The Vedanta Philosophy
I came here to represent a philosophy in India that is called the Vedanta philosophy. This philosophy is very, very ancient; it is the outcome of that mass of ancient Aryan literature known by the name of the Vedas. Vedanta claims that man is divine, and that all this which we see around us is the outcome of that consciousness of the divine. Everything that is strong and good and powerful in human nature is the outpouring of that divinity. There is, as it were, an infinite ocean behind, and you and I are like so many waves coming out of that infinite ocean; and each one of us is trying his best to manifest that infinite outside. Each one of us has that infinite ocean of Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss as our birthright, our real nature; and the difference between us is caused by the greater or lesser power to manifest that divinity. Therefore, the Vedanta teaches that each man should be treated not as what he manifests, but as what he stands for. Each human being stands for the divine, and, therefore, each one of us should be helpful, not by condemning man, but by helping him to call forth the divinity that is within him.
-Swami Vivekananda
(From Pathways To Joy)