Our duty is to encourage everyone in his struggle to live upto his own highest ideal, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the truth.
Plunge into the fire and bring the people towards the Lord.
Put your whole heart and soul in the work to which I have consecrated myself.
Meddle not with so-called social reform; for there cannot be any reform without spiritual reform first.
Do not disturb, but help everyone to get higher and higher; include all humanity.
Throw the ideas broadcast, and let the result take care of itself.
Life is short! Give it up to a great cause.
The children of the Lord are dying of starvation……………Worship with water and tulasi leaves alone, and let the allowance for His Bhoga (food offerings) be spent in offering food to the living God who dwells in the persons of poor------------------then will His grace descend on everything.
He who gives man spiritual knowledge is the greatest benefactor of mankind.
To advance oneself towards freedom physical, mental and spiritual, and help others to do so is the supreme prize of man.
Serve the living God! God comes to you in the blind, in the halt, in the poor, in the weak, in the diabolical.
Great men are those who builds highways for others with their heart’s blood.
Throw away everything, and go and help others.
Bold words and bolder deeds are what we want. Awake, awake, great ones! The world is burning with misery. Can you sleep? Let us call and call till the sleeping gods awake, till the god within answers to the call. What more is in life? What greater work? The details come to me as I go. I never make plans. Plans grow and work themselves. I only say, awake, awake!
Give this life for the service of others.
Even the least work done for others awakens the power within.
Throw away everything, even your own salvation, and go and help others.
Doing the duty of the time is the best way.
My duty is to find the ideal, the goal………
Be not in despair; the way is very difficult, like walking on the edge of a razor; yet despair not, arise, awake, and find the ideal, the goal.
No privilege for anyone, equal chances for all; let everyone be taught that the divine is within, and every one will work out his own salvation.
Those who are pure always in body, mind, and speech, who have strong devotion, who discriminate between the real and the unreal, who persevere in meditation and contemplation---------------------upon them alone the grace of the Lord descends.
Spread ideas--------------go from village to village, from door to door---------------then only there will be real work.
Work of your own free will, not from duty.
Trust not to the so-called rich, they are more dead than alive. The hope lies in you----------------------in the meek, the lowly, but the faithful. Have faith in the Lord; no policy, it is nothing. Feel for the miserable and look up for help------------------------it shall come.........................I may perish of cold and hunger in this land but I bequeath to you, young men, this sympathy, this struggle for the poor, the ignorant, the oppressed.............................Vow, then, to devote your whole lives to the cause of the redemption of these three hundred millions, going down and down everyday.
You must be pure and help anyone who comes to you, as much as lies in your power.
Plunge in! Do the duty at hand.
Negative thought weakens. Do you not find that where parents are constantly taxing their sons to read and write, telling them they will never learn anything, and calling them fools and so forth, the latter do actually turn out to be so in many cases?
If you speak kind words to boys and encourage them, they are bound to improve in time. What holds good of children, also holds good of children in the region of higher thoughts.
If you can give them positive ideas, people will grow up to be men and learn to stand on their own legs. In language and literature, in poetry and arts--------------in everything we must point out not the mistakes that people are making in their thoughts and actions, but the way in which they will gradually be able to do these things better. Pointing out mistakes wounds a man’s feelings.
All healthy social changes are the manifestations of the spiritual forces working within, and if these are strong and well adjusted, society will arrange itself accordingly. Each individual has to work out his own salvation; there is no other way, and so also with nations…………….It is very easy to point out the defects of institutions, all being more or less important, but he is the real benefactor of humanity who helps the individual to overcome his imperfections under whatever institutions he may live. The individuals being raised, the nation and its institution are bound to rise.
What is the purpose of life?
Work, work, for to work only for the good of others is life.
If you want any good to come, just throw your ceremonials overboard and worship the Living God, the Man-God--------------every being that wears a human form--------------------God in His universal as well as individual aspect.
Work for the idea, not the person.
Set yourselves wholly to the service of others.
