Swami Vivekanand's Thouughts on Man the Creator of His Destiny
What do I care if Mohammed was a good man, or
Buddha! Does that alter my own goodness or evil?
Let us be good for our own sake on our own responsibility! Not because some body way back there was good! (Reminisces of Swami Vivekananda p. 273)
We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves.
If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act.(I. 31)
This human body is the greatest body in the universe, and a human being the greatest being. Man is higher than all animals, than all angels; none is greater than man.(I.142)
Man is man, so long as he is struggling to rise above nature, and this nature is both internal and external. … And if we read the history of nations between the lines, we shall always find that the raise of a nation comes with an increase in the number of such men; and the fall begins when this pursuit after the Infinite, however vain the Utilitarians may Call it, has ceased, That is to say, the mainspring of the strength of every race lies in its spirituality, and the death of that race begins the day that spirituality wanes and materialism gains ground.(II. 64-65)
This world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.(V.410)
All healthy social changes are the manifestations of the spiritual forces working within, and if these are strong and will adjusted, society will arrange itself accordingly. Each individual has t work out his own salvation; there is no other way, and so also with nations.
… It is very easy to point out the defects of institutions, all being more or less imperfect, but he is the real benefactor of humanity who helps the individual to overcome his imperfections under whatever institutions he may live. The individuals being raised the nation and its
Buddha! Does that alter my own goodness or evil?
Let us be good for our own sake on our own responsibility! Not because some body way back there was good! (Reminisces of Swami Vivekananda p. 273)
We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves.
If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act.(I. 31)
This human body is the greatest body in the universe, and a human being the greatest being. Man is higher than all animals, than all angels; none is greater than man.(I.142)
Man is man, so long as he is struggling to rise above nature, and this nature is both internal and external. … And if we read the history of nations between the lines, we shall always find that the raise of a nation comes with an increase in the number of such men; and the fall begins when this pursuit after the Infinite, however vain the Utilitarians may Call it, has ceased, That is to say, the mainspring of the strength of every race lies in its spirituality, and the death of that race begins the day that spirituality wanes and materialism gains ground.(II. 64-65)
This world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.(V.410)
All healthy social changes are the manifestations of the spiritual forces working within, and if these are strong and will adjusted, society will arrange itself accordingly. Each individual has t work out his own salvation; there is no other way, and so also with nations.
… It is very easy to point out the defects of institutions, all being more or less imperfect, but he is the real benefactor of humanity who helps the individual to overcome his imperfections under whatever institutions he may live. The individuals being raised the nation and its