The following are exceptional lines/ quotes from the lectures and writings of Swami Vivekananda. The quotes are on a range of subjects, covering - The greatness of The Bhagvad Gita, Lord Buddha, The purpose of Education, Jesus and Krishna, Good and Evil.
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON EDUCATION:
"The less you read, the
better. Read the Gita and other good works on Vedanta. That is all you need.
The present system of education is all wrong. The mind is crammed with facts
before it knows how to think. Control of the mind should be taught first. If I had
my education to get over again and had any voice in the matter, I would learn
to master my mind first, and then gather facts if I wanted them. It takes
people a long time to learn things because they can't concentrate their minds
at will."
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATION:
"We want that 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."
RAMKRISHNA PARAMHANSA ON MEN & GOD:
My Master used to say, "This world is a huge lunatic
asylum where all men are mad, some after money, some after women, some after
name or fame, and a few after God. I prefer to be mad after God. God is the
philosophers' stone that turns us to gold in an instant; the form remains, but
the nature is changed — the human form remains, but no more can we hurt or
sin."
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON PROPHETS ACCROSS THE AGES:
Prophets preach, but the
Incarnations like Jesus, Buddha, Ramakrishna, can give religion; one glance,
one touch is enough. That is the power of the Holy Ghost, the "laying on
of hands"; the power was actually transmitted to the disciples by the
Master — the "chain of Guru-power". That, the real baptism, has been
handed down for untold ages.
TAMAS, RAJAS and SATTVIKA:
The world is our fish basket, we
must not depend upon it for enjoyment. Those who do are the Tâmasas or the
bound. Then there are the Râjasas or the egotistical, who talk always about
"I", "I". They do good work sometimes and may become
spiritual. But the highest are the Sâttvikas, the introspective, those who live
only in the Self. These three qualities, Tamas, Rajas, and Sattva (idleness,
activity, and illumination), are in everyone, and different ones predominate at
different times.
IS GOD A MERE MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY:
Today God is being abandoned by the world because He does
not seem to be doing enough for the world. So they say, "Of what good is
He?" Shall we look upon God as a mere municipal authority?
HOW TO REFORM:
Violent attempts at reform always end by retarding reform.
Do not say, "You are bad"; say only, "You are good, but be
better."
IS THERE ANYTHING CALLED 'RIGHTEOUS ANGER or JUSTIFIABLE
KILLING?''
Priests are an evil in every
country, because they denounce and criticise, pulling at one string to mend it
until two or three others are out of place. Love never denounces, only ambition
does that. There is no such thing as "righteous" anger or justifiable
killing.
WOMEN- THE LION OR THE FOX?
If you do not allow one to become
a lion, he will become a fox. Women are a power, only now it is more for evil
because man oppresses woman; she is the fox, but when she is not longer
oppressed, she will become the lion.
SPIRITUAL ASPIRATIONS BALANCED THROUGH INTELLECT:
Ordinarily speaking, spiritual
aspiration ought to be balanced through the intellect; otherwise it may
degenerate into mere sentimentality. . . .
KRISHNA AND THE GREATNESS OF THE
BHAGVAD GITA:
All theists agree that behind the
changeable there is an Unchangeable, though they vary in their conception of
the Ultimate. Buddha denied this in toto. "There is no Brahman, no Atman,
no soul," he said. As a character Buddha was the greatest the world has
ever seen; next to him Christ. But the teachings of Krishna as taught by the
Gita are the grandest the world has ever known. He who wrote that wonderful
poem was one of those rare souls whose lives sent a wave of regeneration
through the world. The human race will never again see such a brain as his who
wrote the Gita.
GOOD and EVIL:
There is only one Power, whether manifesting as evil or
good. God and the devil are the same river with the water flowing in opposite
directions.
CREDITS and REFRENCES:
The above quotes are from the complete works of Swami
Vivekananda: http://cwsv.belurmath.org/volume_7/vol_7_frame.htm