Swami Vivekananda was a wise and inspiring leader from India. He lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and played a crucial role in spreading the teachings of Vedanta and Yoga in the Western world. Born as Narendranath Datta, he became a disciple of the great spiritual leader Sri Ramakrishna and later founded the Ramakrishna Mission to promote spiritual and humanitarian work.

Swami Vivekananda was known for his powerful and motivating speeches that encouraged people to believe in themselves and their capabilities. He emphasized the importance of self-confidence, hard work, and dedication to achieving one’s goals.

His famous speech at the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 made him a global figure, where he addressed the audience as “Sisters and Brothers of America,” spreading the message of universal brotherhood and the acceptance of all religions.

Swami Vivekananda’s teachings continue to inspire millions worldwide. His emphasis on the unity of all religions, the divinity within each individual, and the need for service to humanity remain relevant today. Through his simple and profound messages, he left a lasting impact on spirituality, education, and social welfare, making him a revered figure in the history of India and the world.

I have compiled the best list of 101 quotes attributed to Swami Vivekananda for your self-improvement in life!

1. “Arise, awake, and stop not until the goal is achieved.”
2. “All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.”
3. “Take risks in your life, If you win, you can lead! If you lose, you can guide!”
4. “In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart.”
5. “The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves.”
6. “Do one thing at a time, and while doing it put your whole soul into it to the exclusion of all else.”
7. “Strength is life, weakness is death. Expansion is life, contraction is death. Love is life, hatred is death.”
8. “Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being?”
9. “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.”
10. “We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.”
11. “The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him – that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free.”
12. “The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them.”
13. “The goal of mankind is knowledge. Now this knowledge is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside: it is all inside. What we say a man ‘knows’, should, in strict psychological language, be what he ‘discovers’ or ‘unveils’; what a man ‘learns’ is really what he discovers by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge.”
14. “All truth is eternal. Truth is nobody’s property; no race, no individual can lay any exclusive claim to it. Truth is the nature of all souls.”
15. “The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.”
16. “Purity, patience, and perseverance are the three essentials to success and above all, love.”
17. “Each soul is potentially divine, the goal is to manifest this divinity within 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.”
18. “You have to be concentrated in the present; live for the ideal, and leave the results to God.”
19. “Do not wait for anybody or anything. Do whatever you can, build your hope on none.”
20. “Do not hate anybody, because that hatred which comes out from you must, in the long run, come back to you.”
21. “The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.”
22. “We reap what we sow. We are the makers of our own fate. The wind is blowing; those vessels whose sails are unfurled catch it, and go forward on their way, but those which have their sails furled do not catch the wind. Is that the fault of the wind? We make our own destiny.”
23. “Everything is easy when you are busy. But nothing is easy when you are lazy.”
24. “Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvelous work. The moment you fear, you are nobody. It is fear that is the great cause of misery in the world. It is fear that is the greatest of all superstitions. It is fear that is the cause of our woes, and it is fearlessness that brings heaven even in a moment.”
25. “The fire that warms us can also consume us; it is not the fault of the fire.”
26. “You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.”
27. “Condemn none: if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way.”
28. “Stand up, be bold, and take the blame on your own shoulders. Do not go about throwing mud at other; for all the faults you suffer from, you are the sole and only cause.”
29. “We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act.”
30. “External nature is only internal nature writ large.”
31. “To devote your life to the good of all and to the happiness of all is religion. Whatever you do for your own sake is not religion.”
32. “Work and worship are necessary to take away the veil, to lift off the bondage and illusion.”
33. “All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.”
34. “Even the greatest fool can accomplish a task if it were after his or her heart. But the intelligent ones are those who can convert every work into one that suits their taste.”
35. “Be a hero. Always say, ‘I have no fear.’ Tell this to everyone – ‘Have no fear.'”
36. “In a day when you don’t come across any problems – you can be sure that you are travelling in the wrong path.”
37. “The brain and muscles must develop simultaneously. Iron nerves with an intelligent brain – and the whole world is at your feet.”
38. “Anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually, and spiritually, reject as poison.”
39. “Neither seek nor avoid, take what comes.”
40. “We want the education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one’s own feet.”
41. “Conquer yourself and the whole universe is yours.”
42. “All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in our own mind.”
43. “Take risks in your life, If you win, you can lead! If you lose, you can guide!”
44. “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.”
45. “Help if you can; if you cannot, fold your hands and stand by and see things go on. Do not injure, if you cannot render help.”
