"To be great is to be misunderstood."
The quote "To be great is to be misunderstood" by Annie Besant suggests that true greatness often transcends common understanding, as it challenges established norms or pushes boundaries. Great individuals may inspire resistance due to their innovative ideas or unconventional behavior, causing others to misjudge or misunderstand them. This misinterpretation, however, is a byproduct of their groundbreaking contributions and should not deter them from pursuing their vision.
"The purpose of our lives is to be happy."
This quote by Annie Besant asserts that the fundamental objective or purpose in life is happiness. It suggests that achieving a state of happiness should be our ultimate goal, as it provides direction and meaning to our existence. The interpretation implies that we should strive for personal fulfillment, joy, and contentment in all aspects of our lives, understanding that these elements contribute to a harmonious and balanced life experience.
"We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness."
This quote suggests that our primary purpose in life is to recognize and overcome the perception of individuality or separation, understanding that we are all interconnected as part of a larger whole. It encourages us to break down barriers, foster empathy, and strive for unity in our relationships, communities, and with nature itself. This mindset promotes compassion, cooperation, and a holistic approach to life, ultimately leading to a more harmonious existence.
"Truth is a pathless land. Man cannot come to it through any organization, through any creed, or dogma, priest or ritual; nor through any philosophical system. He has to find it through the direct perception of reality, and direct perception is attained by the light that flows from the Core of his own being."
Annie Besant's quote suggests that truth cannot be found through organized religion, dogma, or philosophical systems; rather, it is a personal journey of self-discovery and direct perception of reality. The core of an individual's being serves as the source of light needed to uncover the truth. In essence, Besant emphasizes the importance of introspection, personal experience, and individual understanding in seeking truth.
"To know yourself, to think for yourself, to act for yourself, to speak for yourself - that is true freedom."
This quote by Annie Besant emphasizes self-discovery, independent thought, autonomous action, and individual expression as the foundation of true freedom. It suggests that understanding one's own identity, making decisions based on personal insights, taking control of one's life, and expressing oneself openly are key elements to achieving genuine independence and liberation from external influences or societal expectations. In essence, this quote encourages self-empowerment as a means to experience true freedom.
'Easter' is a movable event, calculated by the relative positions of sun and moon, an impossible way of fixing year by year the anniversary of a historical event, but a very natural and indeed inevitable way of calculating a solar festival. These changing dates do not point to the history of a man, but to the hero of a solar myth.
- Annie Besant
Quick condemnation of all that is not ours, of views with which we disagree, of ideas that do not attract us, is the sign of a narrow mind, of an uncultivated intelligence. Bigotry is always ignorant, and the wise boy, who will become the wise man, tries to understand and to see the truth in ideas with which he does not agree.
- Annie Besant
Death consists, indeed, in a repeated process of unrobing, or unsheathing. The immortal part of man shakes off from itself, one after the other, its outer casings, and - as the snake from its skin, the butterfly from its chrysalis - emerges from one after another, passing into a higher state of consciousness.
- Annie Besant
In a deep metaphysical sense, all that is conditioned is illusory. All phenomena are literally 'appearances,' the outer masks in which the One Reality shows itself forth in our changing universe. The more 'material' and solid the appearance, the further is it from reality, and therefore the more illusory it is.
- Annie Besant
Britons are good, though often brutal, colonists where they come into relations with entirely uncivilized tribes whose past is so remote as to be forgotten. But they trample with their heavy boots over the sensitive, delicate susceptibilities of an ancient, highly civilized and cultured nation, such as India.
- Annie Besant
Everyone knows the beautiful story of Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac. How this noble father led his child to the slaughter; how Isaac meekly submitted; how the farce went on till the lad was bound and laid on the altar, and how God then stopped the murder, and blessed the intending murderer for his willingness to commit the crime.
- Annie Besant
Every form, not being the whole, must, of necessity, be imperfect; less than the whole, it cannot be identical with the whole, and being less than the whole and, therefore, imperfect by itself, it shows imperfection as evil, and only the totality of a universe can mirror the image of God.
- Annie Besant
At the solemn moment of death, every man, even when death is sudden, sees the whole of his past life marshalled before him, in its minutest details. For one short instant the personal becomes one with the individual and all-knowing ego. But this instant is enough to show to him the whole chain of causes which have been at work during his life.
- Annie Besant
The generous wish to share with all what is precious, to spread broadcast priceless truths, to shut out none from the illumination of true knowledge, has resulted in a zeal without discretion that has vulgarised Christianity, and has presented its teachings in a form that often repels the heart and alienates the intellect.
- Annie Besant
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