You have to grow from the inside out, None can teach you - Vivekananda

In this discussion, we expand on the meaning of this quote you have to grow from inside out by Vivekananda. This quote talks about the importance of spirituality, self-discovery and growth. The phrase means that we have to look within for growth. The external ideas, and motivations are all prompts but all knowledge and power of spirituality are within us. If we look within, we can learn and grow.

You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual.
There is no other teacher but your own soul.
― Vivekananda

You have to grow from inside out

There is a beautiful message in this quote by Swami Vivekananda – it is about personal development and self-improvement. This is based on the idea that all knowledge is internal. The external knowledge provides us with prompts to bring out this knowledge. Extending the same line of thought, we have to grow from inside out.

You have to grow from the inside out, None can teach you, none can make you spiritual, There is no other teacher but your own soul, Swami Vivekananda Quotes

The moment we say growth is external, we depend on specific events or outcomes. These events are only prompts and help to bring out growth. Whether it is painful experiences, new challenges or even successes – there’s growth in each one of them.

What does it mean to grow inside out?

We need to spend time and energy on self-discovery and introspection. These act as primary sources to understand who we are, what values we represent etc. We can spend a lifetime in understanding ourselves as this understanding keeps changing and evolving. This growth is continuous and sometimes even confusing. But this is a journey that we have to take ourselves. Even if we manage to get help from someone else, it will be limited because no one else can know your inner self as well as yourself.

No one can teach you

Maybe it would have been straightforward for someone to teach if this was a specialised concept. The world of spirituality is full of misinformation and unfortunately, there are a lot of people who pretend to know things. Some of our old texts will help us meditate, find a way to understand our thoughts and introspect. The modern concepts of mindfulness are a great way to start this journey as well.

However, no one can teach you. The lessons to be learnt in personal domain are about self-discovery and understanding our internal self. It demands internal focus, learning and listening to our thoughts without judgement.

There is no other teacher but your soul

This is the last part of the quote – you have to grow inside out from Swami Vivekananda. Our soul represents this fabric of multiple thoughts and values that define us. It is a place where things get intertwined with our character. There’s no hiding from our true selves in this world. This true self tells us what’s most important and valuable to us. This is not corruputed by the external world, but a pure space where only you have this entry.

It is from this divine space that we get our knowledge and learnings from. This can tell us more things and help us learn about ourselves. The most beneficial thing we can do is to start learning to become better at listening to ourselves.