Swami Vivekananda's Quotes on Knowledge

Swami Vivekananda told—

All human knowledge is but a part of religion.^[Source]
All human knowledge proceeds out of experience; we cannot know anything except by experience.^[Source]
All knowledge depends upon calmness of mind.^[Source]
All knowledge is Veda, infinite as God is infinite.^[Source]
All knowledge is within [the] mind. Who saw knowledge in the stone, or astronomy in the star? It is all in the human being.^[Source]
All knowledge is within us.^[Source]
All knowledge must stand on perception of certain facts, and upon that we have to build our reasoning.^[Source]
All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in our own mind.
All our knowledge is based upon experience. What we call inferential knowledge, in which we go from the less to the more general, or from the general to the particular, has experience as its basis.^[Source]
As to the thirst after knowledge, it is an old law that we all get whatever we want. None of us can get anything other than what we fix our hearts upon.^[Source]
यथा एकेन मृत्पिण्डेन सर्वं मृन्मयं विज्ञातं स्यात् — “As one lump of clay being known, all things of clay are known”, so the knowledge of the microcosm must lead to the knowledge of the macrocosm.^[Source]
Books are infinite in number and time is short. The secret of knowledge is to take what is essential. Take that and try to live up to it.
Experience is the only source of knowledge.^[Source]
First get rid of the delusion “I am the body,” then only will we want real knowledge.
Generalisation is the essence of knowledge.^[Source]
He who sees in this world of manifoldness that One running through all, in this world of death he who finds that One Infinite Life, and in this world of insentience and ignorance he who finds that One Light and Knowledge, unto him belongs eternal peace. Unto none else, unto none else.^[Source]
If you think that you are bound, you remain bound; you make your own bondage. If you know that you are free, you are free this moment. This is knowledge, knowledge of freedom. Freedom is the goal of all nature.
Illumination born of discriminative reflection is the ultimate aim of Upanishadic knowledge.^[Source]
In real knowledge there is no touch of work.^[Source]
Is there a greater strength than that of Knowledge?^[Source]
It is indeed true that all other kinds of knowledge are but non-knowledge in comparison with Self-knowledge.^[Source]
It is the knowledge of the spirit of the scriptures alone that constitutes the true religious teacher.^[Source]
Just as creation is infinite and eternal, without beginning and without end, so is the knowledge of God without beginning and without end.^[Source]
Knowledge, again, is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside; it is all inside. What we say a man “knows”, should, in strict psychological language, be what he “discovers” or “unveils”; what a man “learns” is really what he “discovers”, by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge. We say Newton discovered gravitation. Was it sitting anywhere in a corner waiting for him? It was in his own mind; the time came and he found it out. All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in your own mind. The external world is simply the suggestion, the occasion, which sets you to study your own mind, but the object of your study is always your own mind. The falling of an apple gave the suggestion to Newton, and he studied his own mind. He rearranged all the previous links of thought in his mind and discovered a new link among them, which we call the law of gravitation. It was not in the apple nor in anything in the centre of the earth. All knowledge, therefore, secular or spiritual, is in the human mind. In many cases it is not discovered, but remains covered, and when the covering is being slowly taken off, we say, “We are learning,” and the advance of knowledge is made by the advance of this process of uncovering.^[Source]
Knowledge can never be created, it can only be discovered; and every man who makes a great discovery is inspired. Only, when it is a spiritual truth he brings, we call him a prophet; and when it is on the physical plane, we call him a scientific man, and we attribute more importance to the former, although the source of all truth is one.^[Source]
Knowledge can only be got in one way, the way of experience; there is no other way to know.
Knowledge does not come by sacrifice, but by seeking, worshipping, knowing the Atman.^[Source]