With no strength in the body; no enthusiasm at heart, and no originality in the brain, what will they do---------------------these lumps of dead matter! By stimulating them, I want to bring life into them-------------------------to this, I have dedicated my life. I will rouse them through the infallible power of Vedic mantras. I am born to proclaim to them that fearless message---------------------“Arise, Awake!” Be you my helpers in this work.
The ideals of us are RENUNCIATION and SERVICE…………...…….Intensify yourself in these channels, and the rest will take care of itself.
What will you do with wealth and fame that are so transitory? Do you know what I think? -------------------I don’t care for Mukti and all that. My mission is to arouse within you all such ideas; I am ready to undergo a hundred thousand rebirths to train up a single man.
The highest use of life is to hold it at the service of all beings.
You must give your body, mind, and speech to “the welfare of the world.”
Your work is to serve the poor and miserable, without distinction of caste or colour.
Man is the greatest material and man-making is the greatest work to do.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and everything shall be added unto you." This is the one great duty, this is renunciation. Live for an ideal, and leave no place in the mind for anything else. Let us put forth all our energies to acquire that which never fails--our spiritual perfection. If we have true yearning for realization, we must struggle, and through struggle growth will come. We shall make mistakes, but they may be angels unawares.
Let us be at peace, perfect peace, with ourselves, and give up our whole body and mind and everything as an eternal sacrifice unto the Lord.
Take up a great ideal and give up your whole life to it.
Whatever we shall be in the future will be the result of what we think and do now.
Let us put ideas into their heads, and they will do the rest.
Let these people be your God--------------think of them, work for them, pray for them incessantly---------------the Lord will show you the way.
Let us all help the onward march of accumulated goodness, for goodness’ sake.
IT IS PREFERABLE TO LIVE ON THE GRASS FOR THE SAKE OF DOING GOOD TO OTHERS.
We are the servants of that God who by the ignorant is called MAN. He who pours water at the root, does he not water the whole tree?
Lay down your comforts, your pleasures, your names, fame or position, nay your lives, and make a bridge of human chains over which millions will cross this ocean of life.
Hold your life a sacrifice for the welfare of others; and if you choose the life of renunciation, do not even look at beauty and money and power.
Mystery-mongering and superstition are always signs of weakness.
The first duty is to educate the people.
You must liberate the whole universe before you leave this body.
It is a great thing to take up a grand ideal in life and then give up one’s life to it. For what otherwise is the value of life, this vegetating, little, low life of man?
The one vital duty incumbent on you, if you really love your religion, if you really love your country, is that you must struggle hard to be up and doing, with this one great idea of bringing out the treasures from your closed books and delivering them over to their rightful heirs.
Stretch forth a helping hand, and open the gates of knowledge to one and all, and give the downtrodden masses once more their just and legitimate rights and privileges.
The principle is eternal and must be there. Work it out afresh and make a re-formed application.
The dray, abstract Advaita must become living--------poetic---------in everyday life; out of hopelessly intricate mythology must come concrete moral forms; and out of bewildering Yogi-ism must come the most scientific and practical psychology------------------and all this must be put in a form so that a child may grasp it.
OUR MOTTO
Sympathy for the poor, the downtrodden, even unto death----------------this is our motto.
We have to work now so that everyone will become a prophet.
No amount of ignorance or wrong ideas can put a barrier between the soul and God. Even if there be no God, still hold fast to love. It is better to die seeking a God than as a dog seeking only carrion. Choose the highest ideal and give your life up to that. Death being so certain, it is the highest thing to give up life for a great purpose.
Love will painlessly attain to philosophy; then after knowledge comes Parabhakti (supreme devotion).
Knowledge is critical and makes a great fuss over everything; but Love says ‘God will show His real nature to me’ and accepts all.
I do not care for liberation or for devotion; I would rather go to a hundred thousand hells “doing good to others (silently) like the spring”---------------------this is my religion.
Arise, awake, with your hands stretched out to protect the spirituality of the world.
Men, men, these are wanted; everything else will be ready, but strong, vigorous, believing young men, sincere to the backbone, are wanted. A hundred such and the world becomes revolutionised.
IT IS FEAR ALONE THAT IS DEATH. You have to go beyond all fear. So from this day, be fearless. Off at once, to lay down your life for your own liberation and for the good of others. What good is it carrying along a load of bones and flesh!
