--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man ought to live in this world like a…" description: "\"A man ought to live in this world like a lotus leaf, which grows in water but is never moistened by water; so a man ought to live in the world - his he..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/swami-vivekananda-53_grows_a-man-ought-to-live-in-this-world-like-a_2496466.jpg" --- # A man ought to live in this world like a lotus leaf, which… ![“A man ought to live in this world like a lotus leaf, which grows in water but is never moistened by water; so a man ought to live in the world - his heart to God and his hands to work.” quote by Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/swami-vivekananda-53_grows_a-man-ought-to-live-in-this-world-like-a_2496466.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/swami-vivekananda-53_grows_a-man-ought-to-live-in-this-world-like-a_2496466.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/swami-vivekananda-53_grows_a-man-ought-to-live-in-this-world-like-a_2496466.jpg) > “A man ought to live in this world like a lotus leaf, which grows in water but is never moistened by water; so a man ought to live in the world - his heart to God and his hands to work.” [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Live detached from material circumstances while staying devoted to spiritual truth and diligent work. **In simple terms:** Stay pure in spirit, active in work. Key Takeaway Balance devotion with effort. Themes spirituality detachment service Mood serene motivated Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - volunteering - career - personal growth Key Concepts Hindu philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you keep heart focused on God? - What practical steps support your spiritual work? A Different Perspective Detachment may be misinterpreted as indifference. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Lotus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lotus/) [Lotuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lotuses/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I got things like the lotus position long before anybody else did, or at least in the mainstream. But I had fun. I guess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-astin/i-got-things-like-the-lotus-position-long-before-anybody-else-did-or/) [John Astin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-astin/) > [Be like a lotus. Let the beauty of your heart speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/be-like-a-lotus-let-the-beauty-of-your-heart-speak/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [Droplets of water would roll around the surface of a lotus leaf and not leave any trace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhou-qunfei/droplets-of-water-would-roll-around-the-surface-of-a-lotus-leaf-and/) [Zhou Qunfei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhou-qunfei/) > [As a water bead on a lotus leaf, as water on a red lily, does not adhere, so the sage does not adhere to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/as-a-water-bead-on-a-lotus-leaf-as-water-on-a-red-lily-does-not/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [The banyan tree does not mean awakening, nor does the hill, nor the saint, nor the European couple. The lotus is a symbol of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-banyan-tree-does-not-mean-awakening-nor-does-the-hill-nor-the/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“I had never seen the end of day and the beginning of the night greet each other. We were caught in the loveliness between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle-2/i-had-never-seen-the-end-of-day-and-the-beginning-of-the-night-greet/) Madeleine L’Engle > [“Be like a lotus. Let the beauty of your heart speak. Be grateful to the mud, water, air and the light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/be-like-a-lotus-let-the-beauty-of-your-heart-speak-be-grateful-to-the/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [“May we exist like a lotus, / At home in the muddy water. / Thus we bow to life as it is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zen/may-we-exist-like-a-lotus-at-home-in-the-muddy-water-thus-we-bow-to/) [Zen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zen/) > [“One lives in the world but the world is not in your mind, the world is not within you. One lives untouched, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/one-lives-in-the-world-but-the-world-is-not-in-your-mind-the-world-is/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-soul-unfolds-itself-like-a-lotus-of-countless-petals/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Number theorists are like lotus-eaters -- having once tasted of this food they can never give it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-kronecker/number-theorists-are-like-lotus-eaters-having-once-tasted-of-this/) [Leopold Kronecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-kronecker/) > [If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaru-emoto/if-you-feel-lost-disappointed-hesitant-or-weak-return-to-yourself-to/) [Masaru Emoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaru-emoto/) > [Egypt loved the lotus because it never dies. It is the same for people who are loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/egypt-loved-the-lotus-because-it-never-dies-it-is-the-same-for-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Lotus-land as it appears in 'Free Will' is simply a metaphor for an idealized background, a 'land of milk and honey.' It is sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/lotus-land-as-it-appears-in-free-will-is-simply-a-metaphor-for-an/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [The lotus grows in muddy waters but this flower does not show any trace of it: So we have to live in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/the-lotus-grows-in-muddy-waters-but-this-flower-does-not-show-any/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) ## More by Swami Vivekananda > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Holiness sincerity, and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/holiness-sincerity-and-faith/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The Hindus have a peculiar slovenliness in business matters, not being sufficiently methodical and strict in keeping accounts etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-hindus-have-a-peculiar-slovenliness-in-business-matters-not-being/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Renunciation is in our blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/renunciation-is-in-our-blood/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/let-positive-strong-helpful-thoughts-enter-into-your-brains-from-very/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/where-can-we-go-to-find-god-if-we-cannot-see-him-in-our-own-hearts/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [It is the free alone which never changes, and the unchangeable alone which is free; for change is produced by something exterior to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/it-is-the-free-alone-which-never-changes-and-the-unchangeable-alone/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Above all, India is the land of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/above-all-india-is-the-land-of-religion/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The awakening of the soul to its bondage and its effort to stand up and assert itself - this is called life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-awakening-of-the-soul-to-its-bondage-and-its-effort-to-stand-up/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [It is the Prana that is manifesting as motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/it-is-the-prana-that-is-manifesting-as-motion/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Though an atom is invisible, unthinkable, yet in it are the whole power and potency of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/though-an-atom-is-invisible-unthinkable-yet-in-it-are-the-whole-power/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Nothing can be produced without a cause, and the effect is but the cause reproduced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/nothing-can-be-produced-without-a-cause-and-the-effect-is-but-the/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [All the strength and succour you want is within yourselves. Therefore make your own future. "Let the dead past bury its dead." The infinite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/all-the-strength-and-succour-you-want-is-within-yourselves-therefore/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Be brave! Be strong! Be fearless! Once you have taken up the spiritual life, fight as long as there is any life in you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/be-brave-be-strong-be-fearless-once-you-have-taken-up-the-spiritual/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“there is a continuity of mind, as the Yogis call it. The mind is universal. Your mind, my mind, all these little minds, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/there-is-a-continuity-of-mind-as-the-yogis-call-it-the-mind-is/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) [Explore all 1,889 Swami Vivekananda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) ## More Grows quotes > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [“Laugh and grow strong”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-loyola/laugh-and-grow-strong/) [Ignatius of Loyola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-loyola/) > [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) James T. 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War grows from their peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/their-peace-and-their-war-are-like-wind-and-storm-war-grows-from/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I just want to grow spiritually with the Lord,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-durant/i-just-want-to-grow-spiritually-with-the-lord/) [Kevin Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-durant/) > [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. 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