Thoughts – Swamy Vivekananda

When I Asked God for Strength
He Gave Me Difficult Situations to Face

When I Asked God for Brain & Brown
He Gave Me Puzzles in Life to Solve

When I Asked God for Happiness
He Showed Me Some Unhappy People

When I Asked God for Wealth
He Showed Me How to Work Hard

When I Asked God for Favors
He Showed Me Opportunities to Work Hard

When I Asked God for Peace
He Showed Me How to Help Others

God Gave Me Nothing I Wanted
He Gave Me Everything I Needed

    - Swami Vivekananda

136 Responses to “Thoughts – Swamy Vivekananda”

  1. vijucat Says:

    Hello Ram!

    What a nice poem!

    “God Gave Me Nothing I Wanted
    He Gave Me Everything I Needed”

    :>

  2. ramsblog Says:

    thank you.
    I like the lines you picked from the verse. That reminds me of the saying I always heard before that – God has plans for every individual and knows what everyone needs.

  3. Krishna Mateti Says:

    I am a disciple of Swamy Vivekananda.
    He said “whenever there is a differentiation between the Heart and the Brain, Let the heart be followed”-Its amazing , what a quotation… since then I will do my best to follow that one irrespective of the situation.

  4. ramsblog Says:

    Thats right. I don’t remember where I read but I learned that Brain becomes Reactive at the time of crisis and Heart tends to be Responsive. As you said, it is better to Respond wise than React abrupt to the situations and circumstances.
    thanks Krishna

  5. shruthi Says:

    hi ram,
    very nice poem.

  6. ramsblog Says:

    thank you, Shruthi

  7. Raghavendra Says:

    Hi Ram,

    Its a refreshing poem and a nice one.
    Esp, the saying:

    “God Gave Me Nothing I Wanted
    He Gave Me Everything I Needed”.

    Its also very true that Brain goes rational and
    Heart goes emotional. One should really follow what
    the heart says irrespective of the situation, as
    Swamy Vivekananda said.

    -Thanks Raghavendra.

  8. Srinivas Says:

    I am a great follower of Vivekananda.
    What a great man he is. Achieved everything in his youngest age.
    He addressed the ‘Parliment of religions’ at just the age of 30 as an Indian representative.

    John Henry Wright said about him as below when he wrote a letter to the head of ‘Parliment of religions’ for his nomination as a speaker at the venue

    “Here is a man who is more learned than all our learned professors put together”

  9. Prasanth Says:

    Swamy vivekananda is my favourite person. The quotes ‘God gave me nothing i wanted, He gave me everything i needed’ and ‘Arise, Awake and stopnot till the goal is reached’ rally impressed me alot to make him as my favourite person. It is a great achievement of addressing the parliament of religions at chicago at an early age of 30.

  10. srinivas Says:

    a beautiful quote to inspire anybody

  11. ramsblog Says:

    Thank you, All.
    I am looking for more quotes by “Swami Vivekananda” – is there an internet resource or a book that anyone point me to?
    thanks
    Ram

  12. Lingesh sawanth Says:

    Beautiful quote…. Ram.., SWAMI VIVEKANANDA is an ultimate role model for all human being, in him HEART & BRAIN were beautifully harmonised……..

  13. Lingesh sawanth Says:

    Thanks for beautiful quote Ram….

  14. rajendra Says:

    i am really very happy to read all these.In this world so many people says that all the young people goes in a wrong direction,nothing is good here every thing is poluted,but remember one thing at the same time so many young guys think about swamy vivekananda and want to be like him means what vivekananda exists forever and ever,dont bother about young people now also so many vivekanandas are there.India will teach lesson to the whole world

  15. pradheep Says:

    The thoughts & quotes given by swamy vivekananda are nice to read & good to practice.My salute to him for his great works given to the world by his thoughts.

