Swami Vivekananda's Quotes On Ego And Egotism ~ Swami Vivekananda Quotes

Give up all self, all egotisms get out of anger, lust,
give all to God. "I am not, but Thou art;
the old man is all gone, only Thou remainest."

—Swami Vivekananda

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

In this article we'll make a collection of Swami Vivekananda's quotes and comments on Ego and Egotism. Related articles are listed at the bottom of this page.

All action of Sattva, a modification of Prakriti characterised by light and happiness, is for the soul. When Sattva is free from egoism and illuminated with the pure intelligence of Purusha, it is called the self-centred one, because in that state it becomes independent of all relations.^[Source]
Did Buddha teach that the many was real and the ego unreal, while orthodox Hinduism regards the One as the real, and the many as unreal?" the Swami was asked. "Yes", answered the Swami. "And what Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and I have added to this is, that the Many and the One are the same Reality, perceived by the same mind at different times and in different attitudes.^[Source]
Egotism, pride, etc. must be given up.^[Source]
Give up all self, all egotisms get out of anger, lust, give all to God. "I am not, but Thou art; the old man is all gone, only Thou remainest." "I am Thou." Blame none; if evil comes, know the Lord is playing with you and be exceeding glad.^[Source]
How long do you remember that it is the Lord who is making you work? But then, by repeatedly analysing like that, you will come to a state when the ego will vanish and in its place the Lord will come in. Then you will be able to say with justice "Thou, Lord, art guarding all my actions from within." But, my friend, if the ego occupies all the space within your heart, where forsooth will there be room enough for the Lord to come in? The Lord is verily absent!^[Source]
I am neither the mind, nor the intellect, nor the ego, nor the mind-stuff ; (ranslation of Adi Shankara's Nirvana Shatakam) ^[Source]
In everything we do, the serpent ego is rising up.^[Source]
It will be a great pity if any feeling of jealousy or egotism gain ground amongst you.^[Source]
Man only remains hypnotised with the false idea of an ego. When this ghost is off from us, all dreams vanish, and then it is found that the one Self only exists from the highest Being to a blade of grass.^[Source]
One possessing Vairagya does not understand by Atman the individual ego but the All-pervading Lord, residing as the Self and Internal Ruler in all. He is perceivable by all as the sum total.^[Source]
Out of Mahat comes universal egoism.^[Source]
Realisation of love can never come so long as there is the least desire in the heart, or what Shri Ramakrishna used to say, attachment for Kâma-Kânchana (sense-pleasure and wealth). In the perfect realisation of love, even the consciousness of one's own body does not exist. Also, the supreme Jnana is to realise the oneness everywhere, to see one's own self as the Self in everything. That too cannot come so long as there is the least consciousness of the ego (Aham).^[Source]
Say -- i am the Atman in which my lower ego has become merged for ever. Be perfect in this idea; and then as long as the body endures, speak unto others this message of fearlessness: "Thou art That", "Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached!" ^[Source]
The "ego" like its correlative "non-ego", is the product of the body, mind etc. The only proof of the existence of the real Self is realisation.^[Source]
The ego of man and woman is the soul. If the soul is independent, how then can it be isolated from the infinite whole?^[Source]
The mind in its foolishness thinks that it is working in this body. Why should I be bound by one system of nerves, and put the Ego only in one body, if the mind is omnipresent? There is no reason why I should.^[Source]
The root of that degeneration is egotism — to think that one is just as great as any other, indeed!^[Source]
The world is a demon. It is a kingdom of which the puny ego is king. Put it away and stand firm.^[Source]
There is no good in store so long as malice and jealousy and egotism will prevail.^[Source]
There is the mind itself. It is like a smooth lake which when struck, say by a stone, vibrates. The vibrations gather together and react on the stone, and all through the lake they will spread and be felt. The mind is like the lake; it is constantly being set in vibrations, which leave an impression on the mind; and the idea of the Ego, or personal self, the "I", is the result of these impressions. This "I" therefore is only the very rapid transmission of force and is in itself no reality.^[Source]
This ego — the less there is of it, the nearer I am to that which I really am: the universal body.^[Source]
This intelligence itself is modified into what we call egoism, and this intelligence is the cause of all the powers in the body. It covers the whole ground, sub-consciousness, consciousness, and super-consciousness.^[Source]
This rascal ego must be obliterated.^[Source]
Throw overboard all idea of jealousy and egotism, once for all. Come on to the practical field with tremendous energy; to work, in the fullness of strength! As to the rest, the Lord will point out the way.^[Source]
To give up the world is to forget the ego, to know it not at all — living in the body, but not of it.^[Source]
Truth will never come into our minds so long as there will remain the faintest shadow of Ahamkâra (egotism). All of you should try to root out this devil from your heart. Complete self-surrender is the only way to spiritual illumination.^[Source]
Until we give up the world manufactured by the ego, never can we enter the kingdom of heaven.^[Source]
We become forgetful of the ego when we think of the body as dedicated to the service of others -- the body with which most complacently we identify the ego.^[Source]
When I see an object there is no will; when its sensations are carried to the brain, there comes the reaction, which says "Do this", or "Do not do this", and this state of the ego-substance is what is called will.^[Source]