Quotations from the Works of Sw. Ranganathananda
(Bold emphasis not author's)

"If women having decorated themselves fully with ornaments, and without any men accompanying them, can move about freely and fearlessly through the streets and lanes, (unmolested by anybody), that state is well-governed."
- Universal Message Of the Bhagavad Gita, Vol. 1, p. 377,
Source: Mahabharata, Shanti Parva,12.68.32

"The whole of Vedanta is a message of strength and fearlessness. Never will you find any stress on weakness in Vedanta. Always abhih, abhih, abhih. Abhih means fearless; be fearless, be fearless."
-Ibid, p. 95

"Vedanta presents human evolution as spiritual growth.... When this philosophy becomes universally known and applied, we can speak in hopeful terms about the future of mankind."
-Vedanta and the Future of Mankind, pp. 67-68

"Socio-political ideologies uninspired by high moral and spiritual values tend to nourish the lower self of man from which proceed selfishness and intolerance, violence, and war. The first object of every religion is to check and discipline this lower self of man. . .Never in human history has man experienced so much darkness within him in the midst of all-round enlightenment outside of him, so much inner poverty in the context of measureless enrichment without, and so much loneliness in the midst of an environing crowd. The modern crisis is thus essentially a spiritual crisis, and modern man is seeking for light to lead him out of the encircling gloom."
- The Message of the Upanisads, pp. 30, 43

"We know from the science of anthropology that, when a group achieves a measure of stability and security in the material base of its culture through settled agriculture and industry, thus allowing certain amount of leisure, it tends to invest this surplus leisure in the higher plane of man's inner life, thus giving rise to the second aspect of its culture, namely, mental culture."
- Eternal Values for a Changing Society, Vol. 1, p. 3

". . .culture is the dynamic aspect of human society, and when it weakens, there will be decline in civilization. According to Spengler, civilization itself is a sign of decline whereas culture is a sign of development. When people want greater comforts, more pleasure, more gadgets, the sensory system gets stimulated, wants increase, and civilization begins to decline. When we work hard and struggle to build the nation, we are, as referred to in philosophical language, at the stage of 'becoming'; that is culture. When one has 'become', that is civilization, that is the beginning of decline."
- Universal message of the Bhagavad-Gita, Vol. 1, p. 57

"Culture has a wave-like motion, going down and again coming up. This coming up, in our country
[India]. . .was always initiated by a great spiritual teacher. No politician or military general, not even a physical scientist, can initiate such a movement. Only a man of God, who has deep insight into Truth in the heart of man, can set in motion such a current."
- Ibid, p. 64

"Evolution, says Vedanta, is the progressive manifestation of the Self through the transformation it effects in the material mass around. The whole process becomes self-aware only in man, that too in the thinking man endowed with moral awareness. From now on evolution becomes, according to Sir Julian Huxley, less and less organic and more and more psycho-social and cultural. Evolution from now on becomes a spiritual pilgrimage. "
-The Message of the Upanisads, p. 307

"Worldliness is the negation of spiritual awareness. The animal bodies are meant for mere sense-experience; they have no experience of the subject. The world of objects comprises their sphere of awareness and of pleasure and pain. It is only in the human body that subjective awareness emerges, the awareness of self as different form the non-self."
- Ibid., p. 96

. . .today's civilization makes the human being completely a servant of matter, submerging him or her in matter; and this has developed into what is called unchecked consumerism with all its evil effects on nature and the human being. . .Men and women have become slaves of matter, and this is what finds expression as unchecked consumerism today. They have forgotten their own divine nature. This is the greatest Truth, and not dogma, that men and women have to learn today."
- Universal Message of the Bhagavad-Gita, Vol. 2, p. 213-214

"From the ancient times, man has been confronted with the problems of how to deal with his neighbour, with his fellow beings. The problem of inter-human relationship is a continuing problem in human society. Man has found two broad answers to this question; one answer is to 'exploit' the other man for one's own advantage; and the other answer is to 'serve' the other man, so that he and I can prosper together. . .unfortunately, the second answer has not found any widespread response from the hearts of men and women. . .the first is easy and natural. . .We coolly exploit the misery of other people."
- Eternal Values for a Changing Society, Vol. 4, p. 193

"I am not alone in the world. . .We belong to a world. . .The vast world is around us. We cannot do without it. We cannot become human without a human world around us. How much we owe to the world of other human beings around us!"
- Universal message of the Bhagavad-Gita, Vol. 1, p. 178

