Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda's letters on the spiritual life: the fire a seeker needs, his love for his Guru Sri Ramakrishna, and Vedanta, devotion and renunciation. Some he wrote in English; others he wrote in Bengali or Sanskrit and are given here in English.
Fire14 letters
- My heart is aching for KashiThis time I have vowed: 'Either I shall let this body fall, or I shall realize the mantra.'
- Bless me, that I may become hardWhat can I tell you of the state of my mind? A hell burns inside it day and night.
- Go like fire everywhereGo to hell yourself, but let others have mukti; to blazes with my own mukti!
- I do not want mukti, I do not want bhaktiIs there any dharma left in India, Dada?
- Life is ever expanding, contraction is deathHe who himself goes even into hell, aching for the jīvas and toiling for them, he is Ramakrishna's son; the rest are wretched.
- You have not caught my fire yetPlunge into the fire and bring the people towards the Lord.
- Be alone! and the Lord is with youFear is the greatest sin my religion teaches.
- Oh, for an ounce of practice!Neither numbers nor powers nor wealth nor learning nor eloquence nor anything else will prevail, but purity, living the life, in one word, anubhuti, realisation.
- Awake, awake, great ones!The world is burning with misery. Can you sleep?
- Clear the deck for fightAchieve happiness or achieve greatness.
- Forward, forward, O heroesMukti lies in the palm of the hero alone, never of the coward.
- Let me never have to die a cowardI want my work as swift as lightning and as unshakable as the thunderbolt.
- It is glorious to fight MotherYes, let the world come, the hells come, the gods come, let Mother come, I fight and do not give in.
- Death for the cause is our goalOur yellow garb is the robe of death on the field of battle.
Guru16 letters
- Few, alas, few understand himYou have hit Ramakrishna in the right point.
- When the pitcher is full it falls silentI received your two letters some days ago.
- There is no one to match RamakrishnaMy own father and mother never loved me so much.
- Without Śakti the world will not be savedHis life is a searchlight of infinite power thrown upon the whole mass of Indian religious thought.
- What harm is there in some people worshipping their GuruGod can only be known in and through man.
- The books were theories, he was the realisationThis man had in fifty-one years lived the five thousand years of national spiritual life
- He was the explanationThere is no hope for the welfare of the world unless women rise.
- This life, this body, bought outrightIn the next life we may look around for some bigger Guru; this life, this body, that fool of a Brahmin has bought outright.
- His prema conquers the worldFrom Sharat I have learned … everything in detail.
- Our Teacher and Lord was so originalOur Teacher and Lord was so original, and each one of us will have to be original or nothing.
- The Greek philosopher's lanternBut I am growing old looking and looking for a man.
- What they love me for is RamakrishnaBut they little dream that what they love me for is Ramakrishna
- What I want now is a little peaceWhat I want now is a little peace; I seem to have no strength left to carry the load of work.
- Glory, glory unto Shri GuruMy boat is nearing the calm harbour from which it is never more to be driven out.
- Only the voice of the Master callingI am only the boy who used to listen with rapt wonderment to the wonderful words of Ramakrishna under the Banyan at Dakshineswar.
- May all powers come unto youMay Mother Herself be your hands and mind!
Jnana13 letters
- Honey does not drip unless you poke the hiveIn your last letter you were a little abashed at my giving you that form of address.
- To know, I will lay down my lifeI will know; and the endless misery that comes in the knowing, I take it on with all my heart.
- Only He isI am like a bit of glass in an ocean of light.
- Fall on the world like an avalancheHave faith in yourself, all power is in you.
- Each soul is a starThe soul never comes nor goes.
- I in Thee and Thou in meA wonderful calmness is coming over my soul.
- There is no world. It is God HimselfNeither I nor thou nor you — it is all He the Lord, all One.
- Doing good to others alone is dharmaThe one who has given everything for others, he alone becomes mukta
- Your question about the willThis is the essence of every dharma: the destruction of vāsanā.
- I am the infinite blue skyI am the infinite blue sky; the clouds may gather over me, but I am the same infinite blue.
- I am freeI am attaining peace that passeth understanding, which is neither joy nor sorrow, but something above them both.
- Only the brave can make tyāgaIt is the big tree that catches the big storm.
- Blessed is the person who has seen the realYet that which is real, the Soul, is ever with us, omnipresent.
Devotion15 letters
- Unless one sees the līlā of such as theseI have your letter too, and by great good fortune I have met Babaji.
- As he talks, fire comes outI have just received your letter, and it gave me the greatest joy.
- You were a cow, you have become a manyou were a cow, you have become a man, and you will become a god, and God.
- I feel Him standing byThe heart of my heart opened wide.
- Hearing Him nothing remains to be heardHe is nearer to you, my dears, than even your father and mother.
- I do not care for anybody who cannot love my "Beloved"Religion to these people is reason, and horribly stony at that.
- The Lord of the Universe is the bond slave of loveWe are here dying for a kiss of His lips.
- Stick to GodDo not go for glass beads leaving the mine of diamonds!
- Thou art my right, Thou my wrong, my ShivaIn the tiger and in the lamb, in the saint and sinner all He!
- Fill up the cup and we will be madHe is my playful darling, I am His playfellow.
- Break all other idolsmy God the wicked, my God the miserable, my God the poor of all races, of all species, is the special object of my worship
- Let there be pūjā of the pratyakṣa GodI was very glad to have your letter.
- No sin greater than that cowardiceThe earth will shake under the tread of each one of you.
- I am Mother's childAlone and drifting about in the will-current of the Mother has been my whole life.
- Thy will be doneWell, the Mother phenomenal has merged in the Mother absolute, eternal.
Renunciation10 letters
- Everything is in His handsI have found the ideal śāstra, I have seen the ideal man with my own eyes
- Anyone can play the masterAnyone can play the master; to be a servant is very hard.
- I long for my rags, my shaven headMy soul is hankering after peace and rest eternal undisturbed.
- I want to close my lips and sit in silence for yearsThis universe is a dream, pure and simple.
- It is renunciation, Tyâga, that is meant by religionThe whole world is a mere child's play — preaching, teaching, and all included.
- I have seen the truthI have seen the truth — let the body float up or down, who cares?
- Our śaraṇa is prema, not dayāWe do not show dayā; we offer sevā.
- The wisdom is therefore in renunciationThe wisdom is therefore in renunciation, that is, to make the Lord our all in all.
- We are all sacrificesit is easier to be reconciled to one's fate as a sacrifice
- Dhyāna and japa are going on in full measureI am now living unknown for a while.
His Master16 letters
- Few, alas, few understand himYou have hit Ramakrishna in the right point.
- Anyone can play the masterAnyone can play the master; to be a servant is very hard.
- There is no one to match RamakrishnaMy own father and mother never loved me so much.
- Without Śakti the world will not be savedHis life is a searchlight of infinite power thrown upon the whole mass of Indian religious thought.
- What harm is there in some people worshipping their GuruGod can only be known in and through man.
- Life is ever expanding, contraction is deathHe who himself goes even into hell, aching for the jīvas and toiling for them, he is Ramakrishna's son; the rest are wretched.
- The books were theories, he was the realisationThis man had in fifty-one years lived the five thousand years of national spiritual life
- He was the explanationThere is no hope for the welfare of the world unless women rise.
- Oh, for an ounce of practice!Neither numbers nor powers nor wealth nor learning nor eloquence nor anything else will prevail, but purity, living the life, in one word, anubhuti, realisation.
- This life, this body, bought outrightIn the next life we may look around for some bigger Guru; this life, this body, that fool of a Brahmin has bought outright.
- Our Teacher and Lord was so originalOur Teacher and Lord was so original, and each one of us will have to be original or nothing.
- The Greek philosopher's lanternBut I am growing old looking and looking for a man.