THE OBJECT OF LIFE IS TO LEARN THE LAWS OF SPIRITUAL PROGRESS.
Pleasure is not the goal of man, but knowledge.
Religion, the common inheritance the universal birthright of the race, must be brought free to the door of everybody. Religion in India must be made as free and as easy of access as is God’s air. And this is the kind of work we have to bring about in India, but not by getting up little sects and fighting on points of difference.
My faith is in the younger generation, the modern generation, out of them will come my workers. They will work out the whole problem, like lions.
Bring all light into the world; light, bring light! Let light come unto everyone; the task will not be finished till everyone has reached the Lord. Bring light to the poor, and bring more light to the rich, for they require it more than poor; bring light to the ignorant and more light to the educated for the vanities of the education of our time are tremendous! Thus bring light to all and leave the rest unto the Lord.
Have a tremendous faith in yourselves………………Have that faith, each one of you, in yourself, that eternal power is lodged in every soul, and you will revive the whole of India………………We must enter into the life of every race in India and abroad………………..This is the time to decide your future------------------while you possess the energy of youth…………….Work; this is the time, for the freshest, the untouched, and unsmelled flowers alone are to be laid at the feet of the Lord.
I consider that the great national sin is the neglect of the masses, and that is one of the causes of our downfall. No amount of politics would be of any avail until the masses in India are once more well educated, well fed, and well cared for.
Remember that the nation lives in the cottage. But, alas! nobody ever did anything for them. ………………...Can you raise them? Can you give them back their lost individuality without making them lose their innate spiritual nature? ………………This is to be done and we will do it.
Do it only as a worship……..
Look upon every man, woman, and everyone as God. You can not help anyone, you can only serve: serve the children of the Lord, serve the Lord Himself, if you have the privilege. If the Lord grants that you can help any one of His children, blessed you are; do not think too much of yourselves. Blessed you are that that privilege was given to you when others had it not. Do it only as a worship. The poor and the miserable are for our salvation, so that we may serve the Lord coming in the shape of the diseased, coming in the shape of the lunatic, the leper and the sinner.
No amount of ignorance or wrong ideas can put a barrier between the soul and God. Even if there be no God, still hold fast to love. It is better to die seeking a God than as a dog seeking only carrion. Choose the highest ideal and live your life up to that. Death being so certain, it is the highest thing to give up life for a great purpose.
Love will painlessly attain to philosophy; then after knowledge comes Parabhakti (supreme devotion).
Knowledge is critical and makes a great fuss over everything; but Love says ‘God will show His real nature to me’ and accepts all.
Life is nothing, death is nothing, hunger nothing, cold nothing. Glory unto the Lord---------------------march on, the Lord is our General. Do not look back to see who falls------------------------forward-------------------onward! Thus and thus we shall go on, brethren. One falls, and another takes up the work.
Renounce the lower so that you may get the higher. What is the foundation of society? Morality, ethics, laws. Renounce. Renounce all temptations to take your neighbor’s property, to put your hand on your neighbor, all the pleasure of tyrannising over the weak, all the pleasure of cheating others by telling lies. Is not morality the foundation of society? What is marriage but the renunciation of unchastity? The savage does not marry. Man marries because he renounces. So on and on. Renounce! Renounce! Sacrifice! Give up! Not for zero. Not for nothing. But to get the higher. But who can do this? You can not, until you have got the higher. You may talk. You may struggle. You may try to do many things. But renunciation comes by itself, when you have got the higher. Then lesser falls by itself.
Every work should be made thorough.
A hundred thousand men and women, fired with the zeal of holiness, fortified with eternal faith in the Lord, and nerved to lion's courage by their sympathy for the poor and the fallen and the downtrodden, will go over the length and breadth of the land, preaching the gospel of salvation, the gospel of help, the gospel of social raising-up — the gospel of equality.
