"The world is indeed a mixture of truth and make-believe. Discard the make-believe and take the truth"
About this Quote
The intent isn’t to scold imagination so much as to warn against confusing mood, status, and social theater with what actually liberates. “Make-believe” here isn’t children’s play; it’s the adult versions: ego stories, religious pageantry mistaken for transformation, the comforting myth that tomorrow’s success or someone else’s approval will finally steady you. The subtext is an ethic of discernment (viveka) in a culture where spirituality could be both intense and performative. Nineteenth-century Bengal was a churn of reform movements, colonial pressures, and debates between Western rationalism and inherited devotion. Ramakrishna, who spoke in parables and homely images, offers a third way: not argument, but sorting.
The rhetorical move is sharp because it’s asymmetric. Truth is something you “take,” like medicine or food; make-believe is something you “discard,” like waste. No negotiation, no blend. It quietly asserts that clarity is an action, not a belief. The world will keep generating illusion on its own; liberation requires editing.
Quote Details
| Topic | Truth |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Ramakrishna. (2026, January 17). The world is indeed a mixture of truth and make-believe. Discard the make-believe and take the truth. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-world-is-indeed-a-mixture-of-truth-and-26186/
Chicago Style
Ramