Swami Vivekananda
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The Complete Works

Volume VI

by Swami Vivekananda

Lectures, notes of class talks, writings in prose and verse, the second series of letters, and conversations.

228 items · about 11.5 hours of reading

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Contents

Lectures and Discourses10 · 1 hr 47 min
  1. The Methods and Purpose of Religion22 min
  2. The Nature of the Soul and its Goal15 min
  3. The Importance of Psychology7 min
  4. Nature and Man5 min
  5. Concentration and Breathing5 min
  6. Introduction to Jnana-Yoga7 min
  7. The Vedanta Philosophy and Christianity4 min
  8. Worshipper and Worshipped14 min
  9. Formal Worship16 min
  10. Divine Love13 min
Notes of Class Talks and Lectures27 · 1 hr 41 min
  1. Religion And Science2 min
  2. Religion Is Realisation1 min
  3. Religion Is Self-Abnegation1 min
  4. Unselfish Work Is True Renunciation1 min
  5. Freedom Of The Self1 min
  6. Notes On Vedanta1 min
  7. Hindu And Greek1 min
  8. Thoughts On The Vedas And Upanishads3 min
  9. On Raja-Yoga1 min
  10. On Bhakti-Yoga2 min
  11. On Jnana-Yoga1 min
  12. The Reality And Shadow1 min
  13. How To Become Free2 min
  14. Soul And God1 min
  15. The Goal1 min
  16. On Proof Of Religion3 min
  17. The Design Theory2 min
  18. Spirit And Nature3 min
  19. The Practice Of Religion2 min
  20. Fragmentary Notes On The Ramayana1 min
  21. Notes Taken Down In Madras, 1892-9328 min
  22. Concentration2 min
  23. The Power Of The Mind3 min
  24. Lessons On Raja-Yoga13 min
  25. Lessons On Bhakti-Yoga13 min
  26. Mother-Worship7 min
  27. Narada-Bhakti-Sutras5 min
Writings: Prose and Poems11 · 50 min
  1. Historical Evolution of India14 min
  2. The Story of the Boy Gopala10 min
  3. My Play Is Done2 min
  4. The Cup1 min
  5. A Benediction1 min
  6. The Hymn of Creation1 min
  7. On the Sea's Bosom1 min
  8. Hinduism and Shri Ramakrishna7 min
  9. The Bengali Language4 min
  10. Matter for Serious Thought8 min
  11. Shiva's Demon2 min
Epistles: Second Series168 · 5 hr 13 min
  1. 1. Leaving Ayodhya I have reached the holy Vrindavan1 min
  2. 2. Twice did Gangādhar ascend up to Tibet and Bhutan.1 min
  3. 3. A full measure of proficiency in the Vedic language is impossible without first mastering Pānini’s grammar2 min
  4. 4. He must be made of stone whose mind does not melt at the sight of Kashi and its Lord!1 min
  5. 5. You have hit Ramakrishna in the right point.1 min
  6. 6. My health is passable, but the state of mind is terrible!1 min
  7. 7. One has to suffer at times for holding in one’s brain novel views of all sorts.3 min
  8. 8. One may attain to the knowledge of Brahman without having studied the ceremonial parts of the Vedas.2 min
  9. 9. For all time my head shall bend low in reverence wherever I see greatness, broadness of heart, and holiness6 min
  10. 10. When a pitcher is being filled (by immersion), it gurgles, but when full, it is noiseless1 min
  11. 11. Gangādhar’s blood won’t cool down before seeing Lhasa.1 min
  12. 12. I can’t appreciate your citing Spencer’s parody on the German transcendentalists1 min
  13. 13. My resolve is something like “either to lay down my life or realise my ideal”1 min
  14. 14. Please inquire and inform me whether the Kumbha fair this year is going to be held at Hardwar or not.1 min
  15. 15. “Lord have mercy”, is all right, but He helps him who helps himself.2 min
  16. 16. In this land of Bhagavān Shuka’s birth, renunciation is looked down upon as madness and sin!1 min
  17. 17. It is so very difficult to meet the Bābāji.1 min
  18. 18. Unless one is face to face with the life of such men, faith in the scriptures does not grow in all its real integrity.1 min
  19. 19. No trouble taken for the sake of such a great soul can ever go unrewarded.2 min
  20. 20. Such amazing endurance and humility I have never seen1 min
  21. 21. I am greatly suffering from lumbago.1 min