Despair not; remember the Lord says in the Gita, "To work you have the right, but not to the result." Gird up your loins, my boy. I am called by the Lord for this. I have been dragged through a whole life full of crosses and tortures, I have seen the nearest and dearest die, almost of starvation; I have been ridiculed, distrusted, and have suffered for my sympathy for the very men who scoff and scorn. Well, my boy, this is the school of misery, which is also the school for great souls and prophets for the cultivation of sympathy, of patience, and, above all, of an indomitable iron will which quakes not even if the universe be pulverised at our feet. I pity them. It is not their fault. They are children, yea, veritable children, though they be great and high in society. Their eyes see nothing beyond their little horizon of a few yards — the routine-work, eating, drinking, earning, and begetting, following each other in mathematical precision. They know nothing beyond — happy little souls! Their sleep is never disturbed, their nice little brown studies of lives never rudely shocked by the wail of woe, of misery, of degradation, and poverty, that has filled the Indian atmosphere — the result of centuries of oppression. They little dream of the ages of tyranny, mental, moral, and physical, that has reduced the image of God to a mere beast of burden; the emblem of the Divine Mother, to a slave to bear children; and life itself, a curse. But there are others who see, feel, and shed tears of blood in their hearts, who think that there is a remedy for it, and who are ready to apply this remedy at any cost, even to the giving up of life. And "of such is the kingdom of Heaven". Is it not then natural, my friends, that they have no time to look down from their heights to the vagaries of these contemptible little insects, ready every moment to spit their little venoms?
It is not the work of a day, and the path is full of the most deadly thorns. But
Parthasarathi is ready to be our Sârathi — we know that. And in His name and with eternal faith in Him, set fire to the mountain of misery that has been heaped upon India for ages — and it shall be burned down. Come then, look it in the face, brethren, it is a grand task, and we are so low. But we are the sons of Light and children of God. Glory unto the Lord, we will succeed. Hundreds will fall in the struggle, hundreds will be ready to take it up. I may die here unsuccessful, another will take up the task. You know the disease, you know the remedy, only have faith. Do not look up to the so-called rich and great; do not care for the heartless intellectual writers, and their cold-blooded newspaper articles. Faith, sympathy — fiery faith and fiery sympathy! Life is nothing, death is nothing, hunger nothing, cold nothing. Glory unto the Lord — march on, the Lord is our General. Do not look back to see who falls — forward — onward! Thus and thus we shall go on, brethren. One falls, and another takes up the work.
Doing good to others constitutes a way, a means of revealing one’s own Self or Atman.
Our Only Work
Build up your character and manifest your Real Nature, the Effulgent, the Resplendent, the Ever Pure, and call it up in everyone that you see……………….Our only work is to arouse this knowledge in our fellow-beings. We see that they too are the same pure self. Only they do not know it; we must help them to rouse up their infinite nature.
Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest the divinity within.
Teach yourselves, teach everyone his/her real nature, call upon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will come, goodness will come, purity will come, and everything that is excellent will come, when this sleeping soul is roused to self-conscious activity.
We think that we have helped some man and expect him to thank us, and because he does not, unhappiness comes to us. Why should we expect anything in return for what we do? Be grateful to the man you help, think of him as God. Is it not a great privilege to be allowed to worship God by helping our fellow men?
Give them ideas--------------------that is the only help they require--------------------and then the rest must follow as the effect. Ours is to put the chemicals together, the crystallization comes in the law of nature. Our duty is to put ideas into their heads, they will do the rest.
Man-making is my mission of life. You try to translate this mission of mine into action and reality. Your duty should be service to the motherland. India should be freed politically first... for the next fifty years this alone shall be our keynote--this, our great Mother India. Let all other vain gods disappear for that time from our minds.
My hope is to imbue individuals with the teachings of Vedanta, and to encourage them to express these to others in their own way. Let them modify them as they will. I do not teach them as dogmas. Truth at length must inevitably prevail.
I propound a philosophy which can serve as a basis to every possible religious system in the world, and my attitude toward all of them is one of extreme sympathy--my teaching is antagonistic to none. I direct my attention to the individual, to make them strong, to teach them that they are divine, and I call upon them to make themselves conscious of the divinity within. That is really the ideal--conscious or unconscious--of every religion.
