Being realistic is the most commonly travelled road to mediocrity.

Money and success don't change people; they merely amplify what is already there.

As soon as I think that I am a little body, I want to preserve it, to protect it, to keep it nice, at the expense of other bodies; then you and I become separate.

The essence of Vedanta is that there is but one Being and that every soul is that Being in full, not a part of that Being.

As body, mind, or soul, you are a dream; you really are Being, Consciousness, Bliss (satchidananda). You are the God of this universe.

The Self when it appears behind the universe is called God. The same Self when it appears behind this little universe—the body—is the soul.

The more you think of yourself as shining immortal spirit, the more eager you will be to be absolutely free of matter, body, and senses. This is the intense desire to be free.

So long as there is desire or want, it is a sure sign that there is imperfection. A perfect, free being cannot have any desire.

Blows are what awaken us and help to break the dream. They show us the insufficiency of this world and make us long to escape, to have freedom.

Perfection is always infinite. We are the Infinite already. You and I, and all beings, are trying to manifest that infinity.

However we may receive blows, and however knocked about we may be, the Soul is there and is never injured. We are that Infinite.

Knowledge can only be got in one way, the way of experience; there is no other way to know.

All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in our own mind.

The mind is but the subtle part of the body. You must retain great strength in your mind and words.

It is the cheerful mind that is persevering. It is the strong mind that hews its way through a thousand difficulties.

The powers of the mind should be concentrated and the mind turned back upon itself; as the darkest places reveal their secrets before the penetrating rays of the sun, so will the...

Work and worship are necessary to take away the veil, to lift off the bondage and illusion.

The world is ready to give up its secrets if we only know how to knock, how to give it the necessary blow. The strength and force of the blow come through concentration.

Be a hero. Always say, “I have no fear.” Tell this to everyone—“Have no fear.”

All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.