Swami Vivekananda Quotes About Books

• Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy - by one, or more, or all of these - and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Philosophy, Book, Psychics

  Swami Vivekananda (2012). “Raja Yoga (Annotated Edition)”, p.120, Jazzybee Verlag

• Was there ever a more horrible blasphemy than the statement that all the knowledge of God is confined to this or that book? How dare men call God infinite, and yet try to compress Him within the covers of a little book!

  Swami Vivekananda

  Inspiring, Book, Men

  Swami Vivekananda (2016). “Raja Yoga: Conquering the Internal Nature”, p.53, Advaita Ashrama

• One way for attaining Bhakti is by repeating the name of God a number of times. Mantras have effect: the mere repetition of words.... To obtain Bhakti, seek the company of holy men who have Bhakti, and read books like the Gita and the Imitation of Christ; always think of the attributes of God.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Book, Men, Thinking

  Swami Vivekananda (2015). “The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda”, p.2616, Manonmani Publishers

• 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

  Book, Numbers, Secret

  Swami Vivekananda (2015). “Raja Yoga: Art of Living”, p.142, editionNEXT.com

• Do not believe a thing because you have read about it in a book. Do not believe a thing because another man has said it was true. Do not believe in words because they are hallowed by tradition. Find out the truth for yourself. Reason it out. That is realization.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Believe, Book, Men

  Swami Vivekananda (1972). “Awakened India”

• Are you unselfish? That is the question. If you are, you will be perfect without reading a single religious book, without going into a single church or temple.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Religious, Book, Reading

  Swami Vivekananda (2015). “Karma Yoga: The Yoga of Action”, p.52, Advaita Ashrama

• True religion is not talk, or doctrines, or theories, nor is it sectarianism. It is the relation between soul and God. Religion does not consist in erecting temples, or building churches, or attending public worship. It is not to be found in books, or in words, or in lectures, or in organizations. Religion consists in realization. We must realize God, feel God, see God, talk to God. That is religion.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Book, Organization, Soul

• Books are good but they are only maps. Reading a book by direction of a man I read that so many inches of rain fell during the year. Then he told me to take the book and squeeze it between my hands. I did so and not a drop of water came from it. It was the idea only that the book conveyed. So we can get good from books, from the temple, from the church, from anything, so long as it leads us onward and upward.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Rain, Book, Reading

  Swami Vivekananda (2015). “The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda”, p.920, Manonmani Publishers

• “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” This sentence alone would save mankind, if all books and prophets were lost. This purity of heart will bring the vision of God. It is the theme of the whole music of this universe. In purity is no bondage. Remove the veils of ignorance by purity; then we manifest ourselves as we really are and know that we were never in bondage. The seeing of 'many' is the great sin of all the world. See all as Self and love all; let all idea of separateness go.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Jesus, Book, Blessed

  "Inspired Talks by Swami Vivekananda".

• He whose book of the heart has been opened needs no other books.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Book, Heart, Needs

  Swami Vivekananda (2015). “The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda”, p.2376, Manonmani Publishers

• The Imitation of Christ is a cherished treasure of the Christian world. This great book was written by a Roman Catholic monk. "Written", perhaps, is not the proper word. It would be more appropriate to say that each letter of the book is marked deep with the heart's blood of the great soul who had renounced all for his love of Christ.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Christian, Jesus, Book

  Swami Vivekananda (1955). “Complete Works”

• Here lies the secret. Says Patanjali, the father of Yoga, "When a man rejects all the superhuman powers, then he attains to the cloud of virtue." He sees God. He becomes God and helps others to become the same. This is all I have to preach. Doctrines have been expounded enough. There are books by the million. Oh, for an ounce of practice!

