"People are frightened when they are told that they are Universal Being, everywhere present...They will again and again ask you if they are not going to keep their individuality. What is individuality? I should like to see it. A baby has no moustache; when he grows to be a man, perhaps he has a moustache and beard. His individuality would be lost, if it were in the body. If I lose one eye, or if I lose one of my hands, my individuality would be lost if it were in the body. Then, a drunkard should not give up drinking because he would lose his individuality. A thief should not be a good man because he would thereby lose his individuality. No man ought to change his habits for fear of this. There is no individuality except in the Infinite. That is the only condition which does not change. Everything else is in a constant state of flux."

- Swami Vivekananda, "The Real Nature of Man" (The Real and The Apparent Man, June 21, 1896, Royal Institute of Painters, London), Jnana Yoga, Complete Works: Vol 2