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Swami Vivekananda's Divine Potential Insights

This document contains excerpts from Swami Vivekananda's "Thoughts of Power" discussing key ideas in Hindu philosophy and spirituality. It emphasizes that the divine exists within every soul and can be manifested through controlling the external and internal nature via work, worship, psychic control or philosophy. It stresses the importance of practice over simply listening or studying, and that great spiritual figures achieved a "super-consciousness" state that is accessible to all. Finally, it defines yoga as the union between various levels of existence, and that true spirituality comes from realization, not intellectualization or doctrine.

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Giriprasad Gunalan
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229 views3 pages

Swami Vivekananda's Divine Potential Insights

This document contains excerpts from Swami Vivekananda's "Thoughts of Power" discussing key ideas in Hindu philosophy and spirituality. It emphasizes that the divine exists within every soul and can be manifested through controlling the external and internal nature via work, worship, psychic control or philosophy. It stresses the importance of practice over simply listening or studying, and that great spiritual figures achieved a "super-consciousness" state that is accessible to all. Finally, it defines yoga as the union between various levels of existence, and that true spirituality comes from realization, not intellectualization or doctrine.

Uploaded by

Giriprasad Gunalan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

THOUGHTS OF POWER

from
Swami Vivekananda
Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest
this divine 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. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or
dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms are
but secondary details.
t
If there is a God we must see Him. If there is a soul
we must perceive it; otherwise it is better not to
believe. It is better to be an outspoken atheist than a
hypocrite.
t
Practice is absolutely necessary. You may sit down
and listen to me by the hour every day, but if you do
not practice, you will not get one step further. It all
depends on practice. We never understand these things
until we experience them. We will have to see and feel
them for ourselves. Simply listening to explanations and
theories will not do.
t
Take up one idea. Make that one idea, your life;
think of it; dream of it; live on that idea. Let the brain,
muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that
idea, and just leave every other idea alone, This is the
Thoughts of Power — Swami Vivekananda

way to success, and this is the way great spiritual giants


are produced.
t
Those prophets were not unique; they were men as
you or I. They were great Yogis. They had gained this
super-consciousness, and you and I can get the same.
They were not peculiar people. The very fact that one
man ever reached that state, proves that it is possible
for every man to do so. Not only is it possible, but every
man must, eventually, get to that state, and that is
religion.
t
The embodiment of freedom, the Master of Nature, is
what we call God. You cannot deny Him. No, because
you cannot move or live without the idea of freedom.
t
No life will be a failure; there is no such thing as
failure in the universe. A hundred times man will hurt
himself, a thousand times he will stumble, but in the
end he will realise that he is God.
t
Religion is not in doctrines, in dogmas or in
intellectual argumentation; it is being and becoming; it
is realisation.
t
And this religion is attained by what we, in India, call

2
Thoughts of Power — Swami Vivekananda

Yoga – union. To the worker, it is union between man


and the whole of humanity; to the mystic, between his
lower self and higher Self; to the lover, union between
himself and the God of love; and to the philosopher, it
is the union of all, existence. This is what is meant by
Yoga,
t
In studying books we are sometimes deluded into
thinking that thereby we are being spiritually helped;
but, if we analyse the effect of the study of books on
ourselves, we shall find that, at the utmost it is only our
intellect that derives profit from such studies, and not
the inner spirit. This inadequacy of books to quicken the
spiritual growth is the reason why although almost
everyone of us can speak most wonderfully on spiritual
matters, when it comes to actions and the living of a
truly spiritual life, we find ourselves so awfully
deficient To quicken the spirit, the impulse must come
from another soul.
t
To many, Indian thought, Indian manners, Indian
customs, Indian philosophy, Indian literature, are
repulsive at the first sight, but let them persevere, let
them read, let them become familiar with the great
principles underlying these ideas, and it is 99 to 1 that
the charm will come over them and fascination will be
the result.


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