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I am persuaded that a leader is not made in one life. He has to be born for it. For the difficulty is not in organisation and making plans the test, the real test, of the leader, lies in holding widely different people together along the line of their common sympathies. And this can only be done unconsciously, never by trying.

Swami Vivekananda

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Swami Vivekananda
Age: 39 †
Born: 1863
Born: January 12
Died: 1902
Died: July 4
Clergyman
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Inglewood
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Narendra Nath Datta
Vivekananda
Swamy Vivekananda
Narendranath Datta
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Never
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More quotes by Swami Vivekananda

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If there's a God, we must see him and if there's a soul we must perceive it. Otherwise, it's better not to believe.
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When we suffer, it is because of our own acts God is not to be blamed for it.
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The finer the instrument, the greater the power. The mind is much finer and more powerful than the body.
Swami Vivekananda
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My hope of the future lies in the youths of character, intelligent, renouncing all for the service of others, and obedient - good to themselves and the country at large
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There is, however, only one idea of duty which has been universally accepted by all mankind, of all ages and sects and countries, and that has been summed up in a Sanskrit aphorism thus: Do not injure any being not injuring any being is virtue, injuring any being is sin.
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The moment you think creed and form and ceremony the be-all and end-all, then you are in bondage. Take part in them to help others, but take care they do not become a bondage.
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Where you find the attraction for lust and wealth considerably diminished, to whatever creed he may belong, know that his inner spirit is awakening.
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It is only work that is done as freewill offering to humanity and to nature that does not bring with it any binding attachment.
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The test of progress is the amount of renunciation that one has attained.
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Man is not mind, he is soul.
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The one theme of the Vedanta philosophy is the search after unity. The Hindu mind does not care for the particular it is always after the general, nay, the universal. what is it that by knowing which everything else is to be known. That is the one search.
Swami Vivekananda
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Every act of charity, every thought of sympathy, every action of help, every good deed, is taking so much of self-importance away from our little selves and making us think of ourselves as the lowest and the least, and, therefore, it is all good. Here we find that Jnâna, Bhakti, and Karma - all come to one point.
Swami Vivekananda
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Every time you think of doing some charity, you think there is some beggar to take your charity. If you say, O Lord, let the world be full of charitable people! - you mean, let the world be full of beggars also. Let the world be full of good works - let the world be full of misery. This is out-and-out slavishness!
Swami Vivekananda
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Christ said, Resist not evil, and we do not understand it until we discover that it is not only moral but actually the best policy, for anger is loss of energy to the man who displays it. You should not allow your minds to come into those brain-combinations of anger and hatred.
Swami Vivekananda
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Jnana, bhakti, yoga and karma - these are the four paths which lead to spiritual freedom. One must follow the path for which one is best suited. But in this age, special stress should be laid on karma yoga.
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Law is death. The more of the law in a country, the worse for the country.
Swami Vivekananda
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If you dare declare that you are free, free you are this moment. If you say you are bound, bound you will remain.
Swami Vivekananda
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The moment you fear, you are nobody.
Swami Vivekananda
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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
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I am in every religion as the thread through a string of pearls. Wherever thou seest extraordinary holiness and extraordinary power raising and purifying humanity, know thou that I am there.
Swami Vivekananda