1. "Freedom is in the spirit. Freedom is only in the spirit. There is no other freedom and there cannot be." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1952, 105]
2. "Freedom is the original state of spirit. Plunging into its depths, we are freed from the power of matter. Freedom is in the spirit, but not in the body." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1954, 389]
3. "Independency of existence of man is an impossibility. …So complex is the combining of all the elements that it is impossible for man to discern all the life manifestations. ...The entire Universe is as one stream! The freedom which so entices man is an illusion. In Infinity, there is freedom of choice, and herein is contained all beauty. Freedom of choice affirms man, and man determines for himself the world of effects." [Infinity I, 193]
4. "... Freedom is achieved by knowledge of the law." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1953, 461]
5. "True freedom is revealed within the framework of the law." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1952, 202]
6. "The question of free will is most difficult for people to understand. It is also difficult for them to understand the saying from “Agni Yoga”: “Everything is possible for Yoga and at the same time everything is impossible.” The bigger a person is, the less so-called free will he has, because he sees more clearly the consequences of many causes that are not perceptible to other people. He sees how often one small action plunges entire countries into disaster. The will of a high Arhat merges with the Will of the Highest, because his personal feelings are disciplined, or rather, so refined and transformed that He knows the dictates of the highest benefit, manifested in the great expediency reigning in the Cosmos." [Letters of Helena Roerich in 9 Volumes - 6. 156]
7. "…Without harmony with the Higher Forces it becomes a misfortune." [Brotherhood, 103]
8. "...There is nothing of ours, but everything is cosmic. And the higher, the sharper and more distinct is the complete absence of the personal in consciousness. ...Only the light coming from the heart is ours... You need to feel what freedom lies in the realization of this. The chains of property are the heaviest." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1954, 270]
9. "To be attached to nothing, one must be attached to the Highest. A person cannot live with an empty heart." [Еxcerpts by Boris Abramov from the book "Aspiring Heart" 1952, 68]
10. "Free will is a subject that is interpreted in many ways. One sees it as willfulness; another as irresponsibility; a third as the madness of the ego. Only the one who has gone through the discipline of spirit can realize how strict the reality of freedom can be." [Agni Yoga, 222]
11. "Freedom is the adornment of wisdom, but profligacy is the horns of ignorance." [Brotherhood, 569]
12. "Each one may act according to his ability, he will not be constrained. But the wise one will realize what a responsibility he bears for the use of the treasure of free will. It is as if a purse full of gold were given him; it can be spent at his discretion, but an account would have to be rendered. And the Brotherhood teaches not to spend the entrusted treasure without usefulness." [Brotherhood, 570]
13. "It should be remembered that freedom requires a high discipline, and those who manifest disorder and confusion cannot be regarded as free. …Let us understand that we can become builders or destroyers. Manifest understanding of true freedom." [Supermundane, 832]
14. "The free will of man is the highest Divine gift, but it is necessary to use it in a divine way." [Letters of Helena Roerich in 9 Volumes - 3. 110]
15. "Truly, the expansion of consciousness is the greatest happiness, because the expanded consciousness, freeing us first of all from fear and prejudice, gives us that great freedom of spirit, which people strive for so much, searching in vain for it in all directions, except for the one right path – the path of the heart and open consciousness. Nothing can compare to the expansion of consciousness. In it alone is the solution to all the questions of life, in it lies the path to self-improvement, to the transformation of our being, which is the one great goal of the Cosmos. ... Expanded consciousness lives in the heart..." [Letters of Helena Roerich in 9 Volumes - 1. 113]
16. "Only knowledge gives freedom." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1952, 657]
17. "Only knowledge can make a person free, knowledge of the spirit and the Teaching leading to the knowledge of the spirit." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1954, 491]
18. "Imposed dogmas, human laws, the standard of life have weaned humanity from the process of thought and made of it, with rare exceptions, an automaton and a parrot repeating memorized accepted formulas. When will there be an opportunity to liberate human thought! Everyone is talking about different freedoms, but the opposite camps themselves are afraid of the same beast – freedom of thought! …My dear ones, think with the broadest, brightest thoughts. Develop the ability of thought in yourself, your capabilities will grow unspeakably. Remember, it is said: the kingdom is not in crowns and not in crowds, but in the cosmospatial realm of ideas. Think, create your own planets, your own countries, your own cities!
But let thoughts be born of the heart, for only a thought born of the heart lives." [Letters of Helena Roerich in 9 Volumes - 1. 058]
19. "Life can be called an arena of relentless struggle for the liberation of the spirit. We will seek liberation in the sphere of thought, for by it we liberate and bind ourselves to the Earth." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1954, 452]
20. "Desires are like sparks igniting motion. … A yogi is free, not from desires as such but from their burden. He knows himself to be free because he is not a slave to desire. On the path of goal-fitness, a yogi, applying co-measurement, relinquishes desires in the name of the most essential. This ability to change easily is at the core of the yogi's liberation. Nothing hinders his progress. …Desire can be worms and chains, or sparks and wings. The liberated one soars in realization. The one enslaved wails in despair." [Agni Yoga, 259]
21. "Many believe freedom is in bondage to their desires and thoughts. But this is... the freedom of slaves. A person is free when it is not thought and desire, but the will that dominates thoughts and desires. We consider freedom to be the power of the will, consonant with Higher consciousness, Cosmic consciousness..." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1960, 17]
22. "A free man is not chained by habits. He will know how to adapt himself to any conditions and will not regret the past, for he has overcome all obstacles and is free. Man himself accumulates petty habits and is not aware that he has become enslaved, precisely by the most petty habits and prejudices. …It must be conceded that the litter of one’s life is composed of petty habits. A conqueror does not cling to the past, but freely strives towards new creative labor." [Supermundane, 825]
23. "It is easy to be a saint in seclusion and even within the walls of a monastery, but the spirit hardens and outlives the attachments and habits that burden it only in earthly battles. Verily, liberation must come in the midst of temptations, freely and joyfully, without a single regret. Truly, only then is the spirit ready for existence in the Higher Worlds." [Letters of Helena Roerich in 9 Volumes - 2. 092]
24. "Only free will can create an effective magnet. "I want and I can" (but without "or I will die", the addition reveals the formula of unconsciousness) – so a person will open the first gates to the transformation of the world." [Letters of Helena Roerich in 9 Volumes - 7. 111] ([Supermundane, 796])
25. "Evolution is independent and voluntary, this is a fundamental law. …A sleeping heart cannot be forced toward good. One can point out, one can set milestones, but to break the consciousness means to kill the root of the future tree." [Fiery World I, 399]
26. "But we should not force upon people what is beyond their capacity. They should be told about Truth, but one cannot force it upon them. Compulsion will provoke rebellion so strong that there will be retreat instead of progress." [Supermundane, 198]
27. "Violence against someone else's will is unacceptable. ...Let's give Light, leaving everyone to dispose in their own way. Not in your way, but in their own way. Free will is sacred." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1952, 202]
28. "...It is especially difficult for people to reconcile the seemingly contradictory concepts of free will and guidance. …It is essential that a real teacher should encourage the free will, and a prudent pupil, while exercising his free will, will learn to value the importance of the teacher. …The teacher cannot change the stubbornness of the pupil if there is no room for the exercise of good will. Good will is free will. The Thinker pointed out that goodness, freedom, and beauty live under one roof." [Supermundane, 485]
29. "The freedom of consciousness gives birth to heroes." [Fiery World II, 42]