  16. Deepak Says:

    swamy Vivekananda has inspired me a lot. His quotes are priceless. His beliefs are immortal. He pumped a lot of confidence into me. I heard that he was a great man. Now after reading his books i feel that there are no words to express his greatness, his talent and the love for his religion and culture.

  17. gobul Says:

    i this lins of swami vivekananda
    MUJH MAIN ME SAMA JA IS TERAH TAN PRAN KA JO TOUR HAI,
    ITNA NA KOI KEH SAKE MAIN AUR HOON TU AUR HAI.

    FOR LORD SHRI RAM-
    EK BHAROSE EK BAL EK AAS BISWAS,
    EK RAM GHANSHYAM HIT CHATAK TULSI DAS.

  18. gobul Says:

    JAI HE RAM HE SWAMI VIVEKANANDA JAI

  19. ashwin Says:

    HE IS A GREAT MAN . NO ONE CAN SUIT HIM. HE IS GENIUS , VETRAN,GENEROUS. HE IS A PERSON WITH A “BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE”.

  20. Rekha Says:

    he is a great person . he struggled a lot to get “sucess of knowledge”

  21. seetha Says:

    he published about morality and integrity and he born for humanity every indian should proud to be indian because of samivivekananda

  22. ramsblog Says:

    Thank you for all the comments.
    Would you mind sharing any other online resources about Swami Vivekananda. I am compiling and i am interested to read more and more about him

    thanks
    -Ram

  23. kiran kumar pillala Says:

    Hi,

    Thanks to people following the Great man’s foot steps. His every word is precious, valuable. God has already created something for every individual, “we must be willing to let go of life that we’ve planned before to get the life that is waiting for us”…….
    Regards
    Kiran Kumar Pillala

  24. ramsblog Says:

    I like the phrase “we must be willing to let go of life that we’ve planned before to get the life that is waiting for us”…….” –> i think it is so true, at times we will have to give few little things for god to give us the bigger stuffs in life – may be to become a better being and being helpful to the community.

    A story that reminds me when a little girl had an artificial pearl neklace and her Dad asked for that neklace if she loved him – she said no everytime. And finally on one instance, she said ok and gave that artificial neklace to her dad. Right then, her Dad gave her the most precious pearl neklace that he had kept with him to give it to her provided she would give away an artificial one. —> at times we need to be willing to give away what we have to realize much better things we have in store.

  25. santosh Says:

    Thing twice when you do anything to the poor people.

  26. ramsblog Says:

    @Santosh – that’s interesting. Why would you say so?

  27. shravan Says:

    He is really a great person, every person in this world need to learn something from him and it helps them a lot.

  28. bala krishna Says:

    thanks to the people u had provided me the details about swami vivekananda and his provokes. I am very glad to know such a great divine thoughts which shows the way to reach the goal(success).

  29. srikanth Varma.S Says:

    HI Dear All,
    We the people of India are very Lucky to Have Such A Great LEGEND born In INDIA, He inspires Each and every Individual in all steps OF lIFE……

  30. dhanam Says:

    hi to all,

    I am very happy to read this. I like vivekananda very much.Each & every thought of vivekananda is boost of our energy.

  31. swaminathan Says:

    he is the great monk and his philosophy inspires ones mind and motivate .nobody can live such like a pure spiritual life hereafter.his thoughts is ever in my mind as well as make me confidence.

  32. Shrikant Says:

    I asked god for all the things so that I can enjoy life

    God gave me life so that I can enjoy all the things…

    best,

    Shrikkant

  33. divya c.n. Says:

    i am wondeard that the line of” God gave me nothing I wanted he gave me everything I needed

  34. natarajan Says:

    He is a great person. Because, i like following his words.
    “When I Asked God for Happiness
    He Showed Me Some Unhappy People”

    Best
    natarajan

  35. natarajan Says:

    Sir,
    He is a great person. Because, i like following his words.
    “When I Asked God for Happiness
    He Showed Me Some Unhappy People”

    Best
    natarajan

  36. praveen kumar Says:

    I like to describe him in one sentence:

    HE IS THE GREAT SOUL OF INDIA WHO HAVE EVER BORN TO RESCUE THEIR PEOPLE FROM THEIR IGNORANCE.

