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
I would say that the thrust of my life has been initially about getting free, and then realizing that my freedom is not independent of everybody else. Then I am arriving at that circle where one works on oneself as a gift to other people so that one doesn't create more suffering. I help people as a work on myself and I work on myself to help people.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True freedom is interconnected with the well-being of others.
In this quote, Ram Dass emphasizes the idea that personal liberation is not a solitary journey; rather, it is deeply intertwined with the freedom and suffering of others. He articulates that as one seeks to better themselves, they should also consider the impact of their actions on the wider community, suggesting that self-improvement can be an act of service to others.
Themes
FreedomSelf-ImprovementInterconnectednessServiceSuffering
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational talk about personal growth during a leadership seminar.
More from Ram Dass
All quotes →The gift you offer another person is just your being.
Ram DassRead
Let the natural flow of the universe, course through your being, and harmonize your soul.
Ram DassRead
You can be still and still moving. Content even in your discontent.
Ram DassRead
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.
Ram DassRead
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
Similar quotes
Neither genius, fame, nor love show the greatness of the soul. Only kindness can do that.
Jean-Baptiste Henri LacordaireRead
Europe today is the most secular region in the world. Europe is the only region in the world experiencing population decline. Wherever you turn today the more religious the community, the larger on average are their families.
Jonathan SacksRead
The idea of cultural relativism is nothing but an excuse to violate human rights.
Shirin EbadiRead
Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.
George OrwellRead
God is the ultimate source of all power. All human power is therefore derived, limited, unstable and transient.
Os GuinnessRead
The Press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of the government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government. And paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people.
Hugo BlackRead