To succeed, you must have tremendous perseverance, tremendous will. “I will drink the ocean”, says the persevering soul; “at my will mountains will crumble up”. Have that sort of energy, that sort of will; work hard, and you will reach the goal.

– Swami Vivekananda

Vivekananda was a Hindu monk and the chief disciple of 19th century Indian mystic Ramakrishna. His original name was Narendranath Datta. He was responsible for bringing up Hinduism as one of the major religions of the world in the 19th century. He was a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India and contributed to the concept of nationalism. Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission.

What makes him an epitome of knowledge and wisdom?

Vivekananda was a great orator and public speaker. For over twelve years from 1890-1902, amidst much hardship, suffering, and personal humiliation, Swami Vivekananda toured all over India and to several places abroad as an itinerant monk, preaching and working on diverse problems. He mainly taught on the aspects of Education, Religion, Character Building, Womanhood, Spirit of Service and National Integration.

Swami Vivekananda said of Education: “Education is the manifestation of perfection already in man”. He said that without Education, man would never know of his self-respect and his self-reliance. He would have self-confidence and a lot of positive strength to move ahead and achieve things in life.

Of Religion, Vivekananda said, “To be good and to do good unto others – that is the essence of Religion”. Be it any religion, when there is a sense of humanity and secularism among everyone in this diverse nation. Swami Vivekananda preached that Truth is the basis of all Religions and hence we must always practice tolerance towards other religions.

On Character, he said, “To become divine (or great), man must give up suspicion, jealousy, conceit and learn to work unitedly for the common good. Courage, faith (in oneself & in God), patience and steady work, according to Swami Vivekananda, is the way to success.”

Of Spirit of Service, he said, “Believe in the power of love. Have you loved? – You are omnipotent(meaning, powerful). Are you perfectly unselfish? If so, you are irresistible. It is the character that pays everywhere. Give up jealousy and conceit. Learn to work unitedly for others. That is the great need of our country.”

Not just about these, Swami Vivekananda had given many speeches which were later written and published in the form of books. Even the personal letters that he had written from abroad were collected and published in books. He was a man of immense knowledge and wisdom. He had stressed, “Divinity is latent within you. All the power is in you”. Never forget that. While you should do well in your studies, you must also give your attention to the proper building of your body and mind that your heart may always crave for doing good to others. As you grow, let all of you become great in all aspects of life.

Image Courtesy: BlogQpot

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