Vedanta Quotes

“We have always heard it preached, „Love one another“. What for? That doctrine was peached, but the explanation is here. Why should I love every one? Because they and I are one. Why should I love my brother? Because he and I are one. There is this oneness; this solidarity of the whole universe. From the lowest worm that crawls under our feet to the highest beings that ever lived – all have various bodies, but are the one Soul.”
― Swami Vivekananda, Practical Vedanta

“Actions are the louder expression of thought. The quality of thought is ordered by the nature of our inner belief and faith.”
― Swami Chinmayananda

“„Love one another“. What for? That doctrine was preached, but the explanation is here. Why should I love every one? Because they and I are one. Why should I love my brother? Because he and I are one. There is this oneness; this solidarity of the whole universe. From the lowest worm that crawls under our feet to the highest beings that ever lived – all have various bodies, but are the one Soul.”
― Swami Vivekananda, Practical Vedanta

“For one kiss of Thy lips, O Beloved! One who has been kissed by Thee, has his thirst for Thee increasing for ever, all his sorrows vanish, and he forgets all things except Thee alone. Aspire after that kiss of the Beloved, that touch of His lips which makes the devotee mad, which makes of man a god. To him, who has been blessed with such a kiss, the whole of nature changes, worlds vanish, suns and moons die out, and the universe itself melts away into that one infinite ocean of love. That is the perfection of the madness of love.”
― Swami Vivekananda, Bhakti Yoga: The Yoga of Love and Devotion

“I may be called by different titles in different parts of the world - in the west, a humanitarian scientist or a christian mystic - in the middle-east, a sufi or a pir - in the east, an advaitin or a buddha, but beyond the layers of terminologies, I am just a human living as human.”
― Abhijit Naskar

“We have always heard it preached, „Love one another“. What for? That doctrine was preached, but the explanation is here. Why should I love every one? Because they and I are one. Why should I love my brother? Because he and I are one. There is this oneness; this solidarity of the whole universe. From the lowest worm that crawls under our feet to the highest beings that ever lived – all have various bodies, but are the one Soul.”
― Swami Vivekananda, Practical Vedanta

“Now, we know that the universal Soul is infinite. How can infinity have parts? How can it be broken up, divided? It may be very poetic to say that I am a spark of the Infinite, but it is absurd to the thinking mind. What is meant by dividing Infinity? Is it something material that you can part or separate it into pieces? Infinite can never be divided. If that were possible, it would be no more Infinite. What is the conclusion then? The answer is, that Soul which is the universal is you; you are not a part but the whole of It. You are the whole of God. Then what are all these varieties? We find so many millions of individual souls. What are they? If the sun reflects upon millions of globules of water, in each globule is the form, the perfect image of the sun; but they are only images, and the real sun is only one. So this apparent soul that is in every one of us is only the image of God, nothing beyond that. The real Being who is behind, is that one God. We are all one there. As Self, there is only one in the universe. It is in me and you, and is only one; and that one Self has been reflected in all these various bodies as various different selves. But we do not know this; we think we are separate from each other and separate from Him. And so long as we think this, misery will be in the world. This is hallucination.”
― Swami Vivekananda, Practical Vedanta

“„If action yoga suggests a change in attitude toward action, knowledge yoga requires a change in the way we think. Ordinarily, because the intellect is Self-ignorant and under ego‘s passionate influence, its concepts cause suffering. To right the inner disharmony, knowledge yoga aims to detach intellect from ego and train it to identify with and think from the Self. „Thinking from the Self“ means that impersonal truth, not personal prejudice, becomes the center of one‘s thought life, the point from which thoughts originate and to which they return.