I teach only the Self (ātman), hidden in the heart of every individual and common to all. A handful of strong men and women knowing that Self and living in its light would revolutionize the world, even today.
Whoever gives up this life for His sake, finds the life immortal.
My idea is to bring to the poor of the meanest, the poorest, the noble ideas that the human race has developed both in and out of India, and let them think for themselves.
Those that want to help mankind must take their own pleasure and pain, name and fame, and all sorts of interests, and make a bundle of them and throw them into the sea, and then come to the Lord. This is what all the Master said and did.
All the wealth of the world cannot help one little Indian village, if the people are not taught to help themselves. Our work should be mainly educational, both moral and intellectual.
Perfect sincerity, holiness, gigantic intellect and an all-conquering will-------------------let only a handful of men work with these, and the whole world will be revolutionised.
I believe in God and I believe in man. I believe in helping the miserable, I believe in going even to hell to save others.
Then only will India awake, when hundreds of large-hearted men and women, giving up all desires of enjoying the luxuries of life, will long and exert themselves to their utmost for the well-being of the millions of their countrymen who are gradually sinking lower and lower in the vortex of destitution and ignorance.
The watchword of all well-being, of all moral good, is not ‘I’ but ‘Thou’. Who cares whether there is a heaven or a hell, who cares if there is a soul or not, who cares if there is an unchangeable or not? Here is the world, and it is full of misery. Go out into it as Buddha did, and struggle to lessen it or die in the attempt. Forget yourselves; this is the first lesson to be learnt, whether you are a theist or an atheist, whether you are an agnostic or a Vedantist or a Christian or a Mohammedan.
The only way of getting our divine nature manifested is by helping others to do the same. If there is inequality in nature, still there must be equal chance for all--------------or if greater for some and for some less-----------------the weaker should be given more chance than the strong. In other words, a Brahmana is not so much in need of education as a Chandala. If the son of a Brahmana needs one teacher, that of a Chandala needs ten. For greater help must be given to him whom nature has not endowed with an acute intellect from birth. It is a madman who carries coals to Newcastle. The poor, the downtrodden, the ignorant------------------let these be your God.
“Be and make”.
Arise, awake; wake up yourselves, and awaken others.
Do not go against anything-----------------------ours is to put the chemicals together, the Lord knows how and when the crystal will form.
DO NOT DISTURB, BUT HELP EVERYONE TO GET HIGHER AND HIGHER; INCLUDE ALL HUMANITY.
DO NOT RECOGNIZE WICKEDNESS IN OTHERS. WICKEDNESS IS IGNORANCE, WEAKNESS. WHAT IS THE GOOD OF TELLING PEOPLE THEY ARE WEAK? CRITICISM AND DESTRUCTION ARE OF NO AVAIL. WE MUST GIVE THEM SOMETHING HIGHER; TELL THEM OF THEIR OWN GLORIOUS NATURE, THEIR BIRTHRIGHT.
Help, if you can; but do not destroy.
Realise yourself. That is all there is to do.
INJURE NONE, DENY THE POSITION OF NONE; TAKE MAN WHERE HE STANDS AND, IF YOU CAN, LEND HIM A HELPING HAND AND PUT HIM ON A HIGHER PLATFORM, BUT DO NOT INJURE AND DO NOT DESTROY. ALL WILL COME TO TRUTH IN THE LONG RUN.
DO NOT TRY TO DISTURB THE FAITH OF ANY MAN. IF YOU CAN, GIVE HIM SOMETHING BETTER; IF YOU CAN, GET HOLD OF A MAN WHERE HE STANDS AND GIVE HIM A PUSH UPWARDS.
Work to lift people!
Make men first.
Bring truth out.
Giving alone is the one work in this Kali Yuga; of all the gifts, giving spiritual life is the highest gifts possible.
For the world can be good and pure, only if our lives are good and pure. It is an effect, and we are the means. Therefore, let us purify ourselves. Let us make ourselves perfect.
The great task is to revive the whole man, as it were, in order to make him the complete master of himself.
There has been enough of criticism, there has been enough of fault finding, the time has come for us to gather all our scattered forces, to concentrate them into one focus, and through that, to lead the nation on its onward march, which for centuries almost has been stopped.