- What they love me for is RamakrishnaBut they little dream that what they love me for is Ramakrishna
- Glory, glory unto Shri GuruMy boat is nearing the calm harbour from which it is never more to be driven out.
- Only the voice of the Master callingI am only the boy who used to listen with rapt wonderment to the wonderful words of Ramakrishna under the Banyan at Dakshineswar.
- May all powers come unto youMay Mother Herself be your hands and mind!
The Divine Mother7 letters
- No sin greater than that cowardiceThe earth will shake under the tread of each one of you.
- It is glorious to fight MotherYes, let the world come, the hells come, the gods come, let Mother come, I fight and do not give in.
- We are all sacrificesit is easier to be reconciled to one's fate as a sacrifice
- Glory, glory unto Shri GuruMy boat is nearing the calm harbour from which it is never more to be driven out.
- I am Mother's childAlone and drifting about in the will-current of the Mother has been my whole life.
- Thy will be doneWell, the Mother phenomenal has merged in the Mother absolute, eternal.
- May all powers come unto youMay Mother Herself be your hands and mind!
Love of God5 letters
- I feel Him standing byThe heart of my heart opened wide.
- I do not care for anybody who cannot love my "Beloved"Religion to these people is reason, and horribly stony at that.
- The Lord of the Universe is the bond slave of loveWe are here dying for a kiss of His lips.
- Stick to GodDo not go for glass beads leaving the mine of diamonds!
- Fill up the cup and we will be madHe is my playful darling, I am His playfellow.
God in all things9 letters
- I feel Him standing byThe heart of my heart opened wide.
- Hearing Him nothing remains to be heardHe is nearer to you, my dears, than even your father and mother.
- What harm is there in some people worshipping their GuruGod can only be known in and through man.
- Only He isI am like a bit of glass in an ocean of light.
- Thou art my right, Thou my wrong, my ShivaIn the tiger and in the lamb, in the saint and sinner all He!
- Fill up the cup and we will be madHe is my playful darling, I am His playfellow.
- There is no world. It is God HimselfNeither I nor thou nor you — it is all He the Lord, all One.
- Break all other idolsmy God the wicked, my God the miserable, my God the poor of all races, of all species, is the special object of my worship
- Your question about the willThis is the essence of every dharma: the destruction of vāsanā.
His will be done7 letters
- Everything is in His handsI have found the ideal śāstra, I have seen the ideal man with my own eyes
- Hearing Him nothing remains to be heardHe is nearer to you, my dears, than even your father and mother.
- Stick to GodDo not go for glass beads leaving the mine of diamonds!
- Thou art my right, Thou my wrong, my ShivaIn the tiger and in the lamb, in the saint and sinner all He!
- We are all sacrificesit is easier to be reconciled to one's fate as a sacrifice
- I am Mother's childAlone and drifting about in the will-current of the Mother has been my whole life.
- Thy will be doneWell, the Mother phenomenal has merged in the Mother absolute, eternal.
The Self8 letters
- To know, I will lay down my lifeI will know; and the endless misery that comes in the knowing, I take it on with all my heart.
- Fall on the world like an avalancheHave faith in yourself, all power is in you.
- Each soul is a starThe soul never comes nor goes.
- I in Thee and Thou in meA wonderful calmness is coming over my soul.
- I have seen the truthI have seen the truth — let the body float up or down, who cares?
- I am the infinite blue skyI am the infinite blue sky; the clouds may gather over me, but I am the same infinite blue.
- I am freeI am attaining peace that passeth understanding, which is neither joy nor sorrow, but something above them both.
- Blessed is the person who has seen the realYet that which is real, the Soul, is ever with us, omnipresent.
Peace and stillness6 letters
- I in Thee and Thou in meA wonderful calmness is coming over my soul.
- It is renunciation, Tyâga, that is meant by religionThe whole world is a mere child's play — preaching, teaching, and all included.
- What I want now is a little peaceWhat I want now is a little peace; I seem to have no strength left to carry the load of work.
- I am the infinite blue skyI am the infinite blue sky; the clouds may gather over me, but I am the same infinite blue.
