SWAMIJI. — Yes. Reincarnation depends on Karma. If a man accumulates Karma akin to the beastly nature, he will be drawn thereto.

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Q.13 — What should be our highest ideal of character?

SWAMIJI. — Renunciation.

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Q.14 — What is Maya?

SWAMIJI. — There is only one thing, call it by any name — matter, or spirit. It is difficult or rather impossible to think the one independent of the other. This is Maya, or ignorance.

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Q.15 — Brahman and Maya cannot be cognised simultaneously. How could the absolute reality of either be proved as arising out of the one or the other?

SWAMIJI. — It could be proved only by realisation. When one realises Brahman, for him Maya exists no longer, just as once the identity of the rope is found out, the illusion of the serpent comes no more.

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Q.16 — Is Mâyâ without beginning and end?

SWAMIJI. — Maya is eternal both ways, taken universally, as genus; but it is non-eternal individually.

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Q. 17—Can salvation (Mukti) be obtained without the grace of God?

SWAMIJI. — Salvation has nothing to do with God. Freedom already is.

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Q.18 — What is Mukti (liberation)?

SWAMIJI. — Mukti means entire freedom — freedom from the bondages of good and evil. A golden chain is as much a chain as an iron one. Shri Ramakrishna used to say that, to pick out one thorn which has stuck into the foot, another thorn is requisitioned, and when the thorn is taken out, both are thrown away. So the bad tendencies are to be counteracted by the good ones, but after that, the good tendencies have also to be conquered.

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Q.19 — What is the proof of the self in us not being the product of the body etc.?

SWAMIJI. — The "ego" like its correlative "non-ego", is the product of the body, mind etc. The only proof of the existence of the real Self is realisation.

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Q. 20— Is Mâyâvâda different from Advaitâvada?

SWAMIJI. — No. They are identical. There is absolutely no other explanation of Advaitavada except Mayavada.

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Q.21 — Why should a man serve Ishvara?

SWAMIJI. — If you once admit that there is such a thing as Ishvara (God), you have numberless occasions to serve Him. Service of the Lord means, according to all the scriptural authorities, remembrance (Smarana). If you believe in the existence of God, you will be reminded of Him at every step of your life.

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Q. 22—Who is a true Jnâni, and who is a true Bhakta?

SWAMIJI. — The true Jnani is he who has the deepest love within his heart and at the same time is a practical seer of Advaita in his outward relations. And the true Bhakta (lover) is he who, realising his own soul as identified with the universal Soul, and thus possessed of the true Jnana within, feels for and loves everyone. Of Jnana and Bhakti he who advocates one and denounces the other cannot be either a Jnani or a Bhakta, but he is a thief and a cheat.

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Q. 23— Some say, "First of all become a Siddha (one who has realised the Truth), and then you have the right to Karma, or work for others", while others say that one should work for others even from the beginning. How can both these views be reconciled?

SWAMIJI. — You are confusing one thing with the other. Karma means either service to humanity or preaching. To real preaching, no doubt, none has the right except the Siddha Purusha, i.e. one who has realised the Truth. But to service every one has the right, and not only so, but every one is under obligation to serve others, so long as he is accepting service from others.

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Q.24 —How is it possible for God who is infinite to be limited in the form of a man (as an Avatâra)?

SWAMIJI. — It is true that God is infinite, but not in the sense in which you comprehend it. You have confounded your idea of infinity with the materialistic idea of vastness. When you say that God cannot take the form of a man, you understand that a very, very large substance or form (as if material in nature), cannot be compressed into a very, very small compass. God's infinitude refers to the unlimitedness of a purely spiritual entity, and as such, does not suffer in the least by expressing itself in a human form.

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SWAMI VIVEKANANDA QUOTES ON LIFE AND PEOPLE

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA QUOTES  ON LIFE AND PEOPLE:

Let people speak out their own opinions, why should we object?

Each work has to pass through these stages — ridicule, opposition, and then acceptance--Swami Vivekananda

Let people say whatever they will — "Men (who wrongly criticise) are to be treated as worms!" as Shri Ramakrishna used to say. Let there be no disparity between what you profess and what you do. . .