Self-ignorance manifests first as a confused and unrealistic thought life, then trickles down to disturb and delude the emotions, eventually contaminating in one‘s contact with the outer world. Because it eliminates incorrect, ignorance-born, ego-centered thoughts, reality-based knowledge produces a harmonious, clear and luminous subtle body, one suited to meditation. (p. 64)”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“If action yoga suggests a change in attitude toward action, knowledge yoga requires a change in the way we think. Ordinarily, because the intellect is Self-ignorant and under ego‘s passionate influence, its concepts cause suffering. To right the inner disharmony, knowledge yoga aims to detach intellect from ego and train it to identify with and think from the Self. „Thinking from the Self“ means that impersonal truth, not personal prejudice, becomes the center of one‘s thought life, the point from which thoughts originate and to which they return.

Self-ignorance manifests first as a confused and unrealistic thought life, then trickles down to disturb and delude the emotions, eventually contaminating in one‘s contact with the outer world. Because it eliminates incorrect, ignorance-born, ego-centered thoughts, reality-based knowledge produces a harmonious, clear and luminous subtle body, one suited to meditation. (p. 64)”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“This path‘s basic technique is the discrimination between the real and the unreal, the seer and the seen, the subject and the object, the ego and the Self, and is meant to be practiced both in the seat of meditation and in daily life. The meditator should continually strive to bring his or her thought life in line with the experience of the Self garnered in meditation and elsewhere. For example, if I think there is something wrong with me, that I am unworthy or impure, for example, I need to square this idea with the experience of myself in meditation as a whole and complete being.”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“Nothing purifies like the experience of the Self, which releases a flood of healing, cleansing, spiritual energy into the conscious and unconscious minds. Although most epiphanies wear off in a matter of hours, occasionally days, they produce powerful spiritual vasanas which can inspire practice and keep the mind focused on the goal. Practiced diligently, meditation techniques purify the mind because they bring awareness to unholy patterns of thought and feeling. Unhealthy thoughts cannot survive the penetrating light of awareness. (p. 66)”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“Meditation and inquiry are only possible in a sattvic mind. Three buckets of waters stand in front of a white wall. The sun reflects off the water, producing three reflected suns on the wall. A strong wind roiling the contents of the first buckets produces a dancing image of the sun. The second, filled with muddy water, produces a dull, dark spot. The third, containing clear and still water, generates an accurate reflection of the sun. If the purpose of meditation is Self-Realization and the mind is the instrument through which the Self is known, it stands to reason that accurate identification of the Self depends on a clear still mind.

When the subtle body is pure, the bliss of the Self uplifts the emotions and awakens subtle devotional feelings. When the subtle body is pure, the Self illumines the intellect, enhancing discrimination and inspiring brilliant thinking. Radiant health results when a sattvic subtle body channels the Self‘s healing energy to the body (p. 69)”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“Experience has demonstrated a direct connection between mental and emotional pain and predominance of rajas and tamas relative to sattva. Meditation and inquiry are only possible in a sattvic mind. Three buckets of water stand in front of a white wall. The sun reflects off the water, producing three reflected suns on the wall. A strong wind roiling the contents of the first bucket produces a dancing image of the sun. The second, filled with muddy water, produces a dull, dark spot. The third, containing clear and still water, generates an accurate reflection of the sun. If the purpose of meditation is Self-realization and the mind is the instrument through which the Self is known, it stands to reason that accurate identification of the Self depends on a clear still mind. When the subtle body is pure, the bliss of the Self uplifts the emotions and awakens subtle devotional feelings. When the subtle body is pure, the Self illumines the intellect, enhancing discrimination and inspiring brilliant thinking. Radiant health results when a sattvic subtle body channels the Self‘s healing energy to the body. (p. 69)”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“Spiritual practice doesn‘t attempt to correct the past or change our circumstances, but to change the way we see ourselves and the world. Directing attention to the highest in us cleanses subconscious sources of pain and minimizes the danger of building a suffering-based identity. If the ego is thought to be the self, its negativities will never be eliminated, because its very existence is a negativity based on a fundamental error. (p. 71)”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“Food should be eaten fresh. Food is not only physical substance but shakti, or energy, a manifestation of Consciousness in living beings. (p. 72)”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“Food should be eaten fresh. Food is not only physical substance but shakti, or energy, a manifestation of Consciousness in living beings [...] finally, although rajas and tamas are desirable in moderate amounts, the state of mind in which food is gathered, prepared and consumed should be sattvic. Because food is given by God to sustain life, one eats with gratitude, not fear or desire. See the body as a temple or an instrument of the Divine and treat it with great love and respect. If the ultimate purpose of life is the realization of the Self and meditation the means to it, then one‘s relationship to food is important because it directly affects the quality of the mind. (pp. 72-74)”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“Loved unconditionally, the world starts loving back! The more love is practiced, the more it flows, like a mountain torrent in springtime, flushing away unforgiving thoughts and feelings. Slowly attention turns within, awakening the devotee to the unlimited power of Love. When our small loves find their infinite Source we are free and are no longer compelled to grovel at the feet of the world. (p. 84)”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“Try seeing your body and home as God‘s temple, regarding your spouse and children as God‘s own, considering every spoken word the name of the Lord and every duty as service of God. Bending, lying or kneeling should be considered prostration to God, walking as circumambulation of the deity, all lights as symbols of the Self, sleep as samadhi, rest as meditation and the act of eating as God eating God. In this manner every object and activity loses its secular character and becomes divine through devotional practice. (p. 86)”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“For one kiss of Thy lips, O Beloved! One who has been kissed by Thee, has his thirst for Thee increasing for ever, all his sorrows vanish, and he forgets all things except Thee alone." Aspire after that kiss of the Beloved, that touch of His lips which makes the devotee mad, which makes of man a god. To him, who has been blessed with such a kiss, the whole of nature changes, worlds vanish, suns and moons die out, and the universe itself melts away into that one infinite ocean of love. That is the perfection of the madness of love.”
― Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda: Volume 1

