Over the course of reading Vivekananda’s works, I’ve compiled a list of the best quotes by him. Today, on the eve of his 150th anniversary also celebrated as the National Youth Day, I wish to share these with you – a total of 101 quotes. They are bound to provide inspiration on any occasion. Personally, I read at least one quote by him almost everyday. As they say, “Only one idea is enough to transform your entire life.” Who knows, that idea could be right here in this post! Good luck!

1. You must have an iron will, if you would cross the ocean. You must be strong enough to pierce mountains.
2. He who always thinks himself as weak will never become strong, but he who knows himself to be a lion, rushes out from the worlds meshes, as a lion from its cage.
3. There is hope for all. None can die; none can be degraded forever. Life is but a playground, however gross the play may be. However we may receive blows, and however knocked about we may be, the Atman is there and is never injured. We are that Infinite.
4. Anything that is secret and mysterious in these systems of yoga should be at once rejected. The best guide in life is strength. In religion, as in all other matters, discard everything that weakens you, have nothing to do with it.
5. A brave, frank, clean-hearted, courageous and aspiring youth is the only foundation on which the future nation can be built.
6. If the suns come down, and the moons crumble into dust, and systems after systems are hurled into annihilation, what is that to you? Stand as a rock; you are indestructible. You are the Self, the God of the universe. Say — “I am Existence Absolute, Bliss Absolute, Knowledge Absolute, I am He,” and like a lion breaking its cage, break your chain and be free for ever. What frightens you, what holds you down? Only ignorance and delusion; nothing else can bind you. You are the Pure One, the Ever-blessed.
7. “Let positive, strong, helpful thought enter into their brains from childhood. Lay yourself open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing ones.”
8. Onward, my brave boys — money or no money — men or no men! Have you love? Have you God? Onward and forward to the breach, you are irresistible.
9. First, let us be Gods, and then help others to be Gods. “Be and make.” Let this be our motto. Say not man is a sinner. Tell him that he is a God. Even if there were a devil, it would be our duty to remember God always, and not the devil.
10. We want Shraddhâ, we want faith in our own selves. Strength is life, weakness is death. ‘We are the Âtman, deathless and free; pure, pure by nature. Can we ever commit any sin? Impossible!’ — such a faith is needed. Such a faith makes men of us, makes gods of us. It is by losing this idea of Shraddha that the country has gone to ruin.
11. Stamping down the weakness of mind and heart, stand up, saying, “I am possessed of heroism, I am possessed of a steady intellect…” Never allow weakness to overtake your mind.
12. We have seemingly been divided, limited, because of our ignorance; and we have become as it were the little Mrs. so – and – so and Mr. so – and – so. But all nature is giving this delusion the lie every moment. I am not that little man or little woman cut off from all else; I am the one universal existence. The soul in its own majesty is rising up every moment and declaring its own intrinsic Divinity.
13. But on the heights of the Himalayas I have a place where I am determined nothing shall enter except pure truth. There I want to work out this idea about which I have spoken to you today. There are an Englishman and an Englishwoman in charge of the place. The purpose is to train seekers of truth and to bring up children without fear and without superstition. They shall not hear about Christs and Buddhas and Shivas and Vishnus — none of these. They shall learn, from the start, to stand upon their own feet. They shall learn from their childhood that God is the spirit and should be worshipped in spirit and in truth. Everyone must be looked upon as spirit. That is the ideal.
14. Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvellous work. The moment you fear, you are nobody. It is fear that is the great cause of misery in the world. It is fear that is the cause of all our woes and it is fearlessness that brings heaven even in a moment.
15. I stand for truth. Truth will never ally itself with falsehood. Even if all the world should be against me, Truth must prevail in the end. – Sayings and Utterances. Complete Works, 5. 418.
16. Women will work out their destinies—much better, too, than men can ever do for them. All the mischief to women has come because men undertook to shape the destiny of women.