- I am freeI am attaining peace that passeth understanding, which is neither joy nor sorrow, but something above them both.
- Only the voice of the Master callingI am only the boy who used to listen with rapt wonderment to the wonderful words of Ramakrishna under the Banyan at Dakshineswar.
Renouncing the world10 letters
- The Lord of the Universe is the bond slave of loveWe are here dying for a kiss of His lips.
- Be alone! and the Lord is with youFear is the greatest sin my religion teaches.
- I long for my rags, my shaven headMy soul is hankering after peace and rest eternal undisturbed.
- I want to close my lips and sit in silence for yearsThis universe is a dream, pure and simple.
- It is renunciation, Tyâga, that is meant by religionThe whole world is a mere child's play — preaching, teaching, and all included.
- I have seen the truthI have seen the truth — let the body float up or down, who cares?
- Our śaraṇa is prema, not dayāWe do not show dayā; we offer sevā.
- Your question about the willThis is the essence of every dharma: the destruction of vāsanā.
- The wisdom is therefore in renunciationThe wisdom is therefore in renunciation, that is, to make the Lord our all in all.
- Only the brave can make tyāgaIt is the big tree that catches the big storm.
Laying down the work6 letters
- I long for my rags, my shaven headMy soul is hankering after peace and rest eternal undisturbed.
- I want to close my lips and sit in silence for yearsThis universe is a dream, pure and simple.
- There is no world. It is God HimselfNeither I nor thou nor you — it is all He the Lord, all One.
- What they love me for is RamakrishnaBut they little dream that what they love me for is Ramakrishna
- What I want now is a little peaceWhat I want now is a little peace; I seem to have no strength left to carry the load of work.
- Only the voice of the Master callingI am only the boy who used to listen with rapt wonderment to the wonderful words of Ramakrishna under the Banyan at Dakshineswar.
Living it, not talking5 letters
- I do not care for anybody who cannot love my "Beloved"Religion to these people is reason, and horribly stony at that.
- Only He isI am like a bit of glass in an ocean of light.
- The books were theories, he was the realisationThis man had in fifty-one years lived the five thousand years of national spiritual life
- You have not caught my fire yetPlunge into the fire and bring the people towards the Lord.
- Oh, for an ounce of practice!Neither numbers nor powers nor wealth nor learning nor eloquence nor anything else will prevail, but purity, living the life, in one word, anubhuti, realisation.
Strength and fearlessness9 letters
- Bless me, that I may become hardWhat can I tell you of the state of my mind? A hell burns inside it day and night.
- Fall on the world like an avalancheHave faith in yourself, all power is in you.
- Be alone! and the Lord is with youFear is the greatest sin my religion teaches.
- Forward, forward, O heroesMukti lies in the palm of the hero alone, never of the coward.
- Let me never have to die a cowardI want my work as swift as lightning and as unshakable as the thunderbolt.
- No sin greater than that cowardiceThe earth will shake under the tread of each one of you.
- It is glorious to fight MotherYes, let the world come, the hells come, the gods come, let Mother come, I fight and do not give in.
- Death for the cause is our goalOur yellow garb is the robe of death on the field of battle.
- Only the brave can make tyāgaIt is the big tree that catches the big storm.
A call to action8 letters
- Go like fire everywhereGo to hell yourself, but let others have mukti; to blazes with my own mukti!
- Life is ever expanding, contraction is deathHe who himself goes even into hell, aching for the jīvas and toiling for them, he is Ramakrishna's son; the rest are wretched.
- You have not caught my fire yetPlunge into the fire and bring the people towards the Lord.
- Awake, awake, great ones!The world is burning with misery. Can you sleep?
- Clear the deck for fightAchieve happiness or achieve greatness.
- Forward, forward, O heroesMukti lies in the palm of the hero alone, never of the coward.
- Let me never have to die a cowardI want my work as swift as lightning and as unshakable as the thunderbolt.
