Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda is one of the greatest figures in the world of religious and philosophical thought. He is one of the first to bring the eternal ideas and concepts of the East (namely the Vedanta and the advaitic interpretation of it) over to the West. In 1893 he made his way to The Parliament of Religions in Chicago, and there made a great impression, expounding upon the doctrines of universality and acceptance that run throughout the Hindu religion. He subsequently toured for various years, lecturing, writing, and giving many discourses - academic and otherwise - along the way. The majority (if not entirety) of this work of his (along with various articles published about him in the newspapers of the day) were published in eight volumes and distributed for the education and benefit of a wider audience.

I spent the better part of a year reading The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda - as the collection is entitled - and, along the way, took note of various things mentioned that simply struck a chord with me. After the completion of the "Works", I typed out the quotes for my own perusal and edification. While doing this, however, I realized that I may not be the only individual that would potentially benefit from going through a sampling of some of Swami Vivekananda's thoughts and sayings. That is why I am posting the entirety of the quotes on this site.

I do not pretend in the least that this is any sort of exhaustive study of Vivekananda's views. Far from it indeed. Again, it is simply some of the things that I - with admited bias - happened to make note of. The reader will find various repetitions, as some of the quotes are from lectures that, while at times given months (if not years) apart, discussed certain central themes the more important points of which beared reiterating. As well, and barring where absolutely necessary, the text has been degendered.

I certainly hope that the readers here find as much benefit from these words and teachings as I myself have already, and will most certainly continue to have in the future.