Every improvement in India requires first of all an upheaval in religion. Before flooding India with socialistic or political ideas, first deluge the land with spiritual ideas.
Your country requires heroes; be heroes. Stand firm like a rock. Truth always triumphs. What India wants is a new electric fire to stir up a fresh vigour in the national veins. Be brave, be brave; man dies but once. My disciples must not be cowards. I hate cowardice. Keep the deepest mental poise; take not even the slightest notice of what puerile creatures may be saying against you. Indifference! Indifference! Indifference! Bear in mind the eyes are two in number, and so the ears, but the mouth is but one. All great undertakings are achieved through mighty obstacles. Put forth your manly effort. Wretched people under the grip of lust and gold deserve to be looked upon with indifference.
My ideal indeed can be put into a few words and that is: to preach unto mankind their divinity, and how to make it manifest in every movement of life.
My boys, when death is inevitable, is it not better to die like heroes than as stocks and stones? And what is the use of living a day or two more in this transitory world? It is better to wear out than to rust out---------------- specially for the sake of doing the least good to others.
Advance, forward, O ye brave souls, to set free those that are in fetters, to lessen the burden of woe of the miserable, and to illumine the abysmal darkness of ignorant hearts!
I call him a traitor who, having been educated and nursed in luxury by the heart's blood of the downtrodden millions of the toiling poor, never even takes a thought for them.
Don't worry in the least; heaven or hell, or Bhakti or Mukti------------------------don't care for anything, but go, my boy, and spread the name of the Lord from door to door.
The most important work
Doing is very great, but that comes from thinking……………….. Fill the brain therefore, with high thoughts, highest ideals; place them day and night before you; and out of that will come great work.
Stand up, men and women, in the spirit, dare to believe in the Truth, dare to practise the Truth! The world requires a few hundred bold men and women. Practise that boldness which dares know the Truth, which dares show the Truth in life, which does not quake before death, nay, welcomes death, makes a man know that he is the Spirit, that, in the whole universe, nothing can kill him. Then you will be free.
Let us be brave. KNOW THE TRUTH AND PRACTISE THE TRUTH. THE GOAL MAY BE DISTINCT, BUT AWAKE, ARISE, AND STOP NOT TILL THE GOAL IS REACHED.
“Each of you was born with a splendid heritage, which is the whole of the infinite past life of your glorious nation. Millions of your ancestors are watching, as it were, every action of yours, so be alert. And what is the mission with which every Hindu child is born? Have you not read the proud declaration of Manu regarding the Brahmana where he says, that the birth of the Brahmana is “for the protection of the treasury of religion”?.......................................................”
Therefore, whether you believe in spirituality or not, for the sake of the national life, you have to get a hold on spirituality and keep to it.
Become a dynamo of spirituality.
You must hold fast and be steady in the search for truth.
Political greatness or military power is never the mission of our race; it never was, and mark my words, it never will be. But there has been the other mission given to us, which is to conserve, to preserve, to accumulate................................all the spiritual energy of our race............................
The uplift of the women, the awakening of the masses must come first, and then only can any real good come about for the country, for India.
Where are the men who are ready to sacrifice everything, so that this message shall reach every corner of the world? Such heroic souls are wanted to help the spread of truth. Such heroic workers are wanted to go abroad and help to disseminate the great truths of the Vedanta. The world wants it; without it the world will be destroyed. Up, India, and conquer the world by your spirituality.
My children must be ready to jump into fire, if needed, to accomplish their work. Now work, work, work! We will stop, and compare notes later on. Have patience, perseverance, and purity.
India wants the sacrifice of at least a thousand of her young men------------------------men, mind, and not brutes.
First form character, first earn spirituality and results will come of themselves.
GREAT WORK------------Who does it
Was it ever in the history of the world that any great work was done by the rich? It is the heart and the brain that do it ever and ever and not the purse.
It is very difficult to superimpose divinity on man, but one is sure to succeed by repeated efforts. God is in every man, whether man knows it or not; your loving devotion is bound to call up the divinity in him.