  22. 22. The sons of my Master are indeed the great objects of my service1 min
  23. 23. what the Lord Buddha has designated as Prajnāpāra—the transcendental—if such there be, I want that alone.6 min
  24. 24. The mind does not find rest here any longer1 min
  25. 25. The great conclusion is that Ramakrishna has no peer5 min
  26. 26. I too shall be off to Prayag.1 min
  27. 27. My motto is to learn whatever good things I may come across anywhere.2 min
  28. 28. Gagan Bābu with whom I am putting up, is an exceedingly courteous, noble, and generous-minded man.1 min
  29. 29. Bless me that I may have the most unflinching patience and perseverance.2 min
  30. 30. I shall be drawn up to the hills by the attraction I have for Hrishikesh1 min
  31. 31. If ever I get this true renunciation, I shall let you know1 min
  32. 32. Do please pray for me to Vishvanātha that He may grant me strength1 min
  33. 33. I am Ramakrishna’s slave, having laid my body at his feet “with Til and Tulasi leaves”5 min
  34. 34. We should go on striving and striving even unto death.2 min
  35. 35. Try to be pure and unselfish­—that is the whole of religion.1 min
  36. 36. My children, the secret of religion lies not in theories but in practice.1 min
  37. 37. You must go on with your Japa whatever direction the mind takes.1 min
  38. 38. For us is only submission, calm and perfect.1 min
  39. 39. Please read the Gitā every day to the best of your opportunity.1 min
  40. 40. American women befriended me, gave me shelter and food, took me to their homes and treated me as their own son, their own brother.3 min
  41. 41. The whole American nation loves and respects me, pays my expenses, and reveres me as a Guru.9 min
  42. 42. She wants to work apart from all religions to ameliorate the conditions of women1 min
  43. 43. May even the dust of the world never touch you3 min
  44. 44. Stick to God! Who cares what comes to the body or to anything else!6 min
  45. 45. It won’t do merely to call Shri Ramakrishna an Incarnation, you must manifest power.7 min
  46. 46. A Hindu son never lends to his mother, but the mother has every right over the son1 min
  47. 47. Think all of you that you are the infinitely powerful Ātman, and see what strength comes out.12 min
  48. 48. I can bundle myself up anywhere and feel quite comfortable1 min
  49. 49. Courage! Everything will come about by degrees.1 min
  50. 50. The American women, as everywhere, came to my rescue1 min
  51. 51. Everything will come right if you are pure and sincere3 min
  52. 52. Are you progressing morally, spiritually, and in your worldly affairs?1 min
  53. 53. Honesty is the best policy, and a virtuous man must gain in the end1 min
  54. 54. I want no name—I want to be a voice without a form.7 min
  55. 55. We must work, and this cannot be done by merely sitting idle.2 min
  56. 56. This is a place for action, not enjoyment, and everyone will go home when his task is done10 min
  57. 57. In New York I find more men interested in religion than in any other city1 min
  58. 58. Start centres at different places.3 min
  59. 59. When it comes to doing something I want, they are nowhere.1 min
  60. 60. An immediate work at hand should always have the preference2 min
  61. 61. We must plunge heart and soul and body into the work2 min
  62. 62. In the tiger and in the lamb, in the saint and sinner all He!2 min
  63. 63. See that cooking and drinking water be filtered3 min
  64. 64. Always evil comes out of laziness3 min
  65. 65. This gentleman is the chief citizen of Madras and a Judge of the Supreme Court1 min
  66. 66. Though the attendance is large, it does not even pay enough to cover the rent1 min
  67. 67. I go into the forest alone and read my Gitā and am quite happy1 min
  68. 68. All is for good. All conjunctions are for subsequent disjunction.1 min
  69. 69. To me, the thought of oneself as low and humble is a sin and ignorance4 min
  70. 70. I got up an idea of making books out of the bark1 min
