This is a selection from the writings and addresses of Swami Vireswarananda, the 10th President of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission. Though the lectures and essays comprising this book belong to different years and contexts, all of them deal with the burning problem of the modern age — the quest for an ideal that can guide us through the stormy sea of life. They contain many illuminating insights into spiritual matters and also provide practical hints to live a spiritual life in today's modern world.
True religion is not talk, or doctrines, or theories, nor is it sectarianism. It is the relation between soul and God. Religion does not consist in erecting temples, or building churches, or attending public worship. It is not to be found in books, or in words, or in lectures, or in organizations. Religion consists in realization. We must realize God, feel God, see God, talk to God. That is religion.
-Swami Vivekananda