swami ramtirth (1873 โ 1906) was a mystic, poet, philosopher and a modern yogi from india. he is well known for his teachings on vedanta.
swami ram tirth was born in a poor family. but with his hard work and dedication he completed his studies. he was a genius in mathematics and he became a professor of mathematics. a chance meeting with swami vivekananda transformed his life. he decided to leave his job and became a sannyasi. thus began his journey of self realization and deep meditation in solitude. he took his sannyas on the auspicious day of diwali. he was born on diwali, he took sannyas on diwali and he also died on diwali by offering his body to ganges (jal samadhi).
after swami vivekananda, he was the second swami to visit america and japan to spread the knowledge of vedanta. he spoke frequently on ‘practical vedanta’ and hinduism. he also gave emphasis on women education, spoke on iniquities of the caste system in indiaย and inspired the youth to rise from materialistic lifestyle and live a spiritual life.
swami ramtirth quotes:
1. the very best method of spreading the vedantic philosophy is to live it.
2. rise above desires, and they are fulfilled.
3. immortal is the true divinity that you are.
4. the law is that you shall be pure. harbour impurity and you must suffer the consequences.
5. truth, get hold of that, realize that, feel that, live that.
6. heaven is within you, seek happiness not in the objects of sense; realize that happiness is within yourself.
7. god is not separate from you; that god is not in this heaven or that hell, but in your own self.
8. by your nature you are free; you have forgotten yourself in your state of slavery. a king may fall asleep and find himself a beggar; he may dream that he is a beggar, but that can in no way interfere with his real sovereignty.
9. the splendour and glory of your self makes the pomp of emperors ridiculous.
10. we cannot possess the whole world, and even if we possess that, what does that amount to? gain the whole world and lose your own soulโwhat does that amount to? this earth of yours is simply a point in astronomical calculations when we deal with the fixed stars. this earth is dealt with as a mathematical point for a position, but no magnitude.
11. the real atman, the true god is beyond the reach of words and minds.
12. try to throw dust into the eyes of god and you will be blinded yourself.
13. realize the truest reality, the real power, that you are; infinite you are, above all danger and difficulty.
14. realize, realize that you are the infinity within. know that. the very moment that a person knows himself to be that, the very moment that a man realizes his true nature, he is free, above all danger, above all difficulty, above all suffering, above all tribulation and pain. know that, be yourself!
15. your godhead is not outside yourself, you are already god, you are the same. it is strange oblivion that makes you forgetful of your real self, your real god-head. remove this ignorance, dispel this darkness, away with it.
16. if the body is sick, you say โo, i am undone, i am sick,โ just because you identify yourself with the body pr the mind. vedanta says give up this false identification and you will be alright. anything wrong with the body or the mind should not disturb you. it is only this false sentimentalism due to this false self which causes all your suffering.
17. true fasting means ridding ourselves of all selfish designs, desires, not feeding them, purging ourselves wholly of them.
18. rise above this selfish egoism, you are happy this moment, one with the whole universe you are.
19. do not play the miser’s part. the miser has all the treasures in his house, but does not want to part with a single cent. you have the whole world within you, the whole universe is your own. why hide it? why not bring it into use? put it into practice; drink deep of the nectar of your own self! why not gain your own natural intrinsic kingship?
20. do not place your centre outside yourself; this will make you fall. place all your confidence in yourself, remain in your centre, and nothing will shake you.
21. pleasure is within you. there you can get it. the whole treasure is within you. then why play the part of the beggar and go about in a miserable plight, in a sad state, and behave like a pitiable atom? come, realize your true self, almighty god, and let this song burst forth from you in fullness of joy.
22. if you seek ease and comfort for your bodies and waste your time in sensual pleasures and luxury, there is no hope for you.
23. there is one common cause for all shortcomings, one common basis, root of all these evils, and that is ignorance, – ignorance in all its shapes, especially ignorance of the real self, ignorance of the true
atman.
24. if you want salvation, if you want freedom only let go the hold, free your hand. the whole forest is yours, you can jump from tree to tree and eat all the nuts and eat all the walnuts and all the fruits in the wood, all being yours. the whole world is yours; just get rid of this selfish ignorance and you are free, you are your own saviour.
25. burn this ignorance, burn this lower egoism, burn this lower selfish nature which makes a hell of your body.
26. evil thoughts and worldly desires are things concerning the false body and the false mind, and are things of the darkness.
27. come up, hesitate not. take hold of this truth fearlessly. make bold to hug it to your bosom and make it yourself. realize the truth and the truth will make you free.
28. the truth has such a glorious beauty that in order that it may enter deep into your hearts, it is necessary only to see it clearly. the sun requires no other proof of its existence. to see the sun is to prove the sun. everything, that be, is seen in some outside light, but light itself does not require some other light in order that it may be visible.
29. make your whole life a flute. make your whole body a flute. empty it of selfishness and fill it with divine breath.
30. there is something within you which remains the same when you are in a swoon, which remains the same when you are bathing, when you are writing. just think, reflect, just mark, please. are you not something which remains the same under all circumstances, unchanging in its being, the same yesterday, today and for ever? if so, just reflect a little more, think a little more and you will be immediately brought face to face with god.
31. wanted โreformers not of others
but of themselves, who have won
not university distinctions, but victory over the local self.
32. sail on, march on to the real self; get rid of all this superstition, this superstition of the body. get rid of this hypnotism of this little body; you have hypnotized your-self into this brain or body. get rid of that, sail on, march on to the eternity, the reality, the true self.
33. be love and you are successful. a merchant who does not look upon his customersโ interests as his own, cannot succeed. in order to prosper he must love his customers. he is to observe them with his whole heart.
34. your real self is not only present with you in the wakeful state, it is equally present in the deep sleep state; it is equally present under all changes and circumstances.
35. vedanta proves that all this world is nothing else but your own ideas, nothing else but your own imagination and your own thought.
36. all personal power is limited; it binds you just as much as any possession or property binds you. chains are chains whether of iron or gold; they enslave you all the same.
37. do any kind of wrong, do any mischief, harbour in your mind any kind of wrong, do these wrong deeds, commit these sins even at a place where you are sure nobody will catch you or find you out, where nobody will call you to question. sow these seeds of evil wherever you please, even in a place as secure as any fort could be; sow the wind and by the most stern, unrelenting, irrefragable, irretrievable law, you reap the whirlwind; you must be visited with pain and suffering.
38. in the most solitary caves commit a sin and you will in no time be astonished to see that the very grass under your feet stands up and bears testimony against you. you will in time see that the very walls, the very trees have tongues and speak. you cannot cheat nature, providence. this is a truth; this is a law.
39. the bodies, the minds are like the different glasses; one body may be like a lens, another prismatic, another a white glass, another a red glass, another concave, another convex. the bodies are different, but you are not the bodies only, the apparent unreal self. through ignorance you call yourself the body you are not. you are the infinite power, the divinity, the constant, immutable, unchangeable one. that you are; know that and you find yourself inhabiting the whole world, inhabiting the whole universe.
40. truth is nobodyโs property; truth is not the property of jesus; we ought not to preach it in the name of jesus. truth is not the property of buddha; we need not preach it in the name of buddha. it is not the property of mohammad; it is not the property of krishna or anybody. it is everybodyโs property. if anybody basked in the sunโs rays before, you can bask in the sun today. if one man drinks the fresh waters of the spring, you can drink the same fresh water. such should your attitude be towards all religions.