  71. 71. From the day Shri Ramakrishna was born dates the growth of modern India and of the Golden Age.9 min
  72. 72. The first requisite for organisation is obedience.2 min
  73. 73. Know partiality to be the chief cause of all evil3 min
  74. 74. Wherever you can, open a centre.2 min
  75. 75. In this Satya-Yuga the tidal wave of Shri Ramakrishna’s Love has unified all.14 min
  76. 76. Why not wear one’s country-dress, as befits gentlemen?2 min
  77. 77. Why look up to men for approbation, look up to God!4 min
  78. 78. Those who are protected by the Lord must be above fear.3 min
  79. 79. Purity, perseverance, and energy—these three I want1 min
  80. 80. “Avoid not and seek not—wait for what the Lord sends”, is my motto.1 min
  81. 81. When an Englishman takes up a thing, he goes to its very depths.2 min
  82. 82. All great things must of necessity be slow.1 min
  83. 83. I trust those that will not desert me in prosperity and adversity alike.5 min
  84. 84. I am translating a little book on Bhakti with Mr. Sturdy with copious commentaries1 min
  85. 85. Householders of poor means take to various tricks to supply their wants.3 min
  86. 86. I sail by the Britannic on Wednesday, the 27th.1 min
  87. 87. Even if the nation is spiritually poor, it aspires for physical freedom.2 min
  88. 88. The supply must follow the demand, and the demand alone.1 min
  89. 89. Will be glad to lecture before the Harvard Philosophical Club as requested.1 min
  90. 90. Higher direction and not destruction is the law.2 min
  91. 91. Oh, the grief! If I could get two or three like me, I could have left the world convulsed.2 min
  92. 92. Want of sympathy and lack of energy are at the root of all misery1 min
  93. 93. I have worked my best. If there is any seed of truth in it, it will come to life.2 min
  94. 94. What you need is only obedience1 min
  95. 95. I am suffering from slight fever the last two days1 min
  96. 96. I like very much to foster this sort of adventurous spirit among my countrymen1 min
  97. 97. The masses will always have the person, the higher ones the principle; we want both1 min
  98. 98. Above all, his reverence for Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is extreme1 min
  99. 99. In America alone there is that something in the air which brings out whatever is best in every one1 min
  100. 100. We want organisation. Organisation is power, and the secret of this is obedience.1 min
  101. 101. Send Kāli to England as soon as you get this letter.1 min
  102. 102. Beyond, beyond reason and learning and talking is the feeling, the “Love”, the “Beloved”3 min
  103. 103. The English people are very generous.1 min
  104. 104. I want to forget the world entirely at least for the next two months and practise hard. That is my rest.1 min
  105. 105. I want to start a Math at Almora or near Almora rather.1 min
  106. 106. It is for the sinful that the Lord manifests Himself specially, not so much for the virtuous.2 min
  107. 107. Who works? Whose work? There is no world. It is God Himself. In delusion we call it world.3 min
  108. 108. Perfect life is a contradiction in terms2 min
  109. 109. My natural tendency is to go into a cave and be quiet4 min
  110. 110. Great freedom with great law-abidingness.1 min
  111. 111. Specification of work is absolutely necessary. Our special branch is to preach Vedānta.1 min
  112. 112. I am a socialist not because I think it is a perfect system, but half a loaf is better than no bread.6 min
  113. 113. The first edition of Rāja-Yoga is sold out1 min
  114. 114. We want a whole hill, with a view of the snow-range, all to ourselves1 min
  115. 115. Can anything be done unless everybody exerts himself to his utmost?1 min
  116. 116. I am going to start a centre in Calcutta and another in the Himalayas2 min
  117. 117. I intend to return to the U.S. and to Europe thence in about a year.1 min
  118. 118. My idea is to start on a very small scale. I do not know anything yet.1 min
