Swami Vivekananda.
What I love most about him is that he makes it possible to travel the spiritual path without any kind of mumbo-jumbo - his message is sane, do-able and goes straight to the heart.
Eminent British historian A.L. Basham stated that “in centuries to come, he will be remembered as one of the main moulders of the modern world…”
A bit about Swami Vivekananda:
Narendra Nath Datta (who later took the name Swami Vivekananda) was born into an affluent family in Calcutta, India on 12 January 1863. He was a precocious lad and excelled in all he did. He also used to practice meditation right from a young age. As a young man, Narendra went through a period of deep spiritual crisis when he doubted the existence of God. Hearing about Sri Ramakrishna from one of his teachers, he went to meet him. The legend goes that when Narendra met Sri Ramakrishna, he straightaway asked the Master a question: “Sir, have you seen God?” Without a moment’s hesitation, Sri Ramakrishna replied: “Yes, I have. I see Him as clearly as I see you, only in a much intenser sense.” Sri Ramakrishna slowly won Narendra over through his pure, unselfish love. After the Master's passing, Narendra and 15 others who were with the Master formed a monastic brotherhood. Narendra then took the name of Swami Vivekananda.
The Swamiji's 7 Little Truths:
1. Don't let someone become a priority in your life, when you are just an option in their life. Relationships work best when they are balanced.
2. Never explain yourself to anyone. Because, the person who likes you doesn't need it and the person who doesn't like you won't believe you.
3. When you keep saying you are busy, then you are never free. When you keep saying you have no time, then you will never have any time. When you keep saying that you will do it tomorrow, then your tomorrow will never come.
4. When we wake up in the morning, we have two choices: Go back to sleep and dream, or wake up and chase those dreams. The choice is yours.
5. We make them cry who care for us. We cry for those who have never cared for us. And we care for those who will never cry for us. This is the truth of life - it's strange but true. Once you realize this, it's never too late to change.
6. Don't make promises when you are in joy. Don't reply when you are sad. Don't take decisions when you are angry. Think twice, act once.
7.Time is like a river. You can't touch the same water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again.