17. Each one of you has a glorious future if you dare believe me. Have a tremendous faith in yourselves, like the faith I had when I was I was young… Have that faith, each one of you, in yourself – that eternal power is lodged in every soul – and you will revive the whole of India.
18. Above all, beware of compromises. Hold on to your own principles in weal or woe and never adjust them to others’ “fads” through the greed of getting supporters. Your Atman is the support of the universe—whose support do you stand in need of?
19. This is the central idea of the Gita- to be calm and steadfast in all circumstances, with one’s body, mind, and soul centered at His hallowed feet!
20. Be free; hope for nothing from anyone. I am sure, if you look back upon your lives, you will find that you were always trying to get help from others, which never came. All the help that has come was from within yourselves.
21. We must have faith in ourselves first and then in God. Those who have no faith in themselves can never have faith in God.
22. Stand up, be bold, and take the blame on your own shoulders. Do not go about throwing mud at others; for all the faults you suffer from, you are the sole and only cause.
23. The world sympathizes only with strong and powerful.
24. Let people say whatever they like, quick to your own conviction, and rest assured, the world will be at your feet. They say, ‘Have faith in this fellow or that fellow’, but I say, ‘Have faith in yourself first’, that’s the way.
25. If you have not even a little imagination, you are simply a brute. So you must not lower your ideal, neither are you to lose sight of practicality. We must avoid the two extremes…. You must try to combine in your life immense idealism with immense practicality.
26. Advance like a hero. Do not be thwarted by anything. How many days will this body last, with its happiness and misery? When you have the human body, then rouse the Atman within and say-I have reached the state of fearlessness!…and then as long as the body endures, speak unto others this message of fearlessness: “Thao art That”, “Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached”
27. Be free; hope for nothing from anyone. I am sure, if you look back upon your lives, you will find that you were always trying to get help from others, which never came. All the help that has come was from within yourselves.
28. Worship of society and popular opinions is idolatry. The soul has no sex, no country, no place, no time.
29. Above all, beware of compromises. I do not mean that you are to get into antagonism with anybody, but you have to hold on to your own principles in weal or woe and never adjust them to others “fads” thought the greed of getting supporters.
30. “The earth is enjoyed by heroes”—this is the unfailing truth. Be a hero. Always say, “I have no fear.”
31. “The only religion that ought to be taught is 
the religion of fearlessness. Either in this
 world or in the world of religion, it is true
 that fear is the sure cause of degradation
 and sin. It is fear that brings misery, fear 
that brings death, fear that breeds evil. And
 what causes fear? Ignorance of our own
 nature.”
32. You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.
33. “Be moral. Be brave. Be a heart-whole man. Strictly moral, brave unto desperation. Don’t bother your head with religious theories, cowards only sin, brave men never, no, not even in mind.
34. Go and preach to all, ‘Arise, awake, sleep no more: within
each of you there is the power to remove all wants and all miseries.
 Believe this, and that power will be manifested.
35. ‘

Proclaim the glory of the Atman with the roar of a lion, and impart 
fearlessness unto all beings by saying, ‘Arise, awake, and stop not till the
 goal is reached’!”
36. No one was ever really taught by another; each of us has to teach himself. The external teacher offers only the suggestion which rouses the internal teacher to work to understand things.
37. I want each one of my children to be a hundred times greater than I could ever be. Everyone of you must be a giant — must, that is my word. Obedience, readiness, and love for the cause — if you have these three, nothing can hold you back.
38. “There is no help for you, outside yourself; You are the creator of the universe.” – Swami Vivekananda.
39. “God is true. The universe is a dream. Blessed am I that I know this moment that I [have been and] shall be free all eternity; … that I know that I am worshipping only myself; that no nature, no delusion, had any hold on me. Vanish nature from me, vanish [these] gods; vanish worship; … vanish superstitions, for I know myself. I am the Infinite. All these — Mrs. So-and-so, Mr. So-and-so, responsibility, happiness, misery — have vanished. I am the Infinite. How can there be death for me, or birth? Whom shall I fear? I am the One. Shall I be afraid of myself? Who is to be afraid of [whom]?…
40. Work unto death – I am with you, and when I am gone, my spirit will work with you. This life comes and goes – wealth, fame, enjoyments are only of a few days. It is better, far better to die on the field of duty, preaching the truth, than to die like a worldly worm. Advance!