The Upanishads, or the Vedanta, or the Aranyakas, or Rahasya, is the name of this portion of the Vedas. Here we find at once that religion has got rid of all external formalities. Here we find at once that spiritual things are told not in the language of matter, but in the language of the spirit; the superfine in the language of the superfine. No more any grossness attaches to it, no more is there any compromise with things of worldly concern. Bold, brave, beyond the conception of the present day, stand the giant minds of the sages of the Upanishads, declaring the noblest truths that have ever been preached to humanity, without any compromise, without any fear. This my countrymen, I want to lay before you. Even the Jnana-kanda of the Vedas is a vast ocean; many lives are necessary to understand even a little of it.
It is the patient up building of character, the intense struggle to realise the truth, which alone will tell in the future of humanity.
Let us be good for our own sake on our own responsibility.
Proclaim to the whole world with trumpet voice, “there is no sin in thee, there is no misery in thee; thou art the reservoir of omnipotent power. Arise, awake, and manifest the divinity within!
Be possessed of Shraddha (faith), or Virya (courage), attain to the knowledge of the Atman, and sacrifice your life for the good of others------------------------ this is my wish and blessing.
Men must have education. They speak of democracy, of the equality of all men, these days. But how will a man know he is equal with all?
Understand my words in their true spirit and apply yourselves to work in their light.
Education, education, education alone!
You should go to the sinking millions of India, and take them by the hand.
We have to build up this idea of the sacred duty of giving education to the people as one of the elements of our civilisation. Already we have the idea of giving alms. The one is only an extension of the other.____________Sister Nivedita
A great moral obligation rests on the sons of India to fully equip themselves for the work of enlightening the world on the problems of human existence.
The whole universe must become prophets; and until a man becomes a prophet, religion is a mockery and a byword unto him.
The highest kind of men silently collect true and noble ideas.
Arise and awake, let minor things, and quarrels over little details and fight over little doctrines be thrown aside, for here is the greatest of all work, here are the sinking millions.
A nation is advanced in proportion as education and intelligence spread among the masses.
The Highest way & the only way to………...
It is the life that is the highest and the only way to stir the hearts of people; it carries the personal magnetism.
Your duty is to go on working, and then everything will follow of itself.
Be ready to lend a hand to every worker of good.
Work, work the idea, the plan, my boys, my brave, noble, good souls------------------------to the wheel, to the wheel put your shoulders.
Education, education, education alone! Travelling through many cities of Europe and observing in them the comforts and education of even the poor people, there was brought to my mind the state of our own people, poor people, and I used to shed tears. What made the difference? EDUCATION was the answer, I got.
The Hindu man drinks religiously, sleeps religiously, walks religiously, marries religiously, robs religiously...........................Each nation has a mission for the world. So long as that mission is not hurt, that nation lives, despite every difficulty. But as soon as its mission is destroyed, the nation collapses.
My boy, if you have any respect for my words, the first thing I will advise you to do is to throw open all the doors and windows of your room. In your quarter there are lots of poor people sunk in degradation and misery. You will have to go to them and serve them with your zeal and enthusiasm. Arrange to distribute medicines to those who are sick, and nurse them with all care, supply food to him who is starving, teach with as much as lies in you the ignorant; and if you begin to serve your brethren in this wise, I tell you, my child, you will surely get peace and consolation.
Unity in variety is the plan of creation. However men and women may vary individually, there is unity in the background. The different individual characters and classes of men and women are natural variations in creation. Hence, we ought not to judge them by the same standard or put the same ideal before them. Such a course creates only an unnatural struggle, and the result is that man begins to hate himself and is hindered from becoming religious and good. Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest ideal, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the truth.
Man is first to be saved; he must be given food, education, and spirituality.
Hear me, my friend, I have discovered the secret through the grace of the Lord. Religion is not at fault. On the other hand your religion teaches you that every being is only your own self-multiplied. But it was the want of practical application, the want of sympathy------------the want of heart. This state of things must be removed, not by destroying religion but by following the great teachings of the Hindu faith.
We have indeed many things to learn from others; yea, that man who refuses to learn is already dead.
Men we want, and how can men be made unless Sraddha (faith) is there?