Knowledge exists eternally. The man who discovers a spiritual truth is what we call “inspired”, and what he brings to the world is revelation. But revelation too is eternal and is not to be crystallised as final and then blindly followed. Revelation may come to any man who has fitted himself to receive it. Perfect purity is the most essential thing, for only “the pure in heart shall see God”. Man is the highest being that exists and this is the greatest world, for here can man realise freedom. The highest concept we can have of God is man. Every attribute we give Him belongs also to man, only in a lesser degree. When we rise higher and want to get out of this concept of God, we have to get out of the body, out of mind and imagination, and leave this world out of sight. When we rise to be the absolute, we are no longer in the world — all is Subject, without object.^[Source]
Knowledge exists, man only discovers it.^[Source]
Knowledge is God Himself.^[Source]
Knowledge is nothing but finding unity in the midst of diversity.^[Source]
Knowledge will make us free. This is the idea of Jnana-Yoga: knowledge will make us free! What knowledge? Chemistry? Physics? Astronomy? Geology? They help us a little, just a little. But the chief knowledge is that of your own nature. “Know thyself.” You must know what you are, what your real nature is. You must become conscious of that infinite nature within. Then your bondages will burst.^[Source]
Knowing does not mean simply intellectual assent, it means realisation.^[Source]
No action can give you freedom; only knowledge can make you free, Knowledge is irresistible; the mind cannot take it or reject it. When it comes the mind has to accept it; so it is not a work of the mind; only, its expression comes in the mind.^[Source]
Nobody ever created knowledge; man brings it from within.^[Source]
Practice first, and knowledge afterwards.^[Source]
The first end of life is knowledge; the second end of life is happiness. Knowledge and happiness lead to freedom.^[Source]
The gift of knowledge is a far higher gift than that of food and clothes; it is even higher than giving life to a man, because the real life of man consists of knowledge.^[Source]
The goal of all is the knowledge of the Self, the realisation of this Self.^[Source]
The goal of mankind is knowledge… Pleasure is not the goal of man, but knowledge. Pleasure and happiness come to an end. It is a mistake to suppose that pleasure is the goal. The cause of all the miseries we have in the world is that men foolishly think pleasure to be the ideal to strive for… Now this knowledge is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside: it is all inside. What we say a man “knows,” should, in strict psychological language, be what he “discovers” or “unveils”; what man “learns” is really what he discovers by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge… We say Newton discovered gravitation. Was it sitting anywhere in a corner waiting for him? It was in his own mind; the time came and he found it out. All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in your own mind.^[Source]
The sun = Knowledge. The stormy water = Work. The lotus = Love. The serpent = Yoga. The swan = the Self. The Motto = May the Swan (the Supreme Self) send us that. It is the mind-lake. (Swami Vivekananda’s explanation of Ramakrishna Mission’s emblem)^[Source]
There is no knowledge in nature; all knowledge comes from the human soul. Man manifests knowledge, discovers it within himself, which is pre-existing through eternity.^[Source]
There is no other way to the knowledge of the Self but through Sannyasa.^[Source]
There is nothing higher than this knowledge of the Atman; all else is Maya, mere jugglery.^[Source]
Those writers of Shâstra who do not tend towards work say that all-powerful destiny prevails; but others who are workers consider the will of man as superior. Knowing that the quarrel between those who believe in the human will as the remover of misery and others who rely on destiny is due to indiscrimination — try to ascend the highest peak of knowledge.^[Source]
We are all of us struggling towards knowledge.^[Source]
We must try our best to destroy ignorance and evil. Only we have to learn that evil is destroyed by the growth of good.^[Source]
We read many books, but that does not bring us knowledge. We may read all the Bibles in the world, but that will not give us religion. Theoretical religion is easy enough to get, any one may get that. What we want is practical religion.^[Source]
Understanding human nature is the highest knowledge, and only by knowing it can we know God. It is also a fact that the knowledge of God is the highest knowledge, and only by knowing God can we understand human nature.
What we say a man ‘knows’, should, in strict psychological language, be what he ‘discovers’ or ‘unveils’; what a man ‘learns’ is really what he ‘discovers’, by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge.^[Source]

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