Swami Vivekananda Quotes on God

“I have been asked many times, “Why do you use that old word, God?" Because it is the best word for our purpose; you cannot find a better word than that, because all the hopes, aspirations, and happiness of humanity have been centred in that word.”

“The highest ideal of every man is called God. Ignorant or wise, saint or sinner, man or woman, educated or uneducated, cultivated or uncultivated, to every human being the highest ideal is God. The synthesis of all the highest ideals of beauty, of sublimity, and of power gives us the completest conception of the loving and loveable God.”

“God is the only one who is free. God and freedom are one and the same.”

“The goldness of gold, the silverness of silver, the manhood of man, the womanhood of woman, the reality of everything is the Lord.”

“If there are men teachers, god teachers, or angel teachers, they are all limited; who was the teacher before them? We are forced to admit, as a last conclusion, one teacher who is not limited by time; and that One Teacher of infinite knowledge, without beginning or end, is called God.”

“The universe is—objectified God.”

“The totality of all souls, not the human alone, is the Personal God. The will of the Totality nothing can resist. It is what we know as law. And this is what we mean by Shiva and Kāli and so on.”

“‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ This sentence alone would save mankind if all books and prophets were lost. This purity of heart will bring the vision of God. It is the theme of the whole music of this universe.”

“Get the mercy of God and of His greatest children: these are the two chief ways to God. The company of these children of light is very hard to get; five minutes in their company will change a whole life; and if you really want it enough, one will come to you. The presence of those who love God makes a place holy.”

“Virtuous deeds take off the veil from knowledge, and knowledge alone can make us see God.”

“Water the roots of the tree (that is, reach the Lord), and the whole tree is watered; getting the Lord, we get all.”

“There is only one thing that is real—God. All the time the mind must be drawn to Him, dedicated to Him. God exists, nothing else exists, everything else comes and goes. Any desire for the world is illusion, because the world is unreal. More and more the mind must become conscious of God alone, until everything else appears as it really is—unreal.”

“God alone is our goal. Failing to reach God, we die.”

“Want only God, take nothing else, let not seeming cheat you any longer. Turn from all and seek only God.”

“Do not go for glass beads leaving the mine of diamonds! This life is a great chance. What, seekest thou the pleasures of the world? —He is the fountain of all bliss. Seek for the highest, aim at that highest, and you shall reach the highest.”

“You must see God. The spirit must be realised, and that is practical religion.”

“Follow God and you shall have whatever you desire.”

“Do not care for a moment who joins hands with you or not, be sure that you touch the hand of the Lord. That is enough.”

“Have only one idea of God—that He is an eternal help.”

“As we make our lives purer and nobler, either in the seen or the unseen world, the nearer we approach God, who is the centre of all spiritual beauty and eternal joy.”

“Those who give themselves up to the Lord do more for the world than all the so-called workers. One man who has purified himself thoroughly accomplishes more than a regiment of preachers. Out of purity and silence comes the word of power.”

“The whole soul pours in a continuous current to God; there is no time to seek money, or name, or fame, no time to think of anything but God; then will come into our hearts that infinite, wonderful bliss of Love.”

“There is a God—a Father—a Mother who never leaves His Children, never, never, never. Put uncanny theories aside and becoming children take refuge in Him.”

“The greatest aid to this practice of keeping God in memory is, perhaps, music. The Lord says to Nārada, the great teacher of Bhakti, “I do not live in heaven, nor do I live in the heart of the Yogi, but where My devotees sing My praise, there am I.””

“Theorising about God will not do; we must love and work.”

“Be glad at birth, be glad at death, rejoice always in the love of God.”

““God is spirit!” God is spirit and should be worshipped in spirit and faith. Where does the spirit reside? On a tree? On a cloud? What do you mean by God being ours? You are the spirit. That is the first fundamental belief you must never give up. I am the spiritual being. It is there. All this skill of Yoga and this system of meditation and everything is just to find Him there.”

“The salvation of man lies in the great love with which he loves his God.”

“Think constantly of your real nature. Get rid of superstition. Do not hypnotise yourself into a belief in your own inferiority. Day and night tell yourself what you really are, until you realise (actually realise) your oneness with God.”

“No one who loves God need fear any jugglery.”