Every one is as much bound in thought, word, deed, and mind, as a piece of stone or this table. That I talk to you now is as rigorous in causation as that you listen to me. There is no freedom until you go beyond Maya. That is the real freedom of the soul.
Swami VivekanandaWork and worship are necessary to take away the veil, to lift off the bondage and illusion.
Swami VivekanandaDo not lower your goals to the level of your abilities. Instead, raise your abilities to the height of your goals.
Swami VivekanandaOne thing I must tell you. Idolatry in India does not mean anything horrible. It is not the mother of harlots.
Swami VivekanandaDrama is the most difficult of all arts. In it two things are to be satisfied - first, the ears, and second, the eyes. To paint a scene, if one thing be painted, it is easy enough; but to paint different things and yet to keep up the central interest is very difficult. Another difficult thing is stage - management, that is, combining different things in such a manner as to keep the central interest intact.
Swami VivekanandaThis Maya is everywhere. It is terrible. Yet we have to work through it. The man who says that he will work when the world has become all good and then he will enjoy bliss is as likely to succeed as the man who sits beside the Ganga and says, "I will ford the river when all the water has run into the ocean."
Swami Vivekananda