80 Swami Vivekananda Quotes On Success, Education, & Youth

Swami Vivekananda was one of the greatest spiritual leaders from India who is best known for his wisdom, charisma, and vision. His life and teachings have inspired millions of people through generations. Here is a list of the best inspirational Swami Vivekananda quotes that will lift your spirits and remind you of your greatest potential.

Swami Vivekananda, born as Narendra Nath Datta in Kolkata into an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, and religious teacher.

Vivekananda was inclined towards religion and spirituality from a very young age. He became a chief disciple of a well-known guru, Swami Ramkrishna Paramhansa. He gave up on worthy pleasures and became a saint to serve humanity.

Vivekananda is considered the patriotic saint of India and is credited with raising interfaith awareness and bringing the glory of Hinduism to the global platform.

Along with being proficient in music, arts, and literature, he played a key role in introducing Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world.

His famous speech in 1893, at the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago had such a profound impact on people that an American newspaper described him as “an orator by divine right and undoubtedly the greatest figure at the Parliament.”

He also established the Ramakrishna Mission and Ramakrishna Math to help needy people and enlighten them with religious consciousness.

Vivekananda was one of the most influential philosophers and social reformers. He was a major force in the Hindu reform movements and played a vital role in reviving Hinduism.

His contribution to establishing the idea of nationalism in India was extraordinary.

His speeches, books, letters, poems, and thoughts have inspired and continue to inspire a lot of young people around the globe.

We’ve curated the best Swami Vivekananda quotes that will inspire you to overcome life’s challenges and will guide you to live a purposeful life.

Top 10 Swami Vivekananda Quotes

1. “They alone live, who live for others.” — Swami Vivekananda         

   
2. “Arise! Awake! and stop not until the goal is reached.” — Swami Vivekananda         

   

3. “Believe in yourself and the world will be at your feet.” — Swami Vivekananda       

   

4. “There is no other spiritual teacher than your own soul.” — Swami Vivekananda 

   

5. “In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart.” — Swami Vivekananda   

   

6. “Take risks in your life. If you win, you can lead. If you lose, you can guide.” — Swami Vivekananda               

   

7. “Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true.” — Swami Vivekananda           

   

8. “Do one thing at a Time, and while doing it put your whole soul into it to the exclusion of all else.” — Swami Vivekananda           

   

9. “The greatest sin is to think yourself weak.”— Swami Vivekananda       

   

10. “You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.” — Swami Vivekananda             

    

Famous Quotes By Swami Vivekananda

2. “Neither seek nor avoid, take what comes.” — Swami Vivekananda
3. “External nature is only internal nature writ large.” — Swami Vivekananda
4. “The very reason for nature’s existence is for the education of the soul.” — Vivekananda
5. “That man has reached immortality who is disturbed by nothing material.” — Vivekananda
6. “Everything is easy when you are busy. But nothing is easy when you are lazy.” — Vivekananda
7. “The highest manifestation of strength is to keep ourselves calm and on our own feet.” — Swami Vivekananda
8. “The earth is enjoyed by heroes – this is the unfailing truth. Be a hero. Always say, I have no fear.” — Swami Vivekananda
9. “In a day, when you don’t come across any problems – you can be sure that you are travelling in a wrong path.” — Swami Vivekananda
10. “All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.” — Swami Vivekananda
11. “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

Deep Vivekananda Quotes

1. “We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.” — Swami Vivekananda
2. “A fool may buy all the books in the world, and they will be in his library; but he will be able to read only those that he deserves to.” — Swami Vivekananda
3. “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.” — Swami Vivekananda
4. “Each work has to pass through these stages – ridicule, opposition, and then acceptance. Those who think ahead of their time are sure to be misunderstood.” — Swami Vivekananda
5. “The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.” — Swami Vivekananda
6. “Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth.” — Swami Vivekananda
7. “We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in the future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act.” — Swami Vivekanand

Quotes From Swami Vivekananda

1. “You must worship the self in Krishna, not Krishna as Krishna.” — Swami Vivekananda
2. “When I asked god for peace, he showed me how to help others.” — Swami Vivekananda
3. “Desire, ignorance, and inequality – this is the trinity of bondage.” — Swami Vivekananda
4. “Blessed are they whose bodies get destroyed in the service of others.” — Swami Vivekananda
5. “Comfort is no test of truth. Truth is often far from being comfortable.” — Swami Vivekananda
6. “The fire that warms us can also consume us; it is not the fault of the fire.” — Swami Vivekananda
7. “The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.” — Swami Vivekananda
8. “The cheerful mind perseveres and the strong mind hews its way through a thousand difficulties.” — Swami Vivekananda
9. “Where can we go to find God if we cannot see him in our own hearts and in every living being.” — Swami Vivekananda
10. “When an idea exclusively occupies the mind, it is transformed into an actual physical or mental state.” — Swami Vivekananda
11. “Bless people when they revile you. Think how much good they are doing by helping to stamp out the false ego.” — Swami Vivekananda
12. “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
13. “Books are infinite in number and time is short. The secret of knowledge is to take what is essential. Take that and try to live up to it.” — Swami Vivekananda
14. “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
15. “Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so. If there is sin, this is the only sin; to say that you are weak, or others are weak.” — Swami Vivekananda