Let us remember the words of Kâlidâsa: "Fools blame the actions of the great , because they are extraordinary and their reasons past the finding-out of ordinary mortals."

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA QUOTES  ON LIFE AND PEOPLE

• According to Swami Vivekananda, we should not be afraid or stop or work because of mere criticism or opposition. "Let people say whatever they like", we should.

• Let people say whatever they like

• Let people say whatever they like, stick to your own convictions— Swami Vivekananda

• 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--Swami Vivekananda

 

According to Swami Vivekananda -----

• Let people praise you or blame you, let fortune smile or frown upon you, let your body fall today or after a Yuga, see that you do not deviate from the path of Truth--Swami Vivekananda

• Let people say whatever they like, stick to your own convictions, and rest assured, the world will be at your feet. They say, "Have faith in this fellow or that fellow", but I say, "Have faith in yourself first", that's the way. Have faith in yourself—all power is in you—be conscious and bring it out. Say, "I can do everything." "Even the poison of a snake is powerless if you can firmly deny it." Beware! No saying "nay", no negative thoughts! Say, "Yea, Yea," "So'ham, So'ham"—"I am He! I am He!"

• . . .let people say what they will. Let anyone write anything for or against me in the papers; you shouldn't take the slightest notice--Swami Vivekananda

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Swami Vivekananda's quotes on education |Quotes on Education A to Z

Swami Vivekananda's quotes on education |Quotes on Education A to Z

Swami Vivekananda's quotes on education

A—E  

Education is the manifestation
of the perfection already in man.
—Swami Vivekananda

All the wealth of the world cannot help one little Indian village if the people are not taught to help themselves. Our work should be mainly educational, both moral and intellectual.

Educate and raise the masses, and thus alone a nation is possible.

Education, education, education alone! Travelling through many cities of Europe and observing in them the comforts and education of even the poor people, there was brought to my mind the state of our own poor people, and I used to shed tears. What made the difference? Education was the answer I got. Through education comes faith in one's own Self, and through faith in one's own Self the inherent Brahman is waking up in them.

Education has yet to be in the world, and civilisation — civilisation has begun nowhere yet.

Education is not filling the mind with a lot of facts. Perfecting the instrument and getting complete mastery of my own mind [is the ideal of education].

Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man.

F—J
How can there be/any progress of the country without the spread of education, the dawning of knowledge?

If education is identical with information, the libraries are the greatest sages in the world, and encyclopaedias are the Rishis.

If the mountain does not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain. If the poor cannot come to education, education must reach them at the plough, in the factory, everywhere.

If the poor boy cannot come to education, education must go to him.

Swami Vivekananda's quotes on education |Quotes on Education A to Z

K—S
. . . Life is a series of fights and disillusionments. . . . The secret of life is not enjoyment, but education through experience. But, alas, we are called off the moment we begin really to learn. That seems to be a potent argument for a future existence. . . . Everywhere it is better to have a whirlwind come over the work. That clears the atmosphere and gives us a true insight into the nature of things. It is begun anew, but on adamantine foundations. . . .

Shri Ramakrishna used 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. Yes, learn we must many things from the West: but there are fears as well.

T—Z

The education which does not help the common mass of people to equip themselves for the struggle for life, which does not bring out strength of character, a spirit of philanthropy, and the courage of a lion— is it worth of the name? Real education is that which enables one to stand on one's own legs.
The first duty is to educate the people.

The ideal of all education, all training, should be this man-making. But, instead of that, we are always trying to polish up the outside. What use in polishing up the outside when there is no inside? The end and aim of all training is to make the man grow. The man who influences, who throws his magic, as it were, upon his fellow-beings, is a dynamo of power, and when that man is ready, he can do anything and everything he likes; that personality put upon anything will make it work.

The only way to bring about the levelling of caste is to appropriate the culture, the education which is the strength of the higher castes.

There is only one purpose in the whole of life — education. Otherwise what is the use of men and women, land and wealth?

