“When the tail of the tadpole drops off, it can live both in water and on land. When the tail of delusive ignorance drops off from man, he becomes free. He can then live in God and the world equally well.”
Source: Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960), p. 955
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Ramakrishna 142
Indian mystic and religious preacher 1836–1886Related quotes

“Like Aesop's fox, when he had lost his tail, would have all his fellow foxes cut off theirs.”
The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621), Democritus Junior to the Reader

Source: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942), p. 465

As quoted in Book Of Happiness, by Jagdish Gupta https://books.google.co.in/books?id=H7cwBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA101&lpg=PA101&dq=Unlike+a+drop+of+water+which+loses+its+identity+when+it+joins+the+ocean,+man+does+not+lose+his+being+in+the+society+in+which+he+lives.+Man%27s+life+is+i&source=bl&ots=eVeEf_7dR3&sig=88DaiaoPeTdFtzRM73yLcZmasVg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEMQ6AEwB2oVChMIh7H05PiSyAIVRNSOCh2zIABs#v=onepage&q=Unlike%20a%20drop%20of%20water%20which%20loses%20its%20identity%20when%20it%20joins%20the%20ocean%2C%20man%20does%20not%20lose%20his%20being%20in%20the%20society%20in%20which%20he%20lives.%20Man%27s%20life%20is%20i&f=false
Variant: Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man's life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self.
“A young woman can live off the folly of men; a man of any age can live off the folly of women.”
The Complete Neurotic's Notebook (1981), Women & men

Alles, was ausser dem guten Lebenswandel der Mensch noch thun zu können vermeint, um Gott wohlgefällig zu werden, ist blosser Religionswahn und Afterdienst Gottes.
Book IV, Part 2, Section 2
Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone (1793)

Who Is a Free Man. What Is Freedom? http://parentingforeveryone.com/freeman/
Chelovek Svobodny (Free Man) (1994)