We must all work incessantly

We read in the Bhagavad Gita again and again that we must all work incessantly. All work is by nature composed of good and evil. We cannot do any work which will not do some good somewhere; there cannot be any work which will not cause some harm somewhere. ... Good and evil will both have their results, will produce their karma. Good actions will entail upon us good effect; bad action, bad. But good and bad are both bondages of the soul. The solution reached in the Gita in regard to this bondage-producing nature of work is that, if we do not attach ourselves to the work we do, it will not have any binding effect on our soul.

Class on Karma Yoga. New York, December 20, 1895. Complete Works, 1:53.

Oneness of All Beings

Wherever there has been expansion in love or progress in well-being, of individuals or numbers, it has been through the perception, realization, and the practicalization of the eternal truth
--the oneness of all beings.

Written by Swami Vivekananda in March 1899, to be included in the prospectus of the Advaita Ashrama at Mayavati in the Himalayas. Complete Works, 5:435.

Religion

Religion is the idea that is raising the brute unto a human being, and a human being unto God. Vivekananda Sayings and utterances. Complete Works, 5:409

Universal Religion

“if there is ever to be a universal religion, it must be one which will have no location in place or time; which will be infinite like the God it will preach, and whose sun will shine upon the followers of Krishna and of Christ, on saints and sinners alike; which will not be Brahminic or Buddhistic, Christian or Mohammedan, but the sum total of all these, and still have infinite space for development; which in its catholicity will embrace in its infinite arms, and find a place for, every human being, from the lowest grovelling savage not far removed from the brute, to the highest man towering by the virtues of his head and heart almost above humanity, making society stand in awe of him and doubt his human nature. It will be a religion which will have no place for persecution or intolerance in its polity, which will recognise divinity in every man and woman, and whose whole scope, whose whole force, will be created in aiding humanity to realise its own true, divine nature.”

At the Parliament of Religions, Chicago, 1893. Complete Works, 1:19

Karma Yoga

Karma Yoga is a system of ethics and religion intended to attain freedom through unselfishness, and by good works. The Karma Yogis need not believe in any doctrine whatever. They may not believe even in God, may not ask what their soul is, nor think of any metaphysical speculation. They have got their own special aim of realizing unselfishness, and they have to work it out themselves.

Karma Yoga, Complete Works, 1: 111, New York 1896.

Truth and goodness

Truth is infinitely more weighty than untruth; so is goodness. If you possess these, they will make their way by sheer gravity.

From Chicago: January 11, 1895. Letter to G. G. Narasimhachariar. Complete Works, 5: 65

Be true to your mission ....

Be true to your mission. So far you have done well, do better and better still, go on and on. ... Do not fight with people. Do not antagonize anyone. ... Why should you mix in controversies? Bear with the various opinions of everybody. Patience, purity, and perseverance will prevail.

From USA, 1894. Letter to Alasinga. Complete Works, 5: 62

Fanaticism

It is a mistake to think that fanaticism can make for the progress of mankind. On the contrary, it is a retarding element creating hatred and anger, and causing people to fight each other, and making them unsympathetic. We think that whatever we do or possess is the best in the world, and what we do not do or possess is of no value. Always remember that the world is like a dog's curly tail whenever you have a tendency to become a fanatic.

Karma Yoga. New York, 1896. Complete Works, 1: 79