41. What we want is muscles of iron and nerves of steel. We have wept long enough. No more weeping, but stand on your feet and be men. It is man-making theories that we want. It is man-making education all round that we want.
42. ‎”…Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the sphere! Let the whole world stand against us! Death means only a change of garment. What of it? Thus fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards.”- Swamiji.
43. Every idea that strengthens you must be taken up and every thought that weakens you must be rejected.
44. So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them.
45. You are strong, omnipotent, and omniscient. No matter that you have not expressed it yet, it is in you. All knowledge is in you, all power, all purity, and all freedom-why cannot you express this knowledge? Because you do not believe in it… Believe in it, and it must and will come out.
46. Have faith in yourselves, and stand up on that faith and be strong; that is what we need.
47. No one step back, that is the idea…. Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the sphere! Let the whole world stand against us!…. What of it? Thus fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards…. Taking a step backward, you do not avoid any misfortune.
48. If you are really my children, you will fear nothing, stop at nothing. You will be like lions. We must rouse India and the whole world. No cowardice. I will take no nay. Do you understand? Be true unto death!… The secret of this is GURU-BHAKTI-faith in the guru unto death!
49. Bold words and bolder deeds are what we want. Awake, awake, great ones! The world is burning with misery. Can you sleep?
50. Do not be afraid of a small beginning, great things come afterwards. Be courageous. Do not try to lead your brethren, but serve them. The brutal mania for leading has sunk many a great ship in the waters of life. Take care especially of that, i.e. Be unselfish even unto death, and work.
51. Pay no attention whatsoever to newspaper nonsense or criticism. Be sincere and do your duty. Everything will come all right. Truth must triumph.
52. The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength.
53. ‎”To succeed, you must have tremendous perseverance, tremendous will.”
54. “Let each one of us pray day and night for the downtrodden millions who are held fast by poverty, priestcraft, and tyranny. Pray day and night for them. I care more to preach religion to them than to the high and the rich.”
55. “The only saint is that soul that never weakens, faces everything, and determines to die game.”
56. Bear in mind, my children, that only cowards and those who are weak commit sin and tell lies. The brave are always moral. Try to be moral, try to be brave, try to be sympathizing.
57. If you are pure, if you are strong, you, one man are equal to the whole world.
58. “Truth alone triumphs, not untruth. Through truth alone lies the way to Devayana (the way to the gods).” Those who think that a little sugar – coating of untruth helps the spread of truth are mistaken and will find in the long run that a single drop of poison poisons the whole mass . . . The man who is pure, and who dares, does all things.
59. “We must travel, we must go to foreign parts. We must see how the engine of society works in other countries, and keep free and open communication with what is going on in the minds of other nations, if we really want to be a nation again.”
60. “If you have faith in all the three hundred and thirty millions of your mythological gods, and still have no faith in yourselves, there is no salvation for you. Have faith in yourselves, and stand up on that faith and be strong; that is what we need”
61. “A nation is not to be judged by its weaklings called the wicked, as they are only the weeds which lag behind, but by the good, the noble, and the pure, who indicate the national life current flowing clear and vigorous.”
62. The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him – that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free.
63. Do not say we are weak; we can do anything and everything. What can we 
not do? Everything can be done by us; we all have the same glorious 
soul, let us believe in it.
64. None will be able to resist truth and love and sincerity. Are you sincere? Unselfish even unto death, and loving? Then fear not, not even death.
