Maharajji told me, 'Give up anger and I'll help you.' I found _x000D_ that love freed me back into the ocean of love and my righteous anger didn't do that. And I would rather be free than right.
Ram DassRead
Religions are founded by what mystics say when they come back; but what the mystics say is not the same as what happened to them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Mystics' interpretations of their experiences often differ from the actual events they describe.
This quote by Ram Dass highlights the distinction between the personal, often ineffable experiences of mystics and the interpretations they provide to articulate those experiences. It suggests that while religions may be built on the revelations of mystics, the language they use to describe their transcendent encounters might not fully capture the essence of what they truly perceived or underwent.
Themes
MysticsReligionExperienceInterpretationPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about spirituality, you could use this quote to emphasize the gap between experience and expression.
More from Ram Dass
All quotes →The gift you offer another person is just your being.
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Let the natural flow of the universe, course through your being, and harmonize your soul.
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You can be still and still moving. Content even in your discontent.
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The heart surrenders everything to the moment. The mind judges and holds back. _x000D_ _x000D_ In most of our human relationships, we spend much of our time reassuring one another that our costumes of identity are on straight. _x000D_ _x000D_ When we see the Beloved in each person, it's like walking through a garden, watching flowers bloom all around us.
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When I look at relationships, my own and others, I see a wide range of reasons for people to be together and ways in which they are together. I see ways in which a relationship - which means something that exists between two or more people - for the most part reinforces people's separateness as individual entities.
Ram DassRead
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