Everything can be sacrificed for truth, but truth cannot be sacrificed for anything.
Swami VivekanandaRead
All the forces that we see in nature, such as gravitation, attraction, and repulsion, or as thought, feeling, and nervous motion - all these various forces resolve into that Prana, and the vibration of the Prana ceases. In that state it remains until the beginning of the next cycle. Prana then begins to vibrate, and that vibration acts upon the Akasha, and all these forms are thrown out in regular succession.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the interconnectedness of natural forces and the spiritual essence of Prana as the underlying energy of the universe.
Swami Vivekananda's quote illustrates the concept that all natural forces, whether physical like gravity or emotional like feeling, are manifestations of a fundamental energy known as Prana. This energy vibrates and interacts with Akasha, the ether or space, explaining how forms and phenomena come into existence in cyclical patterns. It reflects a philosophical understanding of nature as more than just physical phenomena but as interconnected spiritual energies.
Themes
PranaVibrationNatureForcesCycleSpiritualityEnergy
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the interconnectedness of all life, one might use this quote to illustrate the unseen forces that shape our experiences.
More from Swami Vivekananda
All quotes βRama, the ancient idol of the heroic ages, the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband, and above all, the ideal king, this Rama has been presented before us by the great sage Valmiki. No language can be purer, none chaster, none more beautiful, and at the same time simpler, than the language in which the great poet has depicted the life of Rama.
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According to the law of nature, wherever there is an awakening of a new and stronger life, there it tries to conquer and take the place of the old and the decaying. Nature favours the dying out of the unfit and the survival of the fittest. The final result of such conflict between the priestly and the other classes has been mentioned already.
Swami VivekanandaRead
I have come to deal with principles. I have only to preach that God comes again and again, and that He came in India as Krishna, Rama, and Buddha, and that He will come again. It can almost be demonstrated that after each 500 years the world sinks, and a tremendous spiritual wave comes, and on the top of the wave is a Christ.
Swami VivekanandaRead
Salvation means knowing the truth. We do not become anything; we are what we are. Salvation [comes] by faith and not by work. It is a question of knowledge! You must know what you are, and it is done. The dream vanishes. This you [and others] are dreaming here. When they die, they go to [the] heaven [of their dream]. They live in that dream, and [when it ends], they take a nice body [here], and they are good people.
Swami VivekanandaRead
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