65. To me the thought of oneself as low and humble is a sin and ignorance.
66. If you are really my children, you will fear nothing, stop at nothing. You will be like lions.
67. Anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually, and spiritually, reject as poison.
68. We have wept enough. No more weeping, but stand on feet and be men.
69. “Our first duty is not to hate ourselves, because to advance we must have faith in ourselves first and then in God. Those who have no faith in themselves can never have faith in God”
70. “Tell the truth boldly, whether it hurts or not. Never pander to weakness. If truth is too much for intelligent people and sweeps them away, let them go; the sooner, the better”
71. For a warrior, nothing is higher than a war against evil. The warrior confronted with such a war should be pleased, Arjuna, for it comes as an open gate to heaven. But if you do not participate in this battle against evil, you will incur sin, violating your dharma and your honor.”
72. I loved my motherland dearly before I went to America and England. 
After my return, every particle of dust of this land seems sacred to me. “
73. I love my nation, I cannot see you degraded, weakened any more than you are now. Therefore I am bound for your sake and for truth’s to cry, “Hold!” and to raise my voice against this degradation of my race. Give up these weakening mysticism and be strong… The truths of Upanishadas are before you. Take them up, live up to them, and the salvation of Bharat will be at hand.
74. All power is within you.
 Believe in that,
do not believe
that you are weak. . . . 
Stand up
and express the Divinity
 within you.
75. Anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually, and spiritually, reject as poison.
76. We have wept enough.
No more weeping,
but stand on feet and be men.
77. Do not say, ‘You are bad’;
 say only, ‘You are good’, 
but be better!
78. Bold has been my message to the people of the west,
bolder is my message to you, my beloved countryman.
79. Let the mind be cheerful but calm. Never let it run into excesses,
because every excess will be followed by a reaction.

Complete Works, 4.11.
80. Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders.
81. “Dependence is misery. Independence is happiness.” Advaita is the only system that gives us complete control over ourselves, takes off all dependence and its associated superstitions, thus making us brave to suffer, brave to do, and in the long run, attain to absolute freedom.
82. Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvellous work. The moment you fear, you are nobody. Be a hero. Always say, ‘I have no fear’. Tell this to everybody-’Have no fear’.
83. Strength is life, weakness is death. Strength is felicity, life eternal, immortal; weakness is constant strain and misery; weakness is death.
84. God is present in every Jiva; there is no other God besides that. 
’To serves Jiva, serves God indeed’.
85. The moment you fear, you are nobody. It is fear that is the great cause of miseryi n the world. It is fear that is the greatest of all superstitions. It is fear that is the cause of our woes, and it is fearlessness that brings heaven in a moment.
Complete Works, Part 3. Page 321.
86. Everything will come right if you are pure and sincere. We want hundreds like you bursting upon society and bringing new life and vigor of the spirit wherever they go. Godspeed to you.

Letter to Dr. Nanjunda Rao. Written from USA on November 30, 1894. Complete Works, 6.281.
87. Take courage and work on. Patience and steady work–this is the only way. Go on. Remember–patience and purity and courage and steady work. So long as you are true and pure, you will never fail. Mother will never leave you. All blessings will be on you.
88. My faith is in the younger generation, the modern generation, out of them will come my workers. They will work out the whole problem like lions.
89. All power is within you.
 Believe in that,
do not believe
that you are weak. . . .
 Stand up
and express the Divinity
 within you.
90. Strength is Life, Weakness is death. Strength is felicity, Life eternal, immortal; Weakness is constant strain and misery. Weakness is Death.
91. What makes you weep, my friend? In you is all power. Summon up your all-powerful nature, O mighty one, and this whole universe will lie at your feet. It is the Self alone that predominates, and not matter.
92. Always keep the mind cheerful. Everyone will die once, but cowards suffer the pangs of death again and again, solely due to the fear in their own minds.
93. People will call us both good and bad. But we shall have to work like lions keeping the ideal before us.
94. “Arise, awake and stop not till the desired end is reached.” Be not afraid, for all great power, throughout the history of humanity, has been with he people. From out of their ranks have come all the greatest geniuses of the world, and history can only repeat itself. Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvellous work. The moment you fear, you are nobody. It is fear that is the great cause of misery in the world. It is fear that is the greatest of all superstitions. It is fear that is the cause of our woes, and it is fearlessness that brings heaven even in a moment. Therefore, “Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.”
