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Swami Vivekananda Quotes on Freedom

Freedom was the great keyword of Swami Vivekananda's teaching, and the quotes gathered here show how central it was. For Vivekananda freedom is the soul's true and original condition, since we are ever free if we would only believe it, obscured only by ignorance and self-imposed limitation; he urges the seeker to keep affirming I am free until the delusion of bondage dissolves. He casts the whole of life as a single universal cry for freedom, and even the desire for knowledge as a means to it. His famous exhortation, arise, awake, and stop not until the goal is reached, applies this conviction as a summons to effort. Drawn largely from his addresses and Pearls of Wisdom, these passages tie spiritual liberation to strength, self-belief, and the recognition of the soul's inherent divinity.

Quotes

  • “Arise, awake, and stop not until the goal is reached.”

    Public Addresses

  • “All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.”

    Raja Yoga

  • “Go on saying, “I am free.” Never mind if the next moment delusion comes and says, “I am bound.” Dehypnotize the whole thing.”

    Pearls of Wisdom

  • “If a piece of burning charcoal be placed on a man’s head, see how he struggles to throw it off. Similar will be the struggle for freedom of those who really understand that they are slaves of nature.”

    Pearls of Wisdom

  • “Pray all the time, read all the scriptures in the world, and worship all the gods there are ...but unless you realize the Truth, there is no freedom.”

    Pearls of Wisdom

  • “Soft-brained people, weak-minded, chicken-hearted, cannot find the truth. One has to be free, and as broad as the sky.”

    Pearls of Wisdom

  • “We are ever free if we would only believe it, only have faith enough. You are the soul, free and eternal, ever free, ever blessed. Have faith enough and you will be free in a minute.”

    Pearls of Wisdom

  • “We want to know in order to make ourselves free. That is our life: one universal cry for freedom.”

    Pearls of Wisdom

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