  37. Madhusudhan Says:

    This is really impressing great words

    When I Asked God for Favors
    He Showed Me Opportunities to Work Hard

  38. Munichandra Says:

    hello,

    very nice peom of vivekanand’s.

    I am inspiring of this words a lot……….

  39. sathish Says:

    its really nce and gave me new power to my mind

  40. Maxon Syrass Says:

    Swamy Vivekananda, A man of decipline and very strange ideal person. And it is very difficult to follow him.

  41. shreyas Says:

    what is the favourate story of him do you know plz mail me

  42. kalidas nake Says:

    Vivekananda guided people how to live the life & make ur soul free from all..
    I salute such a great person.

  43. Radhakrishna Says:

    “God Gave Me Nothing I Wanted
    He Gave Me Everything I Needed” is ofcourse, a very nice quote. However, let me try to join it with another quote of Swamiji, “Arise, Awake and stopnot till the goal is reached” I find a modification for this thought. God gave me nothing, He showed me the way, I fought all the way, he gave me what I wanted”.

  44. manik Says:

    can you please mail me some more motivating sayings of swamy vivekananda……
    actually i am a big fan of his attitude and his extraordinary personality.

  45. mohan.h.naik Says:

    Swamy Vivekananda is a greatest personality that, India has seen. Such a great soul never before appeared nor easily expected again. His deep understanding and knowledge about Sanathana Dharma, practical and truthful way of life, love towards mother land is all time asset to Indians, if they really wish to flourish, unlike the ‘cut and paste’ alien Western culture.

  46. Venkata Hanuma Vara Prasad Says:

    The poem it self more strengthen and the end ouote it self giving more flexibility in our Life to live happily on faith of GOD.

    “Be born Vikekanda in INDIA again,Luckely Must have to our Generation”

  47. Vaibhav Says:

    lession of life thts the perfect tital 4 this poem

  48. VISHNU Says:

    he is an legendary personality of our universe ,he is a great living being,his biography is an great inspiration for the uth

  49. Gaurav Kumra Says:

    simply wonderful.

  50. Nagaraju G Says:

    hi ,
    this poem is really super..
    especially the the two lines it touches the heart…..
    God Gave Me Nothing I Wanted
    He Gave Me Everything I Needed

    regards
    Nagaraju G

  51. sparks from the Anvil - Quotes of Swami Vivekananda « RamsThoughts Says:

    [...] sparks from the Anvil – Quotes of Swami Vivekananda Filed under: Quotes — ramsblog @ 10:00 pm I was at an Indian grocery store recently. While at the counter paying for my groceries, I noticed a small book titled “Sparks from the Anvil – Quotations of Swami Vivekananda” – by Rema Nair. I always learn a lot reading about Guruji. I used to participate in events organized remembering Guruji in my school days. I was looking around for various quotes and stories about Guruji on internet, seeing this book at this store made me so excited and picked up this book. There are many poems that are so inspirational. I had mentioned one of those before [...]

  52. Shirish Says:

    Hi shirisg==

  53. nagendra Says:

    nice….very nice…;

  54. bobby Says:

    hi no word for these

  55. mrunali Says:

    swami vivekananda

  56. Muthu Raman Says:

    Very inspiring Line. Thanks for posting.
    Swamy’s Words about Success
    “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on idea.
    Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”

  57. ramsblog Says:

    that’s awesome quote. Thank you, Muthu Raman.

  58. ashutosh Says:

    hii i m ashutosh i m big big big i m very very big fan swamiji i learned to many thngs frm his biography but i need his thought whch he provided for a student………..