- Death for the cause is our goalOur yellow garb is the robe of death on the field of battle.
Serving others6 letters
- Anyone can play the masterAnyone can play the master; to be a servant is very hard.
- Go like fire everywhereGo to hell yourself, but let others have mukti; to blazes with my own mukti!
- Life is ever expanding, contraction is deathHe who himself goes even into hell, aching for the jīvas and toiling for them, he is Ramakrishna's son; the rest are wretched.
- Doing good to others alone is dharmaThe one who has given everything for others, he alone becomes mukta
- Our śaraṇa is prema, not dayāWe do not show dayā; we offer sevā.
- Break all other idolsmy God the wicked, my God the miserable, my God the poor of all races, of all species, is the special object of my worship
The rise of women4 letters
- Without Śakti the world will not be savedHis life is a searchlight of infinite power thrown upon the whole mass of Indian religious thought.
- Go like fire everywhereGo to hell yourself, but let others have mukti; to blazes with my own mukti!
- Fall on the world like an avalancheHave faith in yourself, all power is in you.
- He was the explanationThere is no hope for the welfare of the world unless women rise.
Longing and struggle5 letters
- Everything is in His handsI have found the ideal śāstra, I have seen the ideal man with my own eyes
- My heart is aching for KashiThis time I have vowed: 'Either I shall let this body fall, or I shall realize the mantra.'
- To know, I will lay down my lifeI will know; and the endless misery that comes in the knowing, I take it on with all my heart.
- You were a cow, you have become a manyou were a cow, you have become a man, and you will become a god, and God.
- Bless me, that I may become hardWhat can I tell you of the state of my mind? A hell burns inside it day and night.
Grief and loss5 letters
- Each soul is a starThe soul never comes nor goes.
- Doing good to others alone is dharmaThe one who has given everything for others, he alone becomes mukta
- Only the brave can make tyāgaIt is the big tree that catches the big storm.
- Thy will be doneWell, the Mother phenomenal has merged in the Mother absolute, eternal.
- Blessed is the person who has seen the realYet that which is real, the Soul, is ever with us, omnipresent.
1889
- Few, alas, few understand himYou have hit Ramakrishna in the right point.
- Everything is in His handsI have found the ideal śāstra, I have seen the ideal man with my own eyes
- Honey does not drip unless you poke the hiveIn your last letter you were a little abashed at my giving you that form of address.
- When the pitcher is full it falls silentI received your two letters some days ago.
- My heart is aching for KashiThis time I have vowed: 'Either I shall let this body fall, or I shall realize the mantra.'
1890
- To know, I will lay down my lifeI will know; and the endless misery that comes in the knowing, I take it on with all my heart.
- Unless one sees the līlā of such as theseI have your letter too, and by great good fortune I have met Babaji.
- As he talks, fire comes outI have just received your letter, and it gave me the greatest joy.
- You were a cow, you have become a manyou were a cow, you have become a man, and you will become a god, and God.
- Anyone can play the masterAnyone can play the master; to be a servant is very hard.
- There is no one to match RamakrishnaMy own father and mother never loved me so much.
- Bless me, that I may become hardWhat can I tell you of the state of my mind? A hell burns inside it day and night.
1893
1894
- Without Śakti the world will not be savedHis life is a searchlight of infinite power thrown upon the whole mass of Indian religious thought.
- Go like fire everywhereGo to hell yourself, but let others have mukti; to blazes with my own mukti!
- I do not want mukti, I do not want bhaktiIs there any dharma left in India, Dada?
- What harm is there in some people worshipping their GuruGod can only be known in and through man.
- I do not care for anybody who cannot love my "Beloved"Religion to these people is reason, and horribly stony at that.
- Life is ever expanding, contraction is deathHe who himself goes even into hell, aching for the jīvas and toiling for them, he is Ramakrishna's son; the rest are wretched.
- The Lord of the Universe is the bond slave of loveWe are here dying for a kiss of His lips.
- Stick to GodDo not go for glass beads leaving the mine of diamonds!
