Swami Vivekananda

By Pranay

If you seek clarity, inspiration, and a deeper connection with your inner self, this book is your guiding light. Pranay, a mystic, renowned speaker, and author of several books on spirituality brilliantly captures Swami Vivekananda' s teachings to empower readers to navigate challenges, uncover their true potential, and find meaning in the modern world.

Empower yourself with Swami Vivekananda's teachings

Valuable insights from Swami Vivekananda's teachings Guide for spiritual growth. Encourages emotional and mental well-being. Guidance to channel your inner strength.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fingerprint Publishing
• Release date: Oct 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9789358563221

Book preview

Preface

Swami Vivekananda is India’s mystic messenger to the world. He called for inner strength at a time of great socio-political-religious tumult globally. Most of all, he sought to re-ignite the glory and dignity of humankind’s inner spiritual richness during challenging times. The mystic secrets that Swami Ji taught are priceless, taking us towards true courage, happiness, excellence, success, and enlightenment!

Swami Ji’s message is now more relevant than it was ever, and it is the need of the hour to put his critical teachings on inward and outward dynamism into a fresh perspective. This book sheds light on his central mystical teachings—gleaned from both English and Bengali sources—with insights into their practical application in our everyday lives. Vivekananda stands tall as a beacon of hope for people in India and around the globe. He carries the living flame of mystic realization from his master, the great Sri Ramakrishna, and radiates its light across the world!

Swami Ji’s appeal has found a massive revival in recent times. This book of mystic secrets and insights is my humble tribute to him. The aim is to communicate the power of Vivekananda and teach us how to live inwardly rich and productive lives even during tough times. In his own short lifetime (of just 39 years), Swami Ji deeply influenced people like Jamsetji Tata and Nikola Tesla, and his almost superhuman abilities and example continue to inspire us all!

Pranay

CHAPTER 1

Ten Mystic Secrets for Courage

Having courage is the foundation of all life’s greatness, fulfilment, and happiness. Swami Vivekananda enlightens us with the most potent secrets and keys for manifesting courage or fearlessness in life. He says:

●Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvellous work. It is fearlessness that brings heaven even in a moment.

●Have faith in yourself—all power is in you . . . great convictions are the mothers of great deeds.

●Be a hero. Always say, I have no fear!

●Believe in yourself, and the world will be at your feet.

●Whatever you think that you will be. If you think of yourself as weak, weak you will be; if you think of yourself as strong, you will be.

●Dare to be free, dare to go as far as your thought leads, and dare to carry that out in your life . . . Stamp out the negative spirit!

●If superstitions enter, the brain is gone.

●The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves . . . . The greatest sin is to think that you are weak.

●Throw away all weaknesses. Tell your body that it is strong. Tell your mind it is strong and have unbound faith and hope in yourself.

●You are the creator of your own destiny . . . . You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.

CHAPTER 2

Inner Strength!

Vivekananda clearly teaches us that we are to be completely free of the idea that circumstances are against us, that we are weak, that we are hopeless, or that there is some sense of impending doom. In other words, Vivekananda gives us a message of inner strength. Never think—no matter what circumstances you are in—that you are alone, down and out. No! That only makes you weaker and weaker. It gives you the mistaken sense that the Infinite is not with you, when the Infinite is always with you. That is the heart of India’s Upanishadic/ Vedic knowledge. Vivekananda’s words are about finding that inner power, which is ever yours, always with you. He says: 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! The realization of such inner strength allows us to act with great swiftness, power, dynamism, and confidence during any adversity, be it professional or personal.

Energy

Vivekananda is telling humankind that the energy within us is capable of being immensely strong. Now, what happens tomorrow is in nobody’s control. But the energy within you—keep that strong! That much is up to you. And that is the whole spiritual challenge. That is the only thing that is truly spiritual! Without strength, without courage, there is no spirituality; at least the kind of spirituality that Vivekananda is talking about. He is constantly reminding us that even amid all circumstances, there is always a hidden hand, a greater reality, a greater and subtle energy of strength that is available to us from within. That is the pulsating, throbbing energy of the supreme; the great love and passion of the supreme working through us. Have respect for that! Remember that out of this supreme strength and this supreme energy, this whole beautiful existence has come about.

The Power Behind the World

How come we live in such a wondrous world? There must be a great power behind it, a great strength behind it. Hence, pay attention to the very roots of strength within your own self. Sometimes, when we are faced with tough situations, it seems that we can’t locate this root of strength within us. But remember, the roots of the tree are never seen, they are always hidden. But they determine the quality of the fruit and flower that the tree will have. As a young man Vivekananda (who was called Narendranath Datta then), experienced all sorts of tough times, including the loss of his father and poverty, etc. But the touch of the divine (through his guru or spiritual master Ramakrishna), kindled the flame of strength within him, and the water of sacred realisation empowered him from his roots! Yet it was because Vivekananda’s perception was pure, his spirit undaunted—and then the divine came to his aid!

That is how your perception must be! What happens outwardly is the flowers and the fruit. But first, strengthen the roots of yourself. That is inner power. That is what defines you. Make your perception like that. It is what can transform you. And this understanding allows you to enter the very heart of the message of the Upanishads, the heart of the message of entire Vedic knowledge.

Listen to this heart of the message of inner power and inner strength. And then, this feeling itself will allow you to make things happen, as per the way you want to realize your potential, as per the way you want to bring about fulfilment and success in your life. This vision of inner power is life-transforming. It is joyful, it is blissful; it is the antidote to all difficult and adversarial situations in life, to whatever we may call tough circumstances or tough times. It is the intuitive, creative, and fearless way of living. Vivekananda says: The whole secret of existence is to have no fear! Never fear what will become of you. So, Vivekananda is telling us something very significant. He is expressing fearlessness, strength, and divinity in the same breath. What he is saying is that the divine’s power