In three situations, you do not have freedom: the discharge of duties (karthavyam), actions done under compulsion (nirbandham) and obligatory actions arising out of certain relationships (sambandham). If a poor man, unable to get food, resorts to stealing, he cannot claim that he is exercising his freedom to appease his hunger. Even if, for his own selfish reasons, he may try to justify the stealing, his conscience will tell him that he is committing wrong. Any action performed against one’s conscience is not an act of freedom. True freedom happens only when one is free from the impulses of the mind. Freedom (Swechcha) is made up of the words: Swa + ichcha. ‘Swa’ means Atma. Only when the will of the Atma prevails can there be real freedom. God and you are not separate. This oneness should not be a mere intellectual concept. It should be a living reality. Then you will experience true freedom - the freedom of the Spirit.

- Divine Discourse, May 31, 1990.