SWAMI VIVEKANANDA'S QUOTES ON "TRUE WORSHIP"

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SWAMI VIVEKANANDA'S TEMPLE AT BELUR MATH,KOLKATA

• The only God to worship is the human soul in the human body. Of course, all animals are temples too, but man is the highest, the Taj Mahal of temples. If I cannot worship in that, no other temple will be of any advantage.
• We are the servants of that God who by the ignorant is called MAN.
• This is the gist of all worship - to be pure and to do good to others.  He who sees LORD SHIVA in the poor, in the weak, and in the diseased, really worships Shiva; and if he sees SHIVA only in the image, his worship is but preliminary.
• If the Lord grants that you can help any one of His children, blessed you are; do not think too much of yourselves. Blessed you are that that privilege was given to you when others had it not. Do it only as a worship.
• May I be born again and again, and suffer thousands of miseries,, so that I may worship the only God that exists, the only God I believe in, the sum total of all souls - and above all, my God the wicked, my God the miserable, my God the poor of all races, of all species, is the special object of my worship.
• After so much austerity, I have understood this as the real truth -  God is present in every Jiva; there is no other God besides that. 'WHO SERVES JIVA, SERVES GOD INDEED.'
• You must give your body, mind and speech to 'the welfare of the world'. You have read - 'Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava - Look upon your mother as God, look upon your father as God', but I say, ' Daridra Devo Bhava, Murkha Devo Bhava -  the poor, the illiterate, the ignorant, the afflicted - let these be your God'. Know that service to these alone is the highest religion.
• The fool, dwelling on the bank of the Ganga, digs a well for water, such are we! Living in the midst of God - we must go and make images. We project Him in the form of the image, while all the time He exists in the temple of our body. We are lunatics and this is the great delusion. Worship everything as God - every form is His temple. All else is delusion.
• We think that we have helped some man and expect him to thank us, and because he does not, unhappiness comes to us. Why should we expect anything in return for what we do? Be grateful to the man you help, think of him as God. Is it not a great privilege to be allowed to worship God by helping our fellow men?
• Let me tell you again that you must be pure and help any one who comes to you, as much as lies in your power. And this is good KARMA. By the power of this, the heart becomes pure (Chitta-shuddhi), and then SHIVA who is residing in every one will become manifest.
• Let some of you spread like fire, and preach this worship of the universal aspect of the Godhead - a thing that was never undertaken before in our country. No quarreling with people, we must be friends with all. Spread ideas - go from village to village, from door to door - then only there will be real work. Otherwise, lying complacently on the bed and ringing the bell now and then is a sort of disease.