Vivekananda Quotes

1. “In one word, this ideal is that you are divine.” — Swami Vivekananda
2. “If you think yourselves strong, strong you will be.” — Swami Vivekananda
3. “Come out of your narrow holes and have a look abroad.” — Swami Vivekananda
4. “Have faith in yourselves, great convictions are the mothers of great deeds.” — Swami Vivekananda
5. “YOU know, I may have to be born again, you see, I have fallen in love with mankind.” — Swami Vivekananda
6. “The greatest truths are the simplest things in the world, simple as your own existence.” — Swami Vivekananda
7. “Anything that makes weak – physically, intellectually and spiritually, reject it as poison.” — Swami Vivekananda
8. “Relationships are more important in life. But it is important for those relationships to have life in them.” — Vivekananda
9. “Have faith in yourself – all power is in you. Even the poison of a snake is powerless, if you can firmly deny it.” — Vivekananda
10. “Throw away all weakness. Tell your body that it is strong. Tell your mind that it is strong and have unbound faith and hope in yourself.” — Vivekananda
11. “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.” — Swami Vivekananda
12. “If money help a man to do good to others, it is of some value; but if not, it is simply a mass of evil, and the sooner it is got rid of, the better.” — Swami Vivekananda
13. “If faith in ourselves had been more extensively taught and practiced, I am sure a very large portion of the evils and miseries that we have would have vanished.” — Swami Vivekananda

Best Quotes Of Swami Vivekananda

1. “Strength is life; weakness is death.” — Swami Vivekananda         

   

2. “Conquer yourself and the whole universe is yours.” — Swami Vivekananda       

   

3. “Meditation can turn fools into sages but unfortunately fools never meditate.” — Swami Vivekananda             

   

4. “Both attachment and detachment perfectly developed make a man great and happy.” — Swami Vivekananda       

   

5. “You should work like a master and not as a slave; work incessantly, but do not do a slave’s work.” — Swami Vivekananda
6. “Dare to be free, dare to go as far as your thought leads, and dare to carry that out in your life.” — Swami Vivekananda                     

   

7. “All power is within you; you can do anything and everything.” — Swami Vivekananda   

   

8. “If I love myself despite my infinite faults, how can I hate anyone at the glimpse of a few faults.” — Swami Vivekananda
9. “Strength is Life, Weakness is Death. Expansion is Life, Contraction is Death. Love is Life, Hatred is Death.” — Swami Vivekananda               

   

10. “The only religion that ought to be taught is the religion of fearlessness.” — Vivekananda         

    

11. “3 Golden rules!! Who is helping you, don’t forget them. Who is loving you, don’t hate them. Who is trusting you, don’t cheat them.” — Swami Vivekananda             

    

12. “Experience is the only teacher we have. we may talk and reason all our lives, but we shall not understand a word of truth.” — Vivekananda
13. “Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders, and know that you are the creator of your own destiny.” — Vivekananda
14. “All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction. Love is therefore the only law of life. He who loves lives, he who is selfish is dying. Therefore love for love’s sake, because it is the only law of life, just as you breathe to live.” — Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda Quotes On Youth Day

1. “Education is the manifestation of perfection already existing in man.” — Swami Vivekananda
2. “The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves.” — Swami Vivekananda
3. “Be the servant while leading. Be unselfish. Have infinite patience, and success is yours.” — Swami Vivekananda
4. “Talk to yourself once in a day, otherwise you may miss meeting an intelligent person in this world.” — Swami Vivekananda
5. “The whole life is a succession of dreams. My ambition is to be a conscious dreamer, that is all.” — Swami Vivekananda
6. “The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them.” — Swami Vivekananda
7. “Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvelous work. It is fearlessness that brings heaven even in a moment.” — Swami Vivekananda
8. “There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The more concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point.” — Swami Vivekananda
9. “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.” — Swami Vivekananda
10. “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; dream of it; think of it; live on that idea. Let the brain, the body, 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, and this is the way great spiritual giants are produced.” — Swami Vivekananda

Additional Information About Swami Vivekananda’s Life

• Swami Vivekananda was born on 12th January 1863.
• 12th January, His birthday is celebrated as National Youth Day in India.
• “Go back to Gita” is a famous slogan raised by Vivekananda.
• He founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897.
• The headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission is located at Belur Math in West Bengal.
• He had founded the Shanti Ashram in California and many Vedanta Societies in San Francisco.
• He has also contributed to the literary field with his works Raja Yoga, My Master, Bhakti Yoga, etc.
• Vivekananda died on 4th July 1902 near Belur Math, West Bengal.

What are your favorite Swami Vivekananda quotes and sayings listed above? If there is a quote that we’ve missed then let us know in the comments section what your thoughts are.

You can translate these English Quotes into Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Telegu and other languages of your choice. The PDF version of Vivekananda’s quotes is also available for readers who love motivation.

So, feel free to share with friends and family on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and more to spread positive vibes.