Faith and Strength | Swami Vivekananda

 

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[Music]

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[Applause]

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faith and strength

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[Music]

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he is an atheist who does not believe in

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himself the old religion said that he

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was an atheist who did not believe in

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God the new religion says that he is an

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atheist who does not believe in himself

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[Music]

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the history of the world is the history

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of a few men who had faith in themselves

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that faith calls out the divinity within

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you can do anything you fail only when

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you do not strive sufficiently to

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manifest infinite power as soon as a man

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or a nation loses faith death comes

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[Music]

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faith faith faith in ourselves

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faith faith in God this is the secret of

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greatness if you have faith in all the

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330 millions of your mythological gods

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and in all the gods which foreigners

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have now in again introduced into your

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midst and still have no faith in

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yourselves there is no salvation for you

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[Music]

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never think there is anything impossible

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for the soul it is the greatest heresy

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to think so

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if there is in this is the only sin to

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say that you are weak or others are weak

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[Music]

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whatever you think that you will be if

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you think yourselves weak weak you will

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be if you think yourselves strong strong

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you will be

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[Music]

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be free hope for nothing from anyone I

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am sure if you look back upon your lives

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you will find that you were always

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vainly trying to get help from others

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which never came all the help that has

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come was from within yourselves

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[Music]

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never say no never say I cannot for you

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are infinite even time and space are as

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nothing compared with your nature you

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can do anything and everything you are

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Almighty

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[Music]

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you're the children of God the sharers

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of immortal bliss holy and perfect

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beings your divinities on earth sinners

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it is a sin to call a man so it is a

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standing libel on human nature come up o

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lions and shake off the delusion that

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you are sheep you are souls immortal

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spirits free blessed and eternal

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[Music]

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nevermind the struggles the mistakes I

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never heard a cow tell a lie but it is

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only a cow never a man so never mind

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these failures these little backslidings

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hold the ideal a thousand times and if

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you fail a thousand times make the

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attempt once more

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[Music]

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the remedy for weakness is not brooding

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over weakness but thinking of strength

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teach men of the strength that is

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already within them

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[Music]

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if there is one word that you find

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coming out like a bomb from the

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Upanishads bursting like a bombshell on

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masses of ignorance it is the word

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fearlessness

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[Music]

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if you look you will find that I have

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never quoted anything but the Upanishads

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and off the Upanishads it is only that

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one idea strength the quintessence of

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the Vedas and Vedanta and all lies in

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that one word

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[Music]

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be strong my young friends that is my

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advice to you you will be nearer to

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heaven through football than through the

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study of the Gita these are bold words

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but I have to say them for I love you I

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know where the shoe pinches I have

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gained a little experience you will

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understand the Gita better with your

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biceps your muscles a little stronger

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[Music]

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this is the one question I put to every

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man are you strong do you feel strength

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for I know it is truth alone that gives

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strength strength is the medicine for

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the world's disease

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[Music]

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this is the great fact strength is life

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weakness is death strength is Felicity

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life eternal immortal weaknesses

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constant strain and misery weaknesses

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death

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[Music]

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to succeed you must have tremendous

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perseverance tremendous will I will

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drink the ocean says the persevering

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soul at my will Mountains will crumble

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up have that sort of energy that sort of

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will work hard and you will reach the

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goal

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[Music]

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men men these are wanted everything else

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will be ready but strong vigorous

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believing young men sincere to the

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backbone are wanted a hundred such and

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the world becomes revolutionized

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[Music]

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death is better the vegetating ignorant

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life it is better to die on the

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battlefield than to live a life of

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defeat

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[Music]

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come do something heroic brother what if

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you do not attain Mukti what if you

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suffer damnation a few times is the

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saying untrue there are some Saints who

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full of holiness in thought word and

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deed please the whole world by their

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numerous beneficent acts and who

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developed their own hearts by magnifying

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an atom of virtue and others as if it

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was great as a mountain

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[Music]

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can anything be done unless everybody

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exerts himself to his utmost it is the

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man of action the Lionheart that the

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goddess of wealth resorts to no need of

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looking behind forward we want infinite

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energy infinite zeal infinite courage

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and infinite patience then only will

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great things be achieved

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[Music]

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be not in despair the way is very

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difficult like walking on the edge of a

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razor yet despair not arise awake and

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find the ideal the goal

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[Music]

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why weepest thou brother there is

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neither death nor disease for thee why

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weepest thou brother there is neither

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misery nice fortune for thee why weepest

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thou brother neither change nor death

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was predicated of thee thou art

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existence absolute be your own self

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[Music]

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let people say whatever they like stick

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to your own convictions and rest assured

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the world will be at your feet they say

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have faith in this fellow or that fellow

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but I say have faith in yourself first

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that's the way have faith in yourself

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all powers in you be conscious and bring

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it out say I can do everything even the

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poison of a snake is powerless if you

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can firmly Knight

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[Music]

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once when I was in Varanasi I was

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passing through a place where there was

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a large tank of water on one side and a

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high wall on the other it was in the

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grounds where there were many monkeys

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the monkeys of Varanasi are huge brutes

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and are sometimes surly they now tuck it

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into their heads not to allow me to pass

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through their street so they howled and

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shrieked and clutched at my feet as I

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passed as they pressed closer I began to

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run but the faster I ran the faster came

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the monkeys and they began to bite at me

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it seemed impossible to escape but just

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then I met a stranger who called out to

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me faced the Brutes I turned and faced

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the monkeys and they fell back and

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finally fled that is the lesson for all

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life faced the terrible face it bully

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[Music]

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stand up and fight not one step back

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that is the idea fight it out whatever

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comes let the Stars move from the

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spheres let the whole world stand

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against us death means only a change of

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garment

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what of it thus fight you gain nothing

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by becoming cowards taking a step

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backward you do not avoid any misfortune

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you've cried to all the gods in the

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world has misery seized the gods come to

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help you when you have succeeded so what

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is the use

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dígame you are infinite deathless

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birthless

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because your infinite spirit it does not

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befit you to be a slave arise a weak

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stand up and fight