46. “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.”
47. “What I want is muscles of iron and nerves of steel, inside which dwells a mind of the same material as that of which the thunderbolt is made.”
48. “He who struggles is better than he who never attempts.”
49. “Neither seek nor avoid, take what comes. It is liberty to be affected by nothing; do not merely endure, be unattached.”
50. “The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves!”
51. “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.”
52. “In a day when you don’t come across any problems – you can be sure that you are travelling in the wrong path.”
53. “It is our own mental attitude which makes the world what it is for us. Our thoughts make things beautiful, our thoughts make things ugly. The whole world is in our own minds. Learn to see things in the proper light.”
54. “We reap what we sow. We are the makers of our own fate. None else has the blame, none has the praise.”
55. “Your country requires heroes; be heroes; your duty is to go on working, and then everything will follow of itself.”
56. “We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.”
57. “To devote your life to the good of all and to the happiness of all is religion. Whatever you do for your own sake is not religion.”
58. “You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.”
59. “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.”
60. “The greatest sin is to think yourself weak.”
61. “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.”
62. “The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them.”
63. “All the 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. Stand up and express the divinity within you.”
64. “All the strength and succor you want is within yourself. Therefore, make your own future.”
65. “Do not be afraid of a small beginning. Great things come afterwards. Be courageous. Do not try to lead your brethren, but serve them. The brutal mania for leading has sunk many a great ships in the waters of life. Take care especially of that, i.e. be unselfish even unto death, and work.”
66. “The greatest help to spiritual life is meditation. In meditation we divest ourselves of all material conditions and feel our divine nature.”
67. “We must not only be good, but also do good.”
68. “To work with undying vigor! To die working! There is no other way.”
69. “All that is real in me is God; all that is real in God is I. The gulf between God and me is thus bridged. Thus by knowing God, we find that the kingdom of heaven is within us.”
70. “The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves!”
71. “Condemn none; if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way.”
72. “It is a tremendous mistake to think that by being kind to everybody, one loses one’s own position.”
73. “The cause of all the miseries we have in the world is that men foolishly think pleasure is the only good to be had. There is no good in anything until it is finished.”
74. “Even the greatest fool can accomplish a task if it were after his or her heart. But the intelligent ones are those who can convert every work into one that suits their taste.”
75. “The more you think of yourself as shining immortal spirit, the more eager you will be to be absolutely free of matter, body, and senses. This is the intense desire to be free.”
76. “The only religion that ought to be taught is the religion of fearlessness. Either in this world or in the world of religion, it is true that fear is the sure cause of degradation and sin.”
77. “Do not lower your goals to the level of your abilities. Instead, raise your abilities to the height of your goals.”
78. “If the mind is intensely eager, everything can be accomplished—mountains can be crumbled into atoms.”
79. “All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.”
80. “You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.”
81. “In a day when you don’t come across any problems – you can be sure that you are travelling in a wrong path.”
82. “The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them.”
83. “Each soul is potentially divine, the goal is to manifest this divinity within 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.”
84. “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.”
85. “What is needed is a fellow feeling between the different types of workers, and the adoption of methods which are suited to the particular conditions of our country, and to the temperaments of our countrymen.”
86. “The very reason for nature’s existence is for the education of the soul.”
87. “Do not wait for anybody or anything. Do whatever you can, build your hope on none.”
88. “Do not hate anybody, because that hatred which comes out from you must, in the long run, come back to you.”
89. “In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart.”
90. “The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.”
91. “We reap what we sow. We are the makers of our own fate. None else has the blame, none has the praise.”
92. “Purity, patience, and perseverance are the three essentials to success and, above all, love.”
93. “Each soul is potentially divine, the goal is to manifest this divinity within 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.”
94. “The best guide in life is strength. In religion, as in all other matters, discard everything that weakens you; have nothing to do with it.”
95. “Be not in despair, the way is very difficult, like walking on the edge of a razor.”
96. “In a day when you don’t come across any problems – you can be sure that you are traveling in a wrong path.”
97. “The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them.”
98. “Each soul is potentially divine, the goal is to manifest this divinity within 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.”
99. “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.”
100. “What is needed is a fellow feeling between the different types of workers, and the adoption of methods that are suited to the particular conditions of our country, and to the temperaments of our countrymen.”
101. “The very reason for nature’s existence is for the education of the soul.”