PORTFOLIO :: NARESH KUMAR AGARWAL
Greatest Inspirations - Swami Vivekananda
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Swami
Vivekananda (1863 - 1902) - From Naren to Vivekananda |
A touch from Ramakrishna
Paramhansa was enough for Narendra to realise his hidden divinity |
I had heard of Swami Vivekananda and seen pictures of his, but it was only after visiting the Ramakrishna Mission in Hyderabad in 2001 and reading short selections of his words did I realise the extent of greatness of the man that was Vivekananda. Subsequently, I visited his memorial rock in Kanyakumari and read a biography of his while in Los Angeles in 2003. Swami Vivekananda has given me my most profound ideals - "Every man is potentially divine...the quest to realise the divinity within me and to view God in every living soul." |
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Swami Vivekananda's Teachings
See
God in all
This is the gist of all worship - to be pure and to do good to others.
He who sees Siva in the poor, in the weak, and in the diseased, really
worships Siva, and if he sees Siva only in the image, his worship is but
preliminary. He who has served and helped one poor man seeing Siva in
him, without thinking of his cast, creed, or race, or anything, with him
Siva is more pleased than with the man who sees Him only in temples.
God
is within You
It is impossible to find God outside of ourselves. Our own souls contribute
all of the divinity that is outside of us. We are the greatest temple.
The objectification is only a faint imitation of what we see within ourselves.
Persevere
in search of God
To succeed, you must have tremendous perseverance, tremendous will. "I
will drink the ocean," says the persevering soul, "at my will
mountains will crumble up." Have that sort of energy, that sort of
will, work hard, and you will reach the goal.
Trust
completely in God
Stand up for God; let the world go.
Love
of God is essential
Giving up all other thoughts, with the whole mind day and night worship
God. Thus being worshipped day and night, He reveals himself and makes
His worshippers feel His presence.
Tribute to Swami Vivekananda by Other Greats
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"My homage and respect to the very revered memory of Swami Vivekananda.... after having gone through [his works], the love that I had for my country became a thousandfold." |
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"His whole life and teaching inspired my generation....he brought his great spirituality to bear upon his patriotism and thus his message was not confined to India only, but was for the whole world. I pay my homage to his memory." |
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"If you want to know India, study Vivekananda. In him everything is positive and nothing negative." |
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"He was so great, so profound, so complex. A Yogi of the highest spiritual level in direct communion with the truth who had for the time being consecrated his whole life to the moral and spiritual uplift of his nation and of humanity, that is how I would describe him. If he had been alive, I would have been at his feet." |
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"The thought of this warrior prophet of India left a deep mark upon the United States . . . . I cannot touch these sayings of his . . . without giving a thrill through my body like an electric shock. And what shocks, what transports must have been produced when in burning words they issued from the lips of the hero!" |
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"[Vivekananda is] one of the very greatest historical figures that India has ever produced. When one sees the full range of his mind, one is astounded." |
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"The man [Vivekananda] is simply a wonder for oratorical power . . . the Swami is an honor to humanity." |
LinksThe Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Vivekananda - A biography by Swami Nikhilananda (Published 1953) |
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