  Swami Vivekananda

  Lying, Father, Yoga

  Swami Vivekananda (2015). “The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda”, p.3828, Manonmani Publishers

• I hear, Western people say, "The world was created for us." If tigers could write books, they would say, man was created for them and that man is a most sinful animal, because he does not allow him (the tiger) to catch him easily. The worm that crawls under your feet today is a God to be.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Book, Writing, Animal

  Swami Vivekananda (1964). “Complete Works”

• Man is to become divine by realizing the divine. Idols or temples, or churches or books, are only the supports, the help of his spiritual childhood.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Inspiring, Spiritual, Book

  Swami Vivekananda (2015). “Swami Vivekanand's Chicago Speech: Swami Vivekananda’s Speech At World Parliament Of Religion, Chicago”, p.15, editionNEXT.com

• Books never make religions, but religions make books. We must not forget that. No book ever created God, but God inspired all the great books. And no book ever created a soul.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Book, Soul, Inspired

  Swami Vivekananda (2017). “Vedanta: Voice of Freedom”, p.114, Vedanta Society of St. Louis

• We read many books, but that does not bring us knowledge. We may read all the Bibles in the world, but that will not give us religion. Theoretical religion is easy enough to get, any one may get that. What we want is practical religion.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Book, Giving, Doe

  Swami Vivekananda (2015). “The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda”, p.2593, Manonmani Publishers

• Knowledge of the Absolute depends upon no book, nor upon anything; it is absolute in itself. No amount of study will give this knowledge; is not theory, it is realization. Cleanse the dust from the mirror, purify your own mind, and in a flash you know that you are Brahman.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Book, Mirrors, Dust

  Swami Vivekananda (2015). “The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda”, p.3132, Manonmani Publishers

• Books suggest the inner light and the method of bringing that out, but we can only understand them when we have earned the knowledge ourselves. When the inner light has flashed for you, let the books go, and look only within. You have in you all and a thousand times more than is in all the books. Never lose faith in yourself, you can do anything in this universe. Never weaken, all power is yours.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Book, Light, Looks

  Swami Vivekananda “My Idea of Education”, Advaita Ashrama (A publication branch of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math)

• You all know that certain things are necessary to make a religion. First of all, there is the book. The power of the book is simply marvellous! Whatever it be, the book is the centre round which human allegiance gathers. Not one religion is living today but has a book. With all its rationalism and tall talk, humanity still clings to the books. In your country every attempt to start a religion without a book has failed. In India sects rise with great success, but within a few years they die down, because there is no book behind them. So in every other country.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Country, Book, Years

• Even books are nurses, medicines are nurses. But we must work to bring about the time when man shall recognise his mastery over his own body. Herbs and medicines have power over us as long as we allow them; when we become strong, these external methods are no more necessary.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Strong, Book, Men

  Swami Vivekananda (1926). “The Complete Works of the Swami Vivekananda, Comprising All His Lectures, Addresses and Discourses Delivered in Europe, America and India: All His Writings in Prose and Poetry, Together with Translations of Those Written in Bengali and Sanskrit; Reports of His Interviews and His Replies to the Various Addresses of Welcome; His Sayings and Epistles,--private and Public--original and Translated; with an Index; Carefully Revised & Edited”

• You nourish your minds by reading books. There is no good in doing that unless you hold it also as a sacrifice to the whole world. For the whole world is one; you are rated a very insignificant part of it, and therefore it is right for you that you should serve your millions of brothers rather than aggrandise this little self

  Swami Vivekananda

  Brother, Book, Reading

  Swami Vivekananda (2015). “The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda”, p.1341, Manonmani Publishers

• Get away from all books and forms and let your soul see its Self. "We are deluded and maddened by books", Shri Krishna declares.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Book, Self, Soul

• True religion comes not front the teaching of men or the reading of books; it is the awakening of the spirit within us, consequent upon pure and heroic action.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Book, Teaching, Reading

  Swami Vivekananda (2015). “The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda”, p.1596, Manonmani Publishers

• I do not call it religion so long as it is confined to books and dogmas.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Book, Long, Dogma

  Swami Vivekananda, Swami Adiswarananda (2006). “Vivekananda, World Teacher: His Teachings on the Spiritual Unity of Humankind”, p.226, SkyLight Paths Publishing

• Books are only made so that they may point the way to a higher life; but no good results unless the path is trodden with unflinching steps!

  Swami Vivekananda

  Book, May, Way

  Swami Vivekananda (2015). “The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda”, p.1597, Manonmani Publishers

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