I grew up learning the ideals of Swami Sivananda. My mother became a devotee before I was born and would take me to his ashram in South Africa. (If you’d like to learn more about my Guru, please read this article.)
My house shelves are lined with his books, our walls are adorned with his photos, and our hearts beat with his grace.
Looking back, Swami Sivananda formed the purpose of peace in my life.
I feel honored to share a few of his quotes in this post (Swami Sivananda’s teachings span an entire library that would be hard to condense in an article).
I’ve curated quotes from the internet and his books, In Quest of Peace, and Guidance in Daily Life.
I hope these Swami Sivananda quotes will bring calm to your heart, just as they have mine.
Table of Contents
Swami Sivananda Quotes on Peace
1. Meditation is painful in the beginning but it bestows immortal Bliss and supreme joy in the end.
2. Modern civilisation is complicated and artificial. Simple folk live in a world of love and peace. Let no one hate another or harm another.
3, Fewer the thoughts, greater the peace.
4. Never worry about what other people say or think. Do the right. Have a clear conscience and roam about happily.
5. Silence is the language of God; it is also the language of the heart.
6. If you do not find peace within, you will not find it anywhere else. The Goal of Life is the attainment of Peace and not the achievement of power, name, fame and wealth.
7. Individual Peace paves the way for world peace. The attainment of inner calm is the greatest work you can do for humanity.
8. Tolerance is a sign of growth on the spiritual path.
9. Sow love, reap peace. Sow meditation, reap wisdom.
10. You are already free. You only have to know and realize this truth.
11. The mental ability to concentrate is inherent to all; it is not extraordinary or mysterious. Meditation is not something that a Yogi has to teach you; you already have the ability to shut out thoughts.
12. You can have calmness of mind at all times by the practice of yoga. You can have restful sleep. You can have increased energy, vigour, vitality, longevity, and a high standard of health. You can turn out efficient work within a short space of time. You can have success in every walk of life.
Swami Sivananda Quotes on Failure
13. The harder the struggle, the more glorious the triumph. Self-realization demands very great struggle.
14. This world is your best teacher. There is a lesson in everything. There is a lesson in each experience. Learn it and become wise. Every failure is a stepping stone to success. Every difficulty or disappointment is a trial of your faith. Every unpleasant incident or temptation is a test of your inner strength. Therefore nil desperandum. March forward hero!
15. There is something good in all seeming failures. You are not to see that now. Time will reveal it. Be patient.
16. Do not brood over your past mistakes and failures as this will only fill your mind with grief, regret and depression. Do not repeat them in the future.
Swami Sivananda Quotes on Overcoming Fear
17. If you think about disaster, you will get it. Brood about death and you hasten your demise. Think positively and masterfully, with confidence and faith, and life becomes more secure, more fraught with action, richer in achievement and experience.
18. Give up all sorts of fears, worries, anxieties and cares. Do not be disheartened by failures and setbacks. Draw strength and courage from God dwelling in the chamber of your heart. Pain is the best thing in the world. It is an eye-opener. It awakens your dormant faculties. Never forget this.
19. Every depressing and disturbing thought that enters your brain, has a depressing effect on every cell of your body, and tends to produce disease. All negative thoughts are forerunners of disease, and they are messengers of death.
20. Don’t fear the darkness if you carry the light within.
21. The divine within you is stronger than anything that is without you. Therefore, be not afraid of anything. Rely on your own Inner Self, the Divinity within you. Tap the source through looking within. Improve yourself. Build your character. Purify the heart. Develop the divine virtues. Eradicate evil traits. Conquer all that is based in you. Endeavor to attain all that is worthy and noble. Make the lower nature the servant of the higher through discipline, Tapas, self-restraint and meditation. This is the beginning of your freedom.
22. Faith is a belief in the unknown. Faith heals, faith creates, faith works wonders, faith moves mountains.
Swami Sivananda Quotes on Overcoming Desire
23. There is no end of craving. Hence contentment alone is the best way to happiness. Therefore, acquire contentment.
24. Eating, drinking. sleeping, pro-creating. A little laughter, a lot of tears. Is this all there is to life? Don’t die like a worm on the surface of the planet. WAKE UP and be all that you can be, you are so much more than that.
25. Crave for a thing, you will get it. Renounce the craving, the object will follow you by itself.
Swami Sivananda Quotes on Being Good
26. Humility is not cowardice. Meekness is not weakness. Humility and meekness are indeed spiritual powers.
27. Forget like a child any injury done by somebody immediately. Never keep it in the heart. It kindles hatred.
28. An evil man is a saint of the future. See good in everything. Destroy the evil-finding quality. Develop the good-finding quality. Rise above good and evil.
29. Isavasyamidam Sarvam: every content of the universe is throbbing with the Life of the Lord. Smile with the flowers and the green grass. Smile with the shrubs, ferns and twigs. Develop friendship with all neighbours, dogs, cats, cows, human beings, trees, in fact, with all nature’s creations. You will have a perfect and rich life.
30. Your duty is to treat everybody with love as a manifestation of the Lord.
31. A good, holy thought to start the day with, is more precious than all the wealth you can acquire and all the happiness that you can enjoy during the day.
Swami Sivananda Quotes on Life and Success
32. Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.
33. Thinking of disease constantly will intensify it. Feel always ‘I am healthy in body and mind’.
34. Thoughts are giant-powers. They are more powerful than electricity. They control your life, mould your character, and shape your destiny.
