One of the greatest spiritual leaders of India, Swami Vivekananda is credited with bringing the glory of the Hindu philosophy to the global platform.

He was born on January 12, 1863,in Kolkata into an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family. His birth name was Narendra Nath Datta he became a desciple of the famed saint of Dakshineshwar, Swami Ramkrishna Paramhansa. He renounced worldly pleasures and became a sanyasi, not to roam aimlessly, but for the service of humanity. Swami Vivekanada was a key figure for introducing the Indian Vendanta and philosophies of Yoga to the world which put India on the world’s spiritual map. It was his famous speech at the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago, 1893 that forever changed the way the world looked at India.

Founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission, Vivekananda not only revived our ancient heritage, but also, enlightened and awakened people’s religious consciousness and worked for uplifting the downtrodden. He is also credited for raising inter-faith awareness, reviving Hinduism and contributing to the idea of nationalism in India in the 19th century.

Here are some of the motivational quotes of Swami Vivekananad to motivate and guide you in life .

1“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.”

2“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.”

3“In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart. ”

4“In a day, when you don’t come across any problems – you can be sure that you are travelling in a wrong path”

5“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.”

6“All power is within you; you can do anything and everything. Believe in that, do not believe that you are weak; do not believe that you are half-crazy lunatics, as most of us do nowadays. You can do any thing and everything, without even the guidance of any one. Stand up and express the divinity within you.”

7“The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves.”

8“The greatest sin is to think yourself weak”

9“Anything that makes weak – physically, intellectually and spiritually, reject it as poison.

10“Dare to be free, dare to go as far as your thought leads, and dare to carry that out in your life. ”

 11“We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.

12 “They alone live, who live for others.”

 13“Arise, awake, stop not till the goal is reached.”

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.” 

15“You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.”

Hope these quotes have removed any doubt you had regarding yourself and taken you towards your goals feeling extremely motivated.

credit:goodreaders.com