“A completely spiritual love, the devotee sees God, the innermost Self, as divinely beautiful and lovely, an Adonis or Aphrodite, to be loved with affections verging on the erotic. In this style of love, all conventions, reservations, hesitations and personal views are cast aside and an exclusive, potentially jealous, love cultivated. A gargantuan appetite, craving for the embrace of God, the experience of the Self, is evidenced, the need for spiritual experience replacing the need for physical gratification. Just as lovers locked in the throes of orgasm do not know inside or outside, or which body is which, the devotee in union with the Self sees no distinctions and experiences, only the sweetest bliss. (p. 91)”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“The state of devotion to which this verse refers is not a simple love of God inspired by blind belief, but an inner transformation, the rebirth of the soul out of the womb of matter into the realm of pure Spirit. It is a spontaneous awakening to the ultimate state of Being, an ecstatic, expansive, dynamic, openended experience that fills the head with wisdom and the heart with love. Unlike „born again“ experiences, which quickly fade, leaving the devotee caught up in the limitations of the old life, the heart merges completely and permanently into the Self. (p. 96)”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“Attaining It one becomes intoxicated, then silent, delighting in the Self“ (Narada Bhakti Sutras) The state of devotion to which this verse refers is not a simple love of God inspired by blind belief, but an inner transformation, the rebirth of the soul out of the womb of matter into the realm of pure Spirit. It is a spontaneous awakening to the ultimate state of Being, an ecstatic, expansive, dynamic, openended experience that fills the head with wisdom and the heart with love. Unlike „born again“ experiences, which quickly fade, leaving the devotee caught up in the limitations of the old life, the heart merges completely and permanently into the Self. (p. 96)”
― James Swartz, Meditation: Inquiry Into the Self

“We may doubt everything. We may even deny everything, but we cannot deny consciousness because it is consciousness that is doubting, and it is consciousness that is denying things. When all things go because of the denial of all things, then what remains? There remains the consciousness of having denied everything and the consciousness of doubting all things. Even if we feel that we do not exist—we are annihilated or we are dead, for instance—even then, we feel that at the back of our imagination of the annihilation of our personality there is a consciousness of the annihilation of personality. Even if we say that there is only a vacuum, and there is nil, and finally nothing exists in the world, there is a consciousness that affirms that nothing exists. Hence, it is impossible to obviate the predicament of a consciousness interfering with all things”
― Swami Krishnananda, Commentary On The Panchadasi/Vol 1

