Blessed are they whose bodies get destroyed in the service of others. - Swami Vivekananda

Death is better than a vegetating ignorant life; it is better to die on the battle-field than to live a life of defeat.

We must also remember that in every little village-god and every little superstitious custom is that which we are accustomed to call our religious faith. But local customs are infinite and contradictory. Which are we to obey, and which not to obey? The Brāhmin of Southern India, for instance, would shrink in horror at the sight of another Brahmin eating meat; a Brahmin in the North thinks it a most glorious and holy thing to do — he kills goats by the hundred in sacrifice. If you put forward your custom, they are equally ready with theirs. Various are the customs all over India, but they are local. The greatest mistake made is that ignorant people always think that this local custom is the essence of our religion.

When an idea exclusively occupies the mind, it is transformed into an actual physical or mental state.