CALL TO NATION - SWAMI VIVEKANANDA CALL TO NATION SWAMI VIVEKANANDA (photo taken by Shri Bharat Churia!" 1.He is an atheist who does not believe in himself. The old religions said that hewas an atheist who did not believe in God. The new religion says that he is anatheist who does not believe in himself.CW II 301 2. The history of the world is the history of a few men who had faith in themselves.That faith calls the divinity within. You can do anything. You fail only when youdo not strive sufficiently to manifest infinite power. As soon as a man or a nationloses faith, death comes. CW VIII 228 . !aith, faith, faith in ourselves, faith, faith in God, this is the secret of greatness."f you have faith in all the three hundred and thirty millions of your mythologicalGods, and in all the Gods which foreigners have now and again introduced into your midst, and still have no faith in yourselves, there is no salvation foryou. CW III 190 #. $ever thin% there is anything impossible for the soul. "t is greatest hearsay tothin% so. "f there is sin, this is the only sin & to say that you are wea%, or othersare wea%. CW II '( ). *e free+ hope for nothing from anyone. " am sure, if you loo% bac% upon yourlives, you willfind that you were always trying to get help from others, whichnever came. All the help that has come was from within yourselves. CW II 324 ,. $ever say, -$o., never say, -" cannot., for you are infinite. /ven time and spaceare as nothing compared with your nature. You can do anything and everything,you are almighty. CW II 300 0. Yearethechildrenof God, thesharersof immortal bliss, holyandperfectbeings. Yedivinitiesonearth1sinners2 "t isasintocall amanso+ it isastanding libel on human nature. 3ome up, 4 lions, and sha%e off the delusionthat you are sheep+ you are souls immortal, spirits free blest and eternal. CW I11 (. $ever mind the struggles, the mista%es. " never heard a cow tell a lie, but it isonly a cow1 never a man. 5o never mind these failures, these littlebac%slidings+ hold the ideal a thousand times+ and if you fail a thousand timesma%e the attempt once more. CW II 152 6. Theremedyfor wea%ness isnot broodingover wea%ness, but thin%ingofstrength. Teach men of strength that is already within them. CW II 300 1'. "f thereisonewordyoufindcomingli%eabombfromthe7pnishads,bursting li%e a bomb&shell upon masses of ignorance, it is the word,fearlessness. CW III 160 11. "f youloo%, youwill findthat " havenever 8uotedanythingbut the7pnishads. Andof the7pnishads, it is only that oneidea, strength. The8uintessence of the 9edas and 9edanta and all lies in that word. CW VIII 267 12. *e strong, my young friends, that is my advice to you. You will be nearertoheaventhroughfootball thanthroughstudyof theGita. Theseareboldwords, but " have to say them, for " love you. " %now where the shoe pinches. "have gained a little e:perience. You willunderstand the Gita better with yourbiceps, your muscles, a little stronger. CW III 242 1. This is one 8uestion " put to every men;..Are you strong< =o you feelstrength< 1 for " %now it is the truth alone that gives strength;;.5trength is themedicine for the world.s disease. CW II 201 1#. This is great fact+ 5trength is life+ wea%ness is death. 5trength is felicity,lifeeternal, immortal+ wea%nessisconstant strainandmisery, wea%nessisdeath. CW II 3 1). To succeed, you must have tremendous perseverance, tremendous will. -"will drin%theocean., saystheperseveringsoul, -at mywill, mountainswillcrumble up.. Have that sort of energy, that sort of will+ wor% hard, and you willreach the goal. CW I 178 1,. >en,men,theseare wanted+everything else will beready,butstrong,vigorous, believing young men, sincere to the bac%bone, are wanted. A hundredsuch and the world become revolutioni?ed. CW III 223-24 10. Are not drums made in the country< Are not trumpets and %ettle&drumsavailable in "ndia< >a%e the boys hear the deep&toned sound of theseinstruments. Hearingfromboyhoodthesoundof theseeffeminateformsofmusic,;;the country is well&nigh converted into a country of women. CW II232 1(. =eath is better than a vegetating ignorant life+ it is better to die on thebattle&field than to live a life of defeat. CW II 124 16. 3ome, do something heroic, *rother, what if you do not attain mukti, whatif yousuffer damnationafewtimesohammed as a good man, or *uddha2 =oes that alterm!owngoodnessor evilan is higher than all animals, than all angels+ none isgreater than man. CW1 142 #2. $anisman% s&l&n'as(eisstru''lin't&risea)&*enature, andhisnature is both internal and e:ternal. ;;. And if we read the history of nationsbetween the lines, we shall always find that the rise of a nation comes with anincrease in the number of such men+ and the fall begins when the pursuit afterthe "nfinite, however vain the 7tilitarian may call it, has ceased. That is to say,the mainspring of the strength of every race lies in its spirituality, and the deathof that race begins the day that spirituality wanes and materialism gains ground.CW II 64-65 #. Thisworldisthegreat gymnasiumwherewecometoma%eourselvesstrong. CW V 410 ##. All healthy social changesare themanifestations ofthe spiritualforceswor%ing within, and if these are strong and well adDusted. 