  59. greeshma Says:

    I have always been inspired by his readings since childhood……his teachings gain us knowledge

  60. mona chatterjee Says:

    i loved the poem
    thanx a lot for putting it here

  61. mona chatterjee Says:

    Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders, and know that you are the creator of your own destiny. All the strength and succor you want is within yourself. Therefore make your own future.

    This is for the youth of India,students….

  62. mona chatterjee Says:

    Does anyone knw abt wht Swamiji has said on the Theory of Karma ????

  63. Himanshu Patel Says:

    This poem has create huge impact on my mind.

  64. manoj Says:

    poem is very lovely really
    poem provides everything whatever i need
    very very thanks

  65. shyam pandey Says:

    Love is god ,god inspired that everyone make uar mind fresh &more intelligence
    work is worship that make qutations universe truth
    love is god so ipray everyone thinks u make uar feelings breathe &nicy.

  66. bhaswar sharma Says:

    loveis risky but play fairly luv uuuuuuuuuu bachaa

  67. Devaraju.P.N Says:

    These are big golden words…
    WORK IS WORSHIP…..

  68. praveen k Says:

    i am the great follower of vivekananda
    i am going to start a school named
    SRI VIVEKANANDA ENGLISH MEDIUM SCHOOL

  69. namdeo dhotre Says:

    Awake ! Arise and not stop till the goal is reached ….

    i like ur thoughts ..keep continue..

  70. harika Says:

    i’m very influenced by his powerfulful gunshot words whick make us think. no one has dared to say “it is easy to reach god through a game of football than through prayer”

  71. Ramesh Says:

    Hi

    Phrases are very beautiful and practical.

    Thanks for publishing on note.

  72. Swati Gandhi Says:

    I belive in Swami Vivekanad`s thought. He tought us what is life & how to live it powerfully & peacefully .

    He is great personality ,who never die, & always live in our heart.

    God always gift this kind of personality to nature.

  73. sudharshan reddy Says:

    great saying by swamy.hats of

  74. mahesh Says:

    good thoughts…these thoughts can adopt to every ones life

  75. sai Says:

    I like the principles of vivekananda very much i am a big fan of him, i am inspired by his thoughts.

  76. Ashok Says:

    “Arise,awake and stop not till the goal is reached.

  77. soumya Says:

    God sees the inner heart of each man and knows personnely what each one needs……………………..

  78. anjali Says:

    i like swamy vivekananda thoughts. it make me confident every time

  79. k.madhusudhan Says:

    superb its really inspireble words .Deffinetely i will follow swami vivekananda words its my promise

  80. M. Dharma rao Says:

    Great. i’m following swami vevekananda principles.

  81. sumit Says:

    yes this is true this is a sweet and motivated poem.

    i’m feeling myself so down bcoz i read this poem too late.
    but forget it will be medicine for me till death.
    thankyou from the bottom of my heart.

  82. GKS Says:

    I have no words to say about Swamiji. I love him because he is the one taught me how to love GOD. Thanks, Swamiji.

  83. sathya reddy Says:

    hi iam a great fan of swami vivekananda the poem is very good.we can change our life in a properway.arise,”awake and stop not till the goal is reached”wov such a great saying it is

  84. Sachin Says:

    Hellow, My friend is great fan of Swami Vivekanand and She always told me about him. When I go through Biography his and creative mind. I realize greatness, power of self confidance. It is really amezing. Thanks to my friend who show me this way.

  85. lilesh Says:

    simply gre8 thought

  86. Harsha.D Says:

    swami Vivekananda is spirit of my life, he said that the amazing words “faith faith in urself faith faith in god it is only the secret of success” this word is enough to become success in life

  87. ramesh Says:

    Hi, Good Morning
    Its really a mind blowing thought
    A great salute to this thought.

  88. Saran Says:

    Its really a true fact which everyone experiences in their life.

