The Hidden Gift in Difficult Times
“Life seems comfortable; and you find the mind behaves well when everything is going well with you. But if something goes wrong, your mind loses its balance. That is not good. Bear all evil and misery without one murmur of hurt, without one thought of happiness, resistance, remedy, or retaliation. That is true endurance and […]
Restraint Fuels Strength; Compulsion, Weakness
“What you call majority is mainly composed of fools and men of common intellect. Men who have brains to think for themselves are few, everywhere. These few men are the real leaders . . . the majority are guided by them as with a string, and that’s good, for everything goes right when they follow in the footsteps of these leaders.” — Swami Vivekananda
The Difference Between the Lowest and Highest Man
“The lowest man is he whose hand draws in, in receiving; and he is the highest man whose hand goes out in giving.” — Swami Vivekananda
The Antidote to Feeling Bored
“One gets tired of Japa for two reasons. Sometimes one’s brain is fatigued, sometimes it is the result of idleness. If the former, then one should give up Japa for the time being. . . But if the latter, your mind should be forced to continue.” — Swami Vivekananda
Become Your Own Master
“Fortune is like a flirt, she cares not for him who wants her, but she is at the feet of him who does not care for her. Money comes and showers itself upon one who does not care about it. . . They always come to the Master. . . he who can live in spite of them, whose life does not depend upon the little foolish things of the world.” — Swami Vivekananda
What Decides Who You Become?
“Education . . . may be described as a development of faculty, not accumulation of words, or as a training of individuals to will rightly and efficiently.” — Swami Vivekananda
Why Are We Born Over and Over Again?
“How did [the Self] come down to earth? There is but one answer to that in our scriptures. Ignorance is the cause of all this bondage . . . knowledge will cure it by taking us to the other side. How will knowledge come? Through love, Bhakti; by the worship of God, by loving all human beings as the temples of God.” — Swami Vivekananda
The Threefold Path to Build Discipline
“Tapasyā is threefold – of the body, of speech, and of mind. The first is service of others; the second, truthfulness; and third, control and concentration.” — Swami Vivekananda
Life Rewards The Focused Thought
“The old idea was: ‘Develop one idea at the expense of all the rest.’ The modern way is ‘harmonious development.’ A third way is to ‘develop the mind and control it’, then put it where you will; the result will come quickly. This is developing yourself in the truest way. Learn concentration and use it in any direction.” — Swami Vivekananda
Don’t Think of Yourself Like This
“Put yourself to work and you will find tremendous power coming to you that you will find it hard to bear. Even the least work done for others awakens the power within; even thinking the least good of others gradually instils into the heart the strength of a lion.” — Swami Vivekananda