5ociety will arrangeitself accordingly. /ach individual has to wor% out his own salvation+ there is noother way, and so also with nations. ;.. "t is very easy to point out the defectsof institutions, all being more or less imperfect, but he is the real benefactor ofhumanity who helps the individual to overcome his imperfections underwhatever institutions he may live. The individuals being raised, the nation andits institutions are bound to rise. CW V 415-16 #). You have to grow from inside out. $one can teach you, none can ma%eyou spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul. CW V 410 #,. >en in general lay all the blame of life on their fellowmen, or, failing that,on God, or they conDure up a ghost, and say it is fate. Ahere is fate, and who isfate< Ae reap what we sow. Ae are the ma%ers of our own fate. $one else hasthe blame, none has the praise. The wind is blowing+ and those vessels whosesails are unfurled catch it, and go forward on their way, but those which havetheir sails furled do not catch the wind. "s the fault of the wind< CW II 224 #0. 5ay, -This misery that " am suffering is of my own doing, and that verything proves that it will have to be undone by me alone.. That which " created, "can demolish+ that which is created by someone else, " shall never be able todestroy. Therefore, stand up, be bold, be strong. Ta%e the whole responsibilityon your own shoulders, and %now that you are the creator of your own destiny.All the strength and succor you want is within yourselves. CW II 225 #(. >a%e your own future. -Cet the dead past bury its dead.. The infinite futureisbeforeyou, andyoumust alwaysremember that eachword, thought anddeed lays up a store for you, and that as the bad thoughts and bad wor%s areready to spring upon li%e tigers, so also there is the inspiring hope that the goodthoughts and good deeds are ready with the power of hundred thousand angelsto defend you always and for ever. CW II 225 #6. -4urs not to reason why, ours but to do and die.. *e of good cheer andbelieve that we are selected by the Cord to do great things, and we will do them.CW V 23 )'. 7nfortunately, in this life, the vast maDority of persons are groping throughthis dar% life without any ideal at all. "f a man with an ideal ma%es a thousandmista%es, " amsurethat themanwithout anideal ma%esfiftythousand. Therefore, it is better to have an ideal. CW II 152 )1. >an begins to struggle and fight against nature. He ma%es manymista%es, hesuffers. *ut eventually, hecon8uers natureandreali?es hisfreedom. Ahen he is free, nature becomes his slave. CW VII 249 )2. " disagree with the idea that freedom is obedience to the law of nature. "do not understand what that means. According to history of human progress, itis disobedience to nature that has constituted that progress. CW VIII 257 ). !or the world can be good and pure, only if our lives are good and pure. "tis an effect, and we are the means. Therefore, let us purify ourselves. Cet usma%e ourselves perfect. CW II9 )#. Ahat is the use of fighting and complaining< That will not help us to betterthings. He who grumbles at the little thing that has fallen to his lot to do, willgrumbleat everything. Alwaysgrumbling, hewill leadamiserablelife, andeverything will be a failure. *ut that man who does his duty as he goes, puttinghis shoulder to the wheel, will see the light, and higher and higher duties will fallto his share. CW V 242 )). =o not fly away from the wheels of the world&machine, but stand aside itandlearnthesecret of wor%. Throughproper wor%doneinside, it isalsopossible to come out. CW I115 ),. /very thought that we thin%, every deed we do, after a, certain becomesfine, goes into seed form, so to spea%, and lives in the fine body in a potentialform,andaftera time, itemerges againand bears its results.These resultscondition the life of man. Thus he moulds his own life. >an is not bound by anylaws e:cepting those which he ma%es for himself. CW II 348 )0. >y ideal, indeed, can be put into a few words, and that is@ to preach untoman%ind their =ivinity, and how to ma%e it manifest in every movement of life.CW VII 498 )(. Eurity, patience, and perseveranceare the threeessentialstosuccess,and above all 1 love. CW VI 281 )6. Cife is ever e:panding, contraction is death. The self&see%ing man who isloo%ing after his personal comforts and leading a la?y life 1 there is no room forhim even in hell. CW VI 294 ,'. " amsureGodwill pardonamanwhowill usehisreasonandcannotbelieve, rather than a man who believes blindly instead of using his faculties Hehas given him. ;;. Ae must reason+ and when reason proves to us the truthof these prophets and great men and about whom the ancient boo%s spea% inevery country, we shall believe in them. Ae shall believe in them when we seesuch prophets among ourselves. Ae shall then find that they were not peculiarmen, but only illustrations of certain principals. CW VI 12-13 ,1. Ahyshouldyounot trytohit themar%anmust and will grow out of such early stages. ;; >y >aster used to say, -Ahydon.t youhelpyour ownlotusflower toblooma%e yourself a dynamo.0eel, first for the world. ;; As% yourself,doesyourmindreact inhatredorDealousyA$AG/B 4! TH/ GB47E