35. Man is not a creature of circumstances. His thoughts are the architects of his circumstances.
36. SUCCESS TONIC
- 1 tsp confidence
- 1 tsp courage
- 2 tsp patience
- 4 tsp prayer
- 4 tsp perseverance
- 4 tsp joy
- 6 tsp enthusiasm. Take one teaspoonful of this tonic three times daily.
37. You are the author of your own fate. You yourself have created this. You yourself are entirely responsible for this. You are the architect of your joys and sorrows. Just as the spider or the silkworm creates a web or cocoon for its own destruction, so also you have created this cage of flesh by your own actions, attractions, repulsions and false egoism. You have become the slave of the flesh, slave of your body and mind, slave of countless desires. You are sunk in the quagmire of deepest ignorance.
38. Adaptability is a most desirable habit or quality for success in life.
39. Live in the present, forget the past. Give up hopes of future.
40. Life is a series of awakenings.
41. To make the mind obey you is a spiritual discipline.
42. Pain, sorrow, ignorance are all illusory; they cannot live. Bliss, joy, knowledge are true; they cannot die.
43. Your thoughts should agree with your words, and the words should agree with your actions. In this world people think one thing, say another thing, and do something else. This is horrible. This is crookedness.
44. Beauty is essentially spiritual. The authentic beauty lies in the heart.
45. Change the mind, and you can change the body.
46. Why do you read many books? The great book is within your heart. Open the pages of this inexhaustible book, the source of all knowledge. You will know everything.
47. Be for ever a student. He and he alone is an old man who feels that he has learnt enough and has need for no more knowledge.
Swami Sivananda Quotes from Guidance in Daily Life
The following Swami Sivananda quotes were taken from the book Guidance in Daily Life by Swami Sivananda.
48. It is easy to bask in the sunshine of prosperity. The crucial test is your reaction under adversity and hardship.
49. It is very easy to overcome depression. It is not at all as difficult as one imagines. Mind has the mysterious power of magnifying a problem and making it appear formidable. Do not listen to the promptings of the mind. Reject them and throw them out ruthlessly.
50. What cannot be cured must be endured.
51. Let go and Let God.
52. Do not try to run away from your problems, trials and difficulties. Face them bravely through calm reflection and discrimination, knowing that the Divine within is ever your guide, protector and saviour.
53. Be content. Adopt the life-style of “simple living and high thinking.” A great deal of unhappiness today may be traced to unfulfilled desires. There is no end to desire. Each desire breeds a host of new ones. Modern man longs to own TV sets, dishwashers, expensive cars, swimming pools, video recorders and other items of luxury. Reduce your desires and lead a life of contentment and simplicity.
Swami Sivananda Quotes from In Quest of Peace
The following quotes by Swami Sivananda were taken from the book In Quest of Peace by Swami Sivananda.
54. Peace is not in money, estates, and possessions. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but is within the soul.
55. Every action brings about a reaction. If you rob another, you rob yourself. If you hurt another, you hurt yourself first. If you cheat another, you really cheat yourself. Similarly, if you serve another, you serve yourself. If you give happiness to another, you give happiness to yourself. So think, speak, and act wisely.
56. If you wish to drink water at the tap, you will have to bend. Even so, if you wish to drink the divine nectar of joy, you will have to bend. You will have to be meek and humble.
57. Gandhiji’s wonderful success in the political field was due to his patient efforts. He was never discouraged even by repeated failures. All the great persons of the world had this noble quality. A patient man is always serene. He is not afraid of failures and setbacks. He finds out methods to strengthen himself.
58. No one can enjoy an iota of real happiness if his mind is filled with jealousy. Even millionaires, kings, ministers, and professors cannot have any peace as long as they are slaves of jealousy. Money, name, fame, and power cannot bring peace of mind. You all know the saying: “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.
59. Anger affects the brain, the nervous system, and the blood. Many poisons are formed in the blood when one gets angry. After a violent spell of anger, it may take days for the nervous system to recover. Doctors tell us that heart diseases, nervous ailments, and rheumatism are all due to anger.
60. When you are confronted by tests and trials, remember the wise saying: “Even this will pass away.” It will give you strength to face everything.
61. Fear is a great enemy of peace. It assumes various forms, like fear of disease, fear of death, fear of public criticism, fear of losing wealth and property, fear of injury, etc. Fear clouds the mind and works havoc through the faculty of imagination. Very often what we fear most does not happen at all.
62. Do not listen to promptings from within that your problems cannot be solved. The Divine within you, and the loved ones around you, can effectively solve or dissolve all your problems.
63. Fickleness can be overcome. Develop the will. Draw up a simple daily routine and follow it to the letter. Have few items. Have punctuality and regularity. Stick to your promises at all costs.
64. If evil thoughts harass the mind, one of the best methods of overcoming them is to ignore them. How can we ignore evil thoughts? This can be done by thinking about something else — something pure, sublime, and inspiring. This method is very effective in getting mastery of our mind.
65. Each temptation, each trial, is a test of God to find out your strength of will, your power of endurance, and your degree of dispassion. Stand adamant. Be bold. Be cheerful. Be courageous. Contend with the mind bravely. Control of one desire or habit will lead to the conquest of another desire or habit.
Final Thoughts
I’m a work-in-progress devotee — I’m still learning and practicing Swami Sivananda’s principles.
And there are days when I succumb to the minutiae of daily life — where I worry about pointless goals, expectations, and objects.
But these teachings and quotes pull me back to what’s truly important in life — peace within the Self.
I hope these Swami Sivananda quotes will inspire you and educate you too! Thanks for reading!
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- 83 Feeling Low Quotes Guaranteed to Make You Feel Better About Life
- The Best Is Yet to Come Quotes (42 Wise Quotes)