Remembering Swami Vivekananda’s inspirational quotes on his 117th death anniversary

Bengaluru, July 4: "Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached" this great line was said by the great Hindu monk and one of the most celebrated spiritual leaders of India Swami Vivekananda, He introduced Indian philosophies of Vedanta and yoga to the western world. He is also seen as the one who raised interfaith awareness.

His religious conscience was an amalgamation of Sri Ramakrishna's spiritual teachings of Divine manifestation and his personal internalization of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy. He directed to achieve the divinity of the soul by undertaking selfless work, worship and mental discipline. With a keen interest in history and western philosophy, the iconic leader was often filled by doubts about God's existence. According to Vivekananda, the ultimate goal is to achieve freedom of the soul and that encompasses the entirety of one's religion.

He is perhaps best known for his speech which began with the words - "Sisters and brothers of America..,"

His great teachings and his quotes inspire us to believe in ourselves so that we may live our dreams.

On 117th death anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, here are ten important quotes that have been inspiring us down the ages.

1. "Take up one idea, make that one idea your life, think of it, dream of it, 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 way to success."

2. "A man is not poor without a rupee but a man is really poor without a dreams and ambition."

3. "Anything that makes you weak, physically, intellectually, and spiritually, reject as a poison."

4. "Your body is a weapon and consider it very strong. Consider your mind to be very strong as only with strong mind and body you will be able to cross the ocean of life. Have strong faith in yourself, your body and mind."

5. "Always try to represent yourself happy because initially, it becomes your look. Gradually it becomes your habit and finally, it becomes your personality."

6. "We came to enjoy; we are being enjoyed. We came to rule; we are being ruled. We came to work; we are being worked. All the time, we find that. And this comes into every detail of our life."

7. "The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves. "

8. "If faith in ourselves had been more extensively taught and practiced, I am sure a very large portion of the evils and miseries that we have would have vanished."

9. "Crave for a thing, you will get it. Renounce the craving, the object will follow you by itself."

10. "Man is to become divine by realizing the divine. Idols or temples, or churches or books, are only the supports, the help of his spiritual childhood."