The Secret Key to Unlocking Knowledge
“How has all the knowledge in the world been gained but by the concentration of the powers of the mind?… The more concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point.” — Swami Vivekananda When Bill Gates and Warren Buffett were asked to write the key ingredient to their respective successes, […]
A Half-Hearted Attempt Is Worse Than Not Trying at All
“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 The next time […]
The Only Person Worth Competing With
“If it rains when the star Svāti is in the ascendant, and a drop of rain falls into an oyster, that drop becomes a pearl. The oysters know this, so they come to the surface when the star shines, and wait to catch the precious raindrop. When a drop falls into them, quickly the oysters […]
Assuming Versus Discovering
“Believe nothing unless you find it out for yourself… Truth requires no prop to make it stand.” — Swami Vivekananda What is education? Is it about taking pride in how we judge people? Or about assuming that what we know is all there is, to the extent that we disguise staunch opinions and beliefs poorly […]
25 Inspiring Quotes by Swami Vivekananda on Education
If there’s one thing evident from the below quotes by Swami Vivekananda on education, it’s that he held it in high regard—almost as high as karma (action) itself. The firebrand monk was never one for certain entities making social reforms. He wanted people to get educated so they could reform their own lives and surroundings. […]
Control Your Body to Control Your Mind
“We have very little command of our minds. Therefore, to bring that command about, to get that control over body and mind, we must take certain physical helps. When the body is sufficiently controlled, we can attempt the manipulation of the mind. By manipulating the mind, we shall be able to bring it under our […]
When You Get a New Idea…
“We first observe facts, then generalize, and then draw conclusions and principles. The knowledge of the mind, of the internal nature of man, of thought, can never be had until we first have the power of observing the facts that are going on within.” — Swami Vivekananda Say you just felt excited by reading or […]
The Only Thing You Should Want in Life
“The goal is freedom. Everything that we perceive around is struggling towards freedom, from the atom to the man, from the insentient lifeless particle of matter to the highest existence on earth, the human soul.” — Swami Vivekananda The professional slogging away to make more money. The parents spoiling their child. The devotee constantly chanting […]
Helping Others Is a Privilege
“It is sheer nonsense on the part of any man to think he’s born to help the world; it is simply pride, it is selfishness insinuating itself in the form of virtue. When you have trained your mind and your nerves to realize this idea of the world’s non-dependence on you or on anybody, there […]
Don’t Get Distracted From Your Goal
“If you can invariably take the position of a giver, in which everything given by you is a free offering to the world, without any thought of return, then will your work bring you no attachment. Attachment comes only when we expect a return.” — Swami Vivekananda During the Mahabharata war, the Kauravas brutally killed […]