A key figure in the introduction of Indian philosophies to the Western world. He is renowned for his speeches at the Parliament of the World's Religions in 1893, where he spoke on the universality of spirituality and the importance of religious tolerance. His teachings emphasized the need for personal spiritual development and the idea of serving humanity as a form of worship. He played a crucial role in the revival of Hinduism and the promotion of Vedanta philosophy globally. His work inspired many to explore spiritual and philosophical thought.
The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him - that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free.
Man can think of divine things only in his own human way, to us the Absolute can be expressed only in our relative language.
There are the altars, but here is the greatest of altars, the living, conscious human body, and to worship at this altar is far higher than the worship of any dead symbols.
Great occasions rouse even the lowest of human beings to some kind of greatness, but he alone is the really great man whose character is great always, the same wherever he be.