  89. thiyanesh Says:

    swami vivekananda is sprit of my life,i most likely his sacrifice,also his dare, even will happen death he is in right path(sathiyam)

  90. abhimanyu Says:

    I am the follower of swamy Vivekananda I really like the way he led his life.

  91. santu Says:

    swami vivekananda is the most dynamic and highly spirited personality in Indian history.His words are mines of strength and courage.I wish I could atleast follow few of his sayings in my life .I think we can pay tribute to him only by following his teachings and manifesting strengh and fearlessness in our lifes as the Maharaj says
    “Strength is life , weakness is death”.

  92. Vivek Says:

    Great Thoughts….

  93. mangalaragini Says:

    it was actually very useful to me when i had to do a project on Vivekananda. i really thank
    ram thoughts for helping me so much in the completion of my project. and also my following his teachings we can gather luster to our regards. so i request every one who read this page to follow the great dynamic persons teachings as i am trying to do.

    regards to everyone who are lucky to read such a useful and knowledgeable page

  94. Pragya Says:

    I’m a good follower of Swami Vivekananda and if u’ll give me anything he had written i can recognise it in just one second……….

    I just love those quotes he had written………and also his sayings…..

    Specially this one “GOD GAVE ME NOTHING I WANTED, HE GAVE ME EVERYTHING I NEEDED”……….. bcoz it is just a nice quote written by him…..

    U can say that I’m a quotes addict………

    -Pragya

  95. Pragya Says:

    I’m a good follower of Swami Vivekananda and if u’ll give me anything he had written i can recognise it in just one second……….

    I just love those quotes he had written………and also his sayings…..

    Specially this one “GOD GAVE ME NOTHING I WANTED, HE GAVE ME EVERYTHING I NEEDED”……….. bcoz it is just a nice quote written by him…..

    and I also want people to send his sayings or quotes to my e-mail address……

    U can say that I’m a quotes addict………

    -Pragya

  96. Ram Says:

    @Pragya,
    reg “i can recognise it in just one second” thats awesome. I think i need to build that level of knowledge and i need to read more.

  97. Saravanan Says:

    When he says

    God Gave Me Nothing I Wanted
    He Gave Me Everything I Needed

    Nothing I wanted… He wanted to attain the state of inifity, which in other way you can call iat as NOTHINGNESS. He eventually got that…

  98. Prashanth C H Says:

    God Gave Me Nothing I Wanted
    He Gave Me Everything I Needed

    This is the one nice thought i like very much

  99. sunny Says:

    wow , great person of kali yuga.

  100. vijay Says:

    All power is within U…..
    U can do any thing and every thing….
    believe in that…..
    Dont believe that U are week……

  101. AJAY Says:

    The most inspiring and influential quote ever made……
    truly golden……..

  102. nandhini Says:

    what a great lines,amazing
    “god gave me nothing i wanted
    he gave me everything i needed”

  103. VIVEKREDDY .N Says:

    Its a great poem.

  104. Olgunka-cj Says:

    iis

  105. veena Says:

    REALLY IAM VERY GREATFUL TO ABOUT THESE THOUGHTS..
    IAM VERY LUCKY TO HEAR THIS BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS

    • Ram Says:

      Veena,
      thank you for visiting my site. I have started reading more about the master Vivekananda these days. I am looking for more resources online, it is hard to find books in stores around here. I will try to get more books when I visit Bangalore next time.
      -Ram

  106. dev Says:

    you know i think S.V.god fother of india . i like these thought

    and i remeber one thought in my mind so i go to write this……………
    stand up be bold . take a whole resposibility
    on your soulder . so you can rechased your acme.

    • Ram Says:

      Dev,
      Thank you for stopping by.
      Taking responsibility is a key big thing that we need to learn in leadership. It is often easy to put blame on others and wash off our hands, but it takes courage to take responsibility for the the self and for the team and that attributes to a great leadership. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Dev.
      -Ram

  107. bharathwaj Says:

    He is a PRODIGY.GOD GAVE ME NOTHING I WANtED ,HE GAVE EVERYTHING I NEEDED is a wounderful quote i have ever read.