"There is only one infinite Self in all. Differences are only on the surface, at the sensory level. Deep down there is perfect unity. You and I are one. Then love alone can come out of your heart. Service alone can come out of your heart. We need a philosophy of human unity, of human service. . .A more comprehensive philosophy we need today. And Vedanta is that comprehensive philosophy, a science of human possibilities, if I can use the word coined by the late British biologist, Sir Julian Huxley. . .The developed nation, the developing nations, everywhere, we are one. That wonderful Advaitic vision can make for tremendous change in the world today."
-Ibid,, Vol. 2, p. 14

" 'I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings in this world.' (- Bhagavad-Gita, 10.20)
That is the nature of the ultimate Reality. And repeating this point let me state that, the way Indian philosophy approaches this subject of cosmology can be perfectly acceptable to any astrophysicist of the modern period. They also trace everything to the one behind many, Everything is here. But in the beginning it was undifferentiated; now it has become differentiated as the universe. That is astrophysics. That is also Vedanta. But the astrophysicist will call it 'a material something'. Vedanta calls it Pure Consciousness, infinite and non-dual---satyam jnanam anantam Brahman, 'truth, knowledge or consciousness, and infinity---that is Brahman.' Behind this universe that is the truth. That is why you see consciousness in you and me. If it were not there in the cause, how can it come in the effect? That is a wonderful argument today against materialism. So, many scientists also like this idea." - Ibid, p. 429

"The spiritual message of every religion is the message of immortality. If God is immortal, man is also immortal, he being a child of God, or a spark of God. The Upanishads speak of the Self of man as Brahman, the infinite and immortal: Tat tvam asi -- "Thou art that" as the Chandyogya Upanishad (VI.viii.7) expresses it. Conditioned by the body and the senses, man appears finite and limited; but in his true nature he is unconditioned, infinite, and free. "God enchained is man and man unchained is God", says Sri Ramakrishna
. . .Meditation is the technique of the royal path to immortality; and in meditation man ceases to be gregarious; he goes beyond his erstwhile state in which he is defined as a social animal."
- The Message of the Upanishads, p. 362

"Logical and scientific reason is man's only guide in his search for truth in the external world. . . .When this reason becomes critical of itself and discovers its own limitations, it takes the first step in evolving into philosophical Reason. But this first step must be followed by further steps if it is not to end up in futility as a high crtiique of mere sense-expereince. This is what happened to Kant whose Critique of Pure Reason ended in agnosticism, needing another critique, Critique of Practical Reason to restore faith in moral values."
- Ibid, pp. 329, 330

"Dogmatism and cocksureness, which stifle the spirit of free enquiry are as much enemies of true science as of true religion. . .A greater devotion to the spirit of free enquiry, and a broader conception of the aim and temper of science, is our only safeguard against such a pitfall." - Eternal Values for a Changing Society, Vol. 1, p. 304

"Please ask yourself as to what you know about your Hindu religion? The honest answer mostly will be: We go to a temple ring a bell, get some ritual performed, of course chattering all the time, get some prasad, or sacred offering, and return back! There are some, even intellectuals among them, who will go to holy Rishikesh [N-E of Delhi], pay five rupees to a priest, touch the tail of a cow, hoping to go to heaven thereby! How can such understanding and practice of religion help us today? How can such practices make for spiritual strength and human growth?"
- Vedanta and the Future of Mankind, p. 27

"What is the need for all types of showy religion and worship? True religion and worship is such a simple thing in which the whole life can become a dedication to the Divine. We can live in Him. He will live in us. This is what we can do. There you have pure spirituality. This is a wonderful development. When people understand the nature of bhakti, more and more of such people will appear in our society, reducing the current noisy, showy, costly worship. The whole of life becomes religion, as Vivekananda said, as quoted by Sister Nivedita in her Introduction to the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda: 'Life itself is religion'."
- Universal Message of the Bhagavad-Gita, Vol. 2, p. 387

"Earlier or later, no religion or society today, be it Muslim, Christian or Hindu, can escape the inquisitiveness, and often irrelevant questioning and peering by increasing sections of its intelligent youths, both girls and boys, educated and nurtured in modern thought."
- The Message of Upanishads, p. 34

"But a man is always active in one form or the other. . .Something pulls us out into action. That is our own nature within. That nature finds expression in making us do this work, that work, something or the other. So, this is the first lesson we must understand."
- Ibid., Vol. 1, p. 261