- Only He isI am like a bit of glass in an ocean of light.
- Fall on the world like an avalancheHave faith in yourself, all power is in you.
- The books were theories, he was the realisationThis man had in fifty-one years lived the five thousand years of national spiritual life
1895
- He was the explanationThere is no hope for the welfare of the world unless women rise.
- You have not caught my fire yetPlunge into the fire and bring the people towards the Lord.
- Each soul is a starThe soul never comes nor goes.
- Be alone! and the Lord is with youFear is the greatest sin my religion teaches.
- Thou art my right, Thou my wrong, my ShivaIn the tiger and in the lamb, in the saint and sinner all He!
- I in Thee and Thou in meA wonderful calmness is coming over my soul.
- Oh, for an ounce of practice!Neither numbers nor powers nor wealth nor learning nor eloquence nor anything else will prevail, but purity, living the life, in one word, anubhuti, realisation.
- This life, this body, bought outrightIn the next life we may look around for some bigger Guru; this life, this body, that fool of a Brahmin has bought outright.
1896
- I long for my rags, my shaven headMy soul is hankering after peace and rest eternal undisturbed.
- I want to close my lips and sit in silence for yearsThis universe is a dream, pure and simple.
- His prema conquers the worldFrom Sharat I have learned … everything in detail.
- Awake, awake, great ones!The world is burning with misery. Can you sleep?
- Fill up the cup and we will be madHe is my playful darling, I am His playfellow.
- It is renunciation, Tyâga, that is meant by religionThe whole world is a mere child's play — preaching, teaching, and all included.
- There is no world. It is God HimselfNeither I nor thou nor you — it is all He the Lord, all One.
- Clear the deck for fightAchieve happiness or achieve greatness.
1897
- Forward, forward, O heroesMukti lies in the palm of the hero alone, never of the coward.
- Doing good to others alone is dharmaThe one who has given everything for others, he alone becomes mukta
- I have seen the truthI have seen the truth — let the body float up or down, who cares?
- Our śaraṇa is prema, not dayāWe do not show dayā; we offer sevā.
- Break all other idolsmy God the wicked, my God the miserable, my God the poor of all races, of all species, is the special object of my worship
- Let there be pūjā of the pratyakṣa GodI was very glad to have your letter.
- Let me never have to die a cowardI want my work as swift as lightning and as unshakable as the thunderbolt.
- Our Teacher and Lord was so originalOur Teacher and Lord was so original, and each one of us will have to be original or nothing.
1898
1899
- The Greek philosopher's lanternBut I am growing old looking and looking for a man.
- The wisdom is therefore in renunciationThe wisdom is therefore in renunciation, that is, to make the Lord our all in all.
- No sin greater than that cowardiceThe earth will shake under the tread of each one of you.
- It is glorious to fight MotherYes, let the world come, the hells come, the gods come, let Mother come, I fight and do not give in.
1900
- We are all sacrificesit is easier to be reconciled to one's fate as a sacrifice
- What they love me for is RamakrishnaBut they little dream that what they love me for is Ramakrishna
- What I want now is a little peaceWhat I want now is a little peace; I seem to have no strength left to carry the load of work.
- I am the infinite blue skyI am the infinite blue sky; the clouds may gather over me, but I am the same infinite blue.
- I am freeI am attaining peace that passeth understanding, which is neither joy nor sorrow, but something above them both.
- Glory, glory unto Shri GuruMy boat is nearing the calm harbour from which it is never more to be driven out.
- I am Mother's childAlone and drifting about in the will-current of the Mother has been my whole life.
- Only the voice of the Master callingI am only the boy who used to listen with rapt wonderment to the wonderful words of Ramakrishna under the Banyan at Dakshineswar.
- Death for the cause is our goalOur yellow garb is the robe of death on the field of battle.
- Dhyāna and japa are going on in full measureI am now living unknown for a while.
- Only the brave can make tyāgaIt is the big tree that catches the big storm.
1901
1902
68 letters