95. “Brave, bold men, these are what we want. What we want is vigour in the blood, strength in the nerves, iron muscles and nerves of steel, not softening namby-pamby ideas. Avoid all these. Avoid all mystery. There is no mystery in religion. Is there any mystery in the Vedanta, or in the Vedas, or in the Samhitâs, or in the Puranas? What secret societies did the sages of yore establish to preach their religion? What sleight-of-hand tricks are there recorded as used by them to bring their grand truths to humanity? Mystery mongering and superstition are always signs of weakness. These are always signs of degradation and of death. Therefore beware of them; be strong, and stand on your own feet.”
96. If you believe yourselves to be sages, sages you will be tomorrow. There is nothing to obstruct you. For if there is one common doctrine that runs through all our apparently fighting and contradictory sects, it is that all glory, power, and purity are within the soul already; only according to Ramanuja, the soul contracts and expands at times, and according to Shankara, it comes under a delusion. Never mind these differences. All admit the truth that the power is there -potential or manifest it is there — and the sooner you believe that, the better for you. All power is within you; you can do anything and everything. Believe in that, do not believe that you are weak; do not believe that you are half-crazy lunatics, as most of us do nowadays. You can do anything and everything without even the guidance of any one. All power is there. Stand up and express the divinity within you.”
97. Strength, strength is what the Upanishads speak to me from every page. This is the one great thing to remember, it has been the one great lesson I have been taught in my life; strength, it says, strength, O man, be not weak. Are there no human weaknesses? — says man. There are, say the Upanishads, but will more weakness heal them, would you try to wash dirt with dirt? Will sin cure sin, weakness cure weakness? Strength, O man, strength, say the Upanishads, stand up and be strong.
98. I am one of the proudest men ever born, but let me tell you frankly, it is not for myself, but on account of my ancestry. The more I have studied the past, the more I have looked back, more and more has this pride come to me, and it has given me the strength and courage of conviction, raised me up from the dust of the earth, and set me working out that great plan laid out by those great ancestors of ours. Children of those ancient Aryans, through the grace of the Lord may you have the same pride, may that faith in your ancestors come into your blood, may it become a part and parcel of your lives, may it work towards the salvation of the world!
99. For the next fifty years this alone shall be our keynote — this, our great Mother India. Let all other vain gods disappear for the time from our minds. This is the only god that is awake, our own race — “everywhere his hands, everywhere his feet, everywhere his ears, he covers everything.” All other gods are sleeping. What vain gods shall we go after and yet cannot worship the god that we see all round us, the Virât? When we have worshipped this, we shall be able to worship all other gods.
100. We Hindus must believe that we are the teachers of the world. We have been clamouring here for getting political rights and many other such things. Very well. Rights and privileges and other things can only come through friendship, and friendship can only be expected between two equals. When one of the parties is a beggar, what friendship can there be? It is all very well to speak so, but I say that without mutual co-operation we can never make ourselves strong men. So, I must call upon you to go out to England and America, not as beggars but as teachers of religion. The law of exchange must be applied to the best of our power. If we have to learn from them the ways and methods of making ourselves happy in this life, why, in return, should we not give them the methods and ways that would make them happy for all eternity? Above all, work for the good of humanity.
101. The next thing to remember is that the aim of this institution is to make men. You must not merely learn what the Rishis taught. Those Rishis are gone, and their opinions are also gone with them. You must be Rishis yourselves. You are also men as much as the greatest men that were ever born — even our Incarnations. What can mere book-learning do? What can meditation do even? What can the Mantras and Tantras do? You must stand on your own feet. You must have this new method — the method of man-making. The true man is he who is strong as strength itself and yet possesses a woman’s heart.