“Now and then we know a moment of supreme bliss, when we ask nothing, give nothing, know nothing but bliss. Then it passes, and we again see the panorama of the universe moving before us; and we know that it is but a mosaic work set upon God, who is the background of all things. Vedanta teaches that nirvana can be attained here and now, that we do not have to wait for death to reach it. Nirvana is the realization of the Self, and after having once known that, if only for an instant, never again can one be deluded by the mirage of personality. Having eyes, we must see the apparent, but all the time we know what it is; we have found out its true nature. It is the screen that hides the Self, which is unchanging. The screen opens and we find the Self behind it. All change is the screen. In the saint the screen is thin, and the reality can almost shine through. In the sinner the screen is thick, and we are able to lose sight of the truth that the atman [Self] is there, as well as behind the saint’s screen. When the screen is wholly removed, we find it never existed—that we were the atman and nothing else, even the screen is forgotten.

The two phases of this distinction in life are: First, that the man, who knows the real Self, will not be affected by anything; secondly, that that man alone can do good to the world. That man alone will have seen the real motive of doing good to others, because there is only one. It cannot be called egoistic, because that would be differentiation. It is only selflessness. It is the perception of the universal, not of the individual. Every case of love and sympathy is an assertion of this universal. “Not I, but thou.” Help another, because you are in him and he is in you, is the philosophical way of putting it. The real Vedantist alone will give up his life for a fellow being without any compunction, because he knows he will not die. As long as there is one insect left in the world, he is living; as long as one mouth eats, he eats. So he goes on doing good to others, and is never hindered by the modern ideas of caring for the body. When a man reaches this point of abnegation, he goes beyond the moral struggle, beyond everything. He sees in the most learned priest, in the cow, in the dog, in the most miserable places, neither the learned man, nor the cow, nor the dog, nor the miserable place, but the same divinity manifesting itself in them all. He alone is the happy man; and the man who has acquired that sameness has, even in this life, conquered all existence. God is pure; therefore such a man is said to be living in God.”
― Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Works Of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 1

“Die Schöpfung ist einfach eine Mischung aus einem einzigen, bewussten, unveränderlichen Subjekt und fortwährend sich ändernden Objekten. Richte deinen Blick also auf dich; der sich verändernde Teil bist nicht du und der unveränderliche Teil bist du. Wenn das unveränderliche Gewahrsein, das du bist, sein Licht auf den leblosen Materie-Teil von dir richtet, dann werden dein Körper und Geist belebt. Du verleihst ihnen Leben, nicht sie dir. Das gesamte Universum wird vom Bewusstsein getragen. Auf der Ebene des physischen Körpers wird das Bewusstsein als das Lebensprinzip (prana) erfahren. Solltest du irgendwie daran zweifeln, dann berühre deinen Körper und du wirst Empfindung erfahren und erkennen, dass er vom Bewusstseinsprinzip gesegnet ist. Wenn du aber nicht mehr mit deinem Körper verbunden bist, wird er zur Nahrung für die Würmer. Weitest du dieses Denken auf die kosmische Ebene aus, kannst du nur zum Schluss kommen, dass der Kosmos ein einziges, harmonisches, intelligentes Wesen ist. Der sichtbare, erfahrbare Teil der Schöpfung ist Materie und das intelligente, erhaltende Prinzip ist Gott, Bewusstsein. (S. 70)”
― James Swartz, Yoga der Liebe: Naradas Bhakti Sutra aus der Perspektive des Vedanta

