Advaita Vedanta · 1863–1902
Vivekananda: Arise, awake, stop not
His rendering of a line from the Katha Upanishad
उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत।
Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.
What this verse points to
Vivekananda made this line his rallying call, and it comes originally from the Katha Upanishad. The three imperatives escalate: get up, become conscious, and then do not stop.
The third is the difficult one. Beginning is easy and beginnings are frequent; the instruction is about what happens in the long unremarkable middle.
Sit with it
Return to a practice you abandoned. Restarting is the whole instruction.
About the Swami Vivekananda
The foremost disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and founder of the Ramakrishna Mission. This line — which he made his own rallying call — is his rendering of a verse from the Katha Upanishad.