Swami Vivekananda Birth Anniversary: Top Quotes By The Great Visionary

Swami Vivekananda, the most celebrated spiritual leader, a fierce monk was born in Kolkata on January 12, 1863, as Narendra Nath Datta. In 1984, Indian Government first declared to celebrate the birthday of Swami Vivekananda as National Youth Day. Since then this day is being celebrated as the National Youth Day all over the country. The prime disciple of 19th century Indian mystic Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda reintroduced the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world. “The ultimate goal is to achieve freedom of the soul and that encompasses the entirety of one’s religion,” according to Swami Vivekananda.  

Vivekananda travelled to the West bearing Hindu philosophy and introducing Indian heritage, culture, and philosophy to the West. Of his many lectures, the one in Chicago at the Parliament of the World's Religion is the most revered. Here, he gave a brief speech representing India and Hinduism. He took the stage and stunned everyone with his opening line “My brothers and sisters of America”. He received a standing ovation from the audience for the opening phrase. 

Swami Vivekananda spent the next two and a half years in America and founded the Vedanta Society of New York in 1894. He also travelled to the United Kingdom to preach the tenets of the Vedanta and Hindu Spiritualism to the western world.

On his birth 157th anniversary, let’s take a look at Swami Vivekananda’s top 5 inspirational quotes.

• The Vedanta recognizes no sin it only recognizes the error. And the greatest error, says the Vedanta is to say that you are weak, that you are a sinner, a miserable creature, and that you have no power and you cannot do this and that.
• The will is not free – it is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect – but there is something behind the will which is free.  
• The moment I have realised 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.
• Earth is enjoyed by heroes, this is an unfailing truth. Always say ‘I have no fear’ and say this to everybody ‘have no fear’ because fear is sin, fear is death, fear is un-righteousness and all the negative emotions in this world have originated from the evil spirit of fear.
• The old religion said he who doesn’t believe in god is an atheist. While the new religion says that, the person who doesn’t believe in himself and believes in all the gods existing in the world and those newly created then he is considered as an Atheist.