Swami Vivekananda's quotes on education |Quotes on Education A to Z

To me the very essence of education is concentration of mind, not the collecting of facts. If I had to do my education over again, and had any voice in the matter, I would not study facts at all. I would develop the power of concentration and detachment, and then with a perfect instrument I could collect facts at will. Side by side, in the child, should be developed the power of concentration and detachment.

We have had a negative education all along from our boyhood. We have only learnt that we are nobodies. Seldom are we given to understand that great men were ever born in our country. Nothing positive has been taught to us. We do not even know how to use our hands and feet! 

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.

You cannot teach a child any more than you can grow a plant. All you can do is on the negative side—you can only help. It is a manifestation from within; it develops its own nature—you can only take away obstructions.

You see, no one can teach anybody. The teacher spoils everything by thinking that he is teaching. Thus Vedanta says that within man is all knowledge—even in a boy it is so—and it requires only an awakening, and that much is the work of a teacher. We have to do only so much for the boys that they may learn to apply their own intellect to the proper use of their hands, legs, ears, eyes, etc., and finally everything will become easy.

On man-making education

Swami Vivekananda's quotes on education |Quotes on Education A to Z

Swami Vivekananda's quotes on man-making education
No more weeping, but stand on your feet and be men. It is a man-making religion that we want. It is man-making theories that we want. It is man-making education all round that we want.[Source]
The education that you are getting now has some good points, but it has a tremendous disadvantage which is so great that the good things are all weighed down. In the first place it is not a man-making education, it is merely and entirely a negative education. A negative education or any training that is based on negation, is worse than death. The child is taken to school, and the first thing he learns is that his father is a fool, the second thing that his grandfather is a lunatic, the third thing that all his teachers are hypocrites, the fourth that all the sacred books are lies! By the time he is sixteen he is a mass of negation, lifeless and boneless. And the result is that fifty years of such education has not produced one original man in the three Presidencies. Every man of originality that has been produced has been educated elsewhere, and not in this country, or they have gone to the old universities once more to cleanse themselves of superstitions.

Gurugriha Vasa or Personal contact between the teacher and the disciple
My idea of education is personal contact with the teacher - Gurugriha-Vâsa. Without the personal life of a teacher there would be no education. Take your Universities. What have they done during the fifty years of their existences. They have not produced one original man. They are merely an examining body. The idea of the sacrifice for the common weal is not yet developed in our nation.

One should live from his very boyhood with one whose character is like a blazing fire and should have before him a living example of the highest teaching. Mere reading that it is a sin to tell a lie will be of no use. Every boy should be trained to practice absolute Brahmacharya, and then, and then only, faith —Shraddha—will come. Otherwise, why will not one who has no Shraddha speak an untruth? In our country, the imparting of knowledge has always been through men of renunciation. Later, the Pandits, by monopolising all knowledge and restricting it to the tols, have only brought the country to the brink of ruin. India had all good prospects so long as Tyâgis (men of renunciation) used to impart knowledge.

Defects of current education system

 Swami Vivekananda's quotes on the defects of the current education system
It is almost wholly one of defects. Why, it is nothing but a perfect machine for turning out clerks. I would even thank my stars if that were all. But no! See how men are becoming destitute of Shraddhâ and faith. They assert that the Gita is only an interpolation, and that the Vedas are but rustic songs! They like to master every detail concerning things and nations outside of India, but if you ask them, they do not know even the names of their own forefathers up to the seventh generation, not to speak of the fourteenth!

The education that you are getting now has some good points, but it has a tremendous disadvantage which is so great that the good things are all weighed down. In the first place it is not a man-making education, it is merely and entirely a negative education. A negative education or any training that is based on negation, is worse than death. The child is taken to school, and the first thing he learns is that his father is a fool, the second thing that his grandfather is a lunatic, the third thing that all his teachers are hypocrites, the fourth that all the sacred books are lies! By the time he is sixteen he is a mass of negation, lifeless and boneless. And the result is that fifty years of such education has not produced one original man in the three Presidencies

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