Swami Vivekananda
A book from a fanatic
I once had a book sent me, which said I must believe everything told in it. It said there was no soul, but that there were gods and goddesses in heaven, and a thread of light going from each of our heads to heaven! How did the writer know all these things? She had been inspired, and wanted me to
Her husband was a drunkard
I remember a woman whose husband was a great drunkard, and she complained to me of his becoming so. I replied, "Madam, if there were twenty millions of wives like yourself, all husbands would become drunkards." I am convinced that a large number of drunkards are manufactured by their wives. My b
On a lady fanatic in one of his classes
There are fanatics of various kinds. Some people are wine fanatics and cigar fanatics. Some think that if men gave up smoking cigars, the world would arrive at the millennium. Women are generally amongst these fanatics. There was a young lady here one day, in this class. She was one of a number
On meeting Ingersoll
In America there was a great agnostic, a very noble man, a very good man, and a very fine speaker. He lectured on religion, which he said was of no use; why bother our heads about other worlds? He employed this simile; we have an orange here, and we want to squeeze all the juice out of it. I met him
The Swami Took Ganges Water with Him to the West...
The Gita and the sacred waters of the Ganga constitute the Hinduism of the Hindus. Last time I went to the West, I also took a little of it with me, fearing it might be needed, and whenever opportunities occurred I used to drink a few drops of it. And every time I drank, in the midst of the stre
Pre-Parliament Period
In Chicago, the other day, a funny thing happened. The Raja of Kapurthala was here, and he was being lionised by some portion of Chicago society. I once met the Raja in the Fair grounds, but he was too big to speak with a poor Fakir. There was an eccentric Mahratta Brahmin selling nail-made pic
As a wandering monk
"I saw many great men in Hrishikesh. One case that I remember was that of a man who seemed to be mad. He was coming nude down the street, with boys pursuing and throwing stones at him. The whole man was bubbling over with laughter while blood was streaming down his face and neck. I took him
The cow-human theory
Mr.Ramnath was the headmaster of the Jeypore noble’s school. He and the Swmi had a debate about vegetarianism when the swami first left Khetri after his first visit there.
A wonderful phenomenon
In the said village lives a man of the Chetty caste, generally passing for an astrologer. I, with two other young men, went to see him. He was said to tell about anything a man thinks of. So, I wanted to put him to the test. Two months ago, I dreamt that my mother was dead and I was very anx
Advaita Vedanta
One day Ramakrishna tried to instruct Naren on the identity of the individual soul with Brahman. Narendra left the room, and going to Hazra said, "How can this be? This jug is God, this cup is God and we too are God: nothing can be more preposterous!" On hearing Naren's laughter, Ramakrishna, who
Ramakrishna period
(As quoted by the 'Life of Swami Vivekananda by his Eastern and Western Disciples')
Mystic experiences
Vivekananda (quoted by Swami Saradananda) described a “vision” he had after meditation in his home during his college days: When I kept my mind still and devoid of all objects, there flowed in it a current of serene bliss. Under its influence, I felt a sort of intoxication for a long time even af