“Our world, according to Dharma, is a place that is replete with inherent meaning, value, and an intelligent design underlying its physical principles and laws, as well as a transcendent purpose that, while not necessarily discernible via empirical means, nonetheless forms a very concrete spiritual basis of all empirical reality. The material, according to Dharma, finds its origin and sustaining ground in the spiritual. The measurable is grounded upon the infinite. The spiritual necessarily precedes the material. The world is here for a purpose – and that purpose is God’s purpose. The word “dharma”, in this more important philosophical sense, refers to those underlying natural principles that are inherent in the very structure of reality, ordering our world as the metaphysical
backdrop to the drama of everyday phenomenal existence, and that has their origin in the causeless will and grace of God. Dharma is Natural Law. Thus, if we needed to render the entire term Sanatana Dharma into English, we can cautiously translate it as „The Eternal Natural Way“. (p. 47)”
― Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya, Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way

“The teachings of 1) the Upanishads, coupled with 2) the Bhagavad Gita and 3) the Brahma Sutras, form the scriptural foundation of Vedanta, which constitutes the highest philosophical teachings of Sanatana Dharma. The term "Vedanta" is composed of two Sanskrit words. "Veda" means knowledge, and "anta" means the end, or culmination. Thus, Vedanta represents the "Culmination of all Knowledge". Of the 108 volumes of the Upanishads, several are extremely esoteric, while some are more easily understandable by modern readers. In either case, the only way to fully understand the teachings of both the Upanishads and any other sacred work of the Vedic literature is to study these works under the expert guidance of an authentic and self-realized guru (spiritual master). It is impossible to understand the inner spiritual essence of the Vedic scriptures without the grace of an authorized guru.”
― Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya

“The Bhagavad Gita presents us with a unitary system of Yoga, one clear and systematic path, wherein all four Yoga techniques of jnana, karma, bhakti and classical ashtanga are - together – all considered crucial for spiritual realization. These four supposedly different paths, in actuality, represent four aspects of one, unified, integral Yoga system. They are akin to the four sides of a square. If one of the sides of the square is missing, then the very structural integrity and being of the square is itself compromised. Indeed, it no longer is logically qualified as a "square" at all. Similarly, the complete
and authentic path of Yoga spirituality must include all these four components of Yoga in order to be fully appreciated.

It is true that these four Yogas are linked by their common emphasis on devotional meditation upon, and the ultimate loving absorption of our awareness in, the Absolute. However, it is also inarguably clear that Krishna considers bhakti-yoga, or the discipline of focused devotional consciousness, to be not merely one component of these four branches of Yoga, but as the very essence and goal of all Yoga practice itself. Unlike the other aspects of the Yoga path, bhakti (devotional meditation) is distinguished by the fact that it is not only a means (upaya) for knowing God, but it is simultaneously also the goal (artha) of all human existence. As the means, bhakti designates devotional meditation; as the goal, bhakti means devotional consciousness. At no time does one abandon the practice of bhakti, even upon achieving liberation. Rather, devotional consciousness focused with one-pointed awareness upon the Absolute represents the very goal of the entire Yoga system.”
― Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya, Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way

“Having the Supreme Godhead as our source, our souls participate in the positive spiritual qualities of the Absolute. Both our souls (Atman) and God (Brahman) share in the inherent spiritual qualities of necessary being and existence, eternality, wisdom, beauty and goodness.”
― Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya, Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way

“God, or Brahman, is the source of all. In the state of illusion, the soul (Atman) sees itself as an exploiter of matter (Jagat), and lives in an unnatural state of illusory separation from God. Thus, the soul psychologically finds himself in a unnatural, unnecessary and discomforting state of self-imposed conflict (virodha) and adversity with God, with other living beings, and with the material world around him. Such an unnatural state is the source of all our suffering. However, in the most ideal of circumstances, God, soul and materiality all exist in harmonious balance, drawn to one another through a metaphysical bond of love, and a unity of transcendent purpose - Atman and Jagat serving Brahman, and Brahman giving Atman and Jagat their sense of purpose and operating as the ontological source and sustaining principle of their very being [...] When we live in such a state of natural balance, we are then living in accordance with Dharma. We are then living our lives naturally and in perfection. (p. 115)”
― Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya, Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way