  119. 119. The mind is more powerful than the body.1 min
  120. 120. Tomorrow we reach Rome1 min
  121. 121. My journey has been a huge procession—crowds of people, illuminations, addresses, etc.,1 min
  122. 122. The more the opposition, the more the demon in me is roused.2 min
  123. 123. On metaphysical lines no nation on earth can hold a candle to the Hindus4 min
  124. 124. All caste either on the principle of birth or of merit is bondage.4 min
  125. 125. In all the Vedas illumination alone is the concern3 min
  126. 126. Even my wicked deeds were not for self.1 min
  127. 127. We have been able fearlessly to preach our Vedantic doctrines both in India and England.1 min
  128. 128. Work, work, work, even unto death!2 min
  129. 129. Buy all the good scientific books that you can have in Bengali, and have them read.1 min
  130. 130. Let Memorial Halls and things of that kind go to the dogs.2 min
  131. 131. Never worry about money.1 min
  132. 132. Do not mix in politics etc., nor have any connection with them.2 min
  133. 133. You ought to know from the first that India is the dirtiest and unhealthiest hole in the world2 min
  134. 134. This Kashmir is a veritable heaven on earth.1 min
  135. 135. What one does has no destruction—no, never.1 min
  136. 136. In our country we at present need manhood and kindness.2 min
  137. 137. Victory to the Lord!—To work! To work!2 min
  138. 138. Come out, man! No sleeping all life; time is flying.1 min
  139. 139. Duty must be done first.2 min
  140. 140. Any least trouble undergone, is bound to produce its excellent results.1 min
  141. 141. Be of good cheer. “Never a worker of good came to grief.”1 min
  142. 142. Hinduism and Islam—Vedānta brain and Islam body—is the only hope.1 min
  143. 143. Things go on all right whether we lend them our helping hands or not.1 min
  144. 144. The Mother is our guide and whatever happens or will happen is under Her ordination.1 min
  145. 145. You are appointed by the Mother to watch over my life1 min
  146. 146. Two years of physical suffering have taken away twenty years of my life.1 min
  147. 147. Mother knows best, that is all about me.1 min
  148. 148. Suffering is the lot of the world’s best and bravest1 min
  149. 149. This sort of nervous body is just the instrument to play great music at times1 min
  150. 150. If the Lord has made me His hack to work and die on the streets, let Him have it.3 min
  151. 151. Mother is working it up. She cannot let me go before Her work is done1 min
  152. 152. We are all sacrifices—each in his own way.1 min
  153. 153. One road is quite as good as the other.3 min
  154. 154. The more heart you will be able to manifest, the greater will be the victory you achieve5 min
  155. 155. To become fearless, to be daring, to be careless of everything!1 min
  156. 156. My dreams are breaking. Om Tat Sat!1 min
  157. 157. The seed must die underground to come up as the tree2 min
  158. 158. I have bundled my things and am waiting for the great deliverer.3 min
  159. 159. Mother seems to be kind again and the wheel is slowly rising up.1 min
  160. 160. Mother knows, as I always say. Pray to Mother.1 min
  161. 161. You must know once for all, I am born without jealousy2 min
  162. 162. Who cares for great things? Why not do small things as well?1 min
  163. 163. “Chutney is the thing”, said a voice near the door.3 min
  164. 164. I am surely coming this evening and of course1 min
  165. 165. Two great Englishmen gave up their lives for us—us the Hindus.1 min
  166. 166. Everything is green and gold, and the grass is like velvet1 min
  167. 167. Occasion never found me low yet; Mother will not make me now depressed.2 min
  168. 168. We all work by bits, that is to say, in this cause.1 min
Conversations and Dialogues12 · 1 hr 44 min
  1. I10 min
  2. II11 min
  3. III7 min
  4. IV8 min
  5. V8 min
  6. VI12 min
  7. VII5 min
  8. VIII10 min
  9. IX12 min
  10. X13 min
  11. XI2 min
  12. XII8 min