- All practice or worship is only for taking off this veil. When that will go, you will find that the Sun of Absolute Knowledge is shining in Its own lustre.[Source]
- By practice men can bring even the heart under control, until it will just beat at will, slowly, or quickly, or almost stop. Nearly every part of the body can be brought under control.[Source]
- Eka-Nishtha or devotion to one ideal is absolutely necessary for the beginner in the practice of religious devotion.[Source]
- External practices have value only as helps to develop internal purity.[Source]
- Here lies the secret. Says Patanjali, the father of Yoga, “When a man rejects all the superhuman powers, then he attains to the cloud of virtue.” He sees God. He becomes God and helps others to become the same. This is all I have to preach. Doctrines have been expounded enough. There are books by the million. Oh, for an ounce of practice![Source]
- I am teaching you now about it, but how many of you will practice it?[Source]
- If you intend to study the mind, you must have systematic training; you must practice to bring the mind under your control.
- It is practice first, and knowledge afterwards.[Source]
- Move onward and carry into practice.[Source]
- My children, the secret of religion lies not in theories but in practice.[Source]
- One ounce of practice is worth a thousand pounds of theory.[Source]
- One ounce of practice is worth twenty thousand tons of big talk.[Source]
- One ounce of the practice of righteousness and of spiritual Self-realisation outweighs tons and tons of frothy talk and nonsensical sentiments.[Source]
- Only by practice and non-attachment can we conquer mind.[Source]
- Perfection must come through the practice of holiness and love.[Source]
- Practice is absolutely necessary. You may sit down and listen to me by the hour every day, but if you do not practice, you will not get one step further. It all depends on practice.[Source]
- Practice makes us what we shall be.[Source]
- The chief helps in this liberation are Abhyasa and Vairagya. Vairagya is non – attachment to life, because it is the will to enjoy that brings all this bondage in its train; and Abhyasa is constant practice of any one of the Yogas.[Source]
- The real work is in the practice.[Source]
- The Yogi must always practice.[Source]
- Through faithful practice, layer after layer of the mind opens before us, and each reveals new facts to us.[Source]
- To get any reason out of the mass of incongruity we call human life, we have to transcend our reason, but we must do it scientifically, slowly, by regular practice, and we must cast off all superstition.[Source]
- Through practice comes Yoga, through Yoga comes knowledge, through knowledge love, and through love bliss.[Source]
- Unselfishness is more paying, only people have not the patience to practice it.[Source]
- We have to practice to become perfect.[Source]
- We must patiently practice every day.[Source]
- You know your real nature [to be divine]. You are the king and play you are a beggar. . . . It is all fun. Know it and play. That is all there is to it. Then practice it. The whole universe is a vast play.[Source]
Practice makes things easier: example: Piano learning
This illustration of piano learning is found in Swamiji’s three lectures/writings.
I
Excerpt from a lecture delivered in New York, 26 January 1896—[Source]
A child begins to play on the piano. At first she must pay attention to every key she is fingering, and as she goes on and on for months and years, the playing becomes almost involuntary, instinctive. What was first done with conscious will does not require later on an effort of the will
II
Excerpt from Complete Works, Volume I, Chapter: Soul, God and Religion—[Source]
For illustration: A man plays a tune on a piano, he places each finger on each key consciously. He repeats this process till the movement of the fingers becomes a habit. He then plays a tune without having to pay special attention to each particular key. Similarly, we find in regard to ourselves that our tendencies are the result of past conscious actions.
III
Excerpt from Complete Works, Volume I, Chapter: Patanjali’s Yoga Aphormisms—[Source]
For instance, most of you ladies play the piano, and remember, when you first learned, how carefully you had to put your fingers on the black and white keys, one after the other, but now, after long years of practice, you can talk with your friends while your fingers play mechanically. It has become instinct. So with every work we do; by practice it becomes instinct, it becomes automatic