  108. Raja Vuttham Says:

    Hi every body, this one is the great Thght of Sri Swami Vivekananda… by this, i have learnt very good lesson, which is very helpful to me in my whole life …. thanks a lot …..

  109. Ram Says:

    Raja Vuttham,
    thank you. If it is not too personal, it would be great if you share your experience and lessons learned, I am sure there are many of us who can learn from your experience, and it might be possible that some of us might in the same situation you were and would be great to learn from you,
    -Ram

  110. sonali sood Says:

    its a nice one by listining this i remembered swami vivaka nand

  111. Jayanti Says:

    Hi…

    I read the poem…yes it is superb…and there is noting to say about shri swami vivekananda as he himself a great creator of modern India with great value as in this yug as young generation follows his path and belives in him. Certainly, as same, I also always remembers some of his thought in daily life as it gives me strength and shows a way in life.

    I want to know about him more and his thoughts….

    Thanks

  112. siva rama krishna Says:

    speak sanskrit know the culture save India
    what a great feeling because we should have dare to feel such type of thoughts. what a philosophy, It is the essence of india’s epthics. who feels like that he is called as an indian. In my view we can get that type of feelings by reading of our epics, with the discussion of elders, and by the listening of good people’s speeches.
    Most of the people r being converted into othergroups.let it be no.reasons. but If they have this type feelings no one will do.
    great gathering and thanks also for giving support.
    speak sankrit become an indian

  113. ANANTA Says:

    WHEN THERE IS CONFLICT BETWEEN HEART AND BRAIN THEN INTLLECT HAS TO PLAY RIGHT ROLE,WE SHOULD NOT BE EMOTIONAL.I THANKS SO.

    • ramsblog Says:

      thank you Ananta.
      i agree. I think it also depends upon the Context. If I ask my wife, she would pick Emotional factor, I would pick the intellect and think at those situations. I don’t disagree with emotional factor either, as being emotional has healed several conflicts.

  114. Tulasi Ram Says:

    I’m always get inspiration from the thoughts and quotes of Swami vivekanada.

    And above poems it’s Strengthens everone who reads it and follows it in every aspect.

  115. Amit verma Says:

    hi ram,
    thanks for giving me such a beautiful thought…..

    GOD GIVES ME NOTHING I WANTED…
    HE GIVES ME EVERYTHING I NEEDED…..

  116. d.k.oza Says:

    If you read Swamiji, you will need no other spiritual nourishment . D.K.Oza

  117. Mr. Krishnan Says:

    Very good website

  118. shankar.ch Says:

    what a quotation, he is a great person

  119. V,P.Srinivas Says:

    I did not know there were so many like minded people. I am happy to know there are so many people I can make friends with and share my thinking, I want to start a club of like minded people if any one is interested. Please mail me.

  120. priya Says:

    This thought is very true & heart touching.But it is a human nature which never satisfies with what he have.Humanbeings should be understands taht GOD has send him to finish his work on the earth with full 100% in helping other otheres and to be very satisfied with waht he has.

    • ramsblog Says:

      @Priya,
      thank you.
      agreed, it takes some effort for us to under our Purpose of our Life. But once we understand our Purpose, i suppose we human beings should be able to follow and fulfil our purpose.

  121. buvaneswari Says:

    I LIKE THAT VERY MUCH. BEFORE I READ THIS I FELT SAD. BT AFTER READ THAT AM VERY HAPPY. I HOPE THAT I CAN DO ANYTHING IN THE WORLD

  122. shivkumar raghuwanshi Says:

    I am a disciple of Swamy Vivekananda.
    he say , 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.
    it’s implement for man they don’t known their power.

  123. subathra Says:

    Everybody should follow the thoughts of swami vivekanantha to be good person in their own life and other life also.

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