"In one word, this ideal is that you are divine, "Thou art That". This is the essence of Vedanta; after all its ramifications and intellectual gymnastics, you know the human soul to be pure and omniscient, you see that such superstitions as birth and death would be entire nonsense when spoken of in connection with the soul. The soul was never born and will never die, and all these ideas that we are going to die and are afraid to die are mere superstitions."

- Swami Vivekananda, "Practical Vedanta, Part I" (November 10, 1896, Morning class at 39 Victoria St, London), Complete Works: Vol 2