Once Swami Vivekananda had made a prophetic statement when he said: 'I have a message to the West as Buddha had a message to the East'. What was his message? It was Vedanta. And by compiling this selection from the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda the compiler has performed a most valuable task in keeping before the readers that grand message. Moreover, nothing need be mentioned about the electrifying words of the great Swami that have been resounding that voice of freedom ever since they were first uttered.
The important thing is how much less you think of the body, of yourself as matter -- as dead, dull, insentient matter; how much more you think of yourself as shining immortal being. The more you think of yourself as spirit, the more eager you will be to be absolutely free from matter, body and senses. This is the intense desire to be free.
-Swami Vivekananda