"Efficiency and energy comes from emotion, not from intellectual knowledge, which can only direct that emotional energy. But the real impulse comes from emotion. It makes you work at your best."
- Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 412

"The work becomes great, when done by a great mind. The work becomes small, when done by a small mind. It is not the work that is great, it is the mind that is behind the work that makes it great."
- Ibid, p. 30

"It is from the human mind itself that both good and evil come. So, a little attention as to how the mind is behaving, in the context of work, is absolutely essential for all people today. Otherwise, collective life will become difficult, group life will become difficult; life between husband and wife will become difficult, because both, or either of them, has not looked into the mind at all; they have been looking outside all the time." - Ibid.,, Vol. 3, p. 21

"A young person must be asked to work hard. Go into the world; achieve something. . .Let the person go out, work, satisfy his or her desires, make achievements the goal of one's life at that stage. The same person, after achievement is over, must begin to think of other higher things. Then he or she slowly withdraws one's mind from action and achievement. There is something I have missed, my own true nature. Let me try to realize this truth."
- Ibid., Vol. 1, p. 281

"How can we find joy in work? By working for oneself? No; it is not possible to find that continuous joy in work through selfish motivations. Frustration and ennui are the end of all selfish motivations. Frustrations and nervous breakdowns are the end of a self-centred life.

The first advice of modern psychiatry to such people is to get out of this prison of self-centredness and to find a genuine interest in other people. Everyone has to learn the lesson some day that the best way to be happy is to strive to make others happy. So wherever you find frustration, you will always discover that the person concerned had been too self-centred and the only hope for him is through learning to take interest in other people, to find joy in the joy of other people. This is the royal path that makes for health, for strength, for efficiency. This great truth---universal and human---we should apply to the world and to our life in it."
- Eternal Values for a Changing Society, Vol. 4, pp. 150, 151

"So, work hard; perform all duties; develop yourself; then come and surrender to the highest. Do a whole day's honest work, then sit and meditate; then resign yourself to God. Otherwise, that meditation has no meaning or value. Meditation at the end of a lazy day has no meaning; but the same at the end of an active day, filled with good deeds, has meaning, and is rewarding."
- Ibid., Vol. 1, p. 379

"There are two values in citizenship. One is freedom. A man or woman is free; a citizen is free. The second is responsibility. There must be the awareness of social responsibility along with freedom. A citizen should have a sense of national responsibility. It is only when these two values---freedom and responsibility---come together that the individual becomes a citizen, a true grihastha."
- Spiritual Life of the Householder, p. 13

"I have been visiting countries abroad for several years. Never have I seen such poverty and suffering in Europe, America, Australia, and other countries. Even cattle, dogs, and cats there are well-fed and healthy. People are, of course, well-fed and strong. There is no poverty and want anywhere. How did this happen? Not by magic, but only through hard work, team work, and a sense of dignity and social responsibility. . .Working together is very essential, because we can achieve economic and social progress only through team work."
- Ibid, pp. 18, 19

"Whatever may be the current maladies, whatever may be the dismal social situation around us, we may assure ourselves that these are only passing phases. There is enough wisdom and inspiration available in the world to take humanity on the road of man's spiritual growth. . .Vedanta says: Do not stagnate. That is the only warning it gives to man; do not convert wayside rest and sleep to death, but recoup and move on. Let the current of water flow; stagnant water is unhealthy; flowing water is pure and healthy. Human life must be a continuos unfoldment. Arrested and made stagnant at the sensate level, life ceases to be life and becomes death. Today's human life all over the world shows the evils of such stagnation. We have to stir up the waters of life, remove the clogging materials, and make it flow on as a healthy stream of human energy, revealing greater and greater dimensions of truth, beauty, and goodness."
-Vedanta and the Future of Mankind, p. 71

1. The Message of the Upanisads
2. Eternal Values for a Changing Society (Volumes 1-4)
3. Universal Message of the Bhagavad-Gita (Volumes 1-3)
4. A Pilgrim Looks at the World
5. Vedanta and the Future of Mankind
6. The Charm and Power of the Upanishads
7. An Introduction to the Study of the Gita
8. Science and Religion
9. Practical Vedanta and the Science of Values
10. The Essence of Indian Culture
11. Spiritual Life of the Householder
12. The Indian Vision of God as Mother
13. Christ We Adore
14. Bhagavan Buddha and Our Heritage
15. Swami Vivekananda and Human Excellence (Harvard University Lecture)
16. Vivekananda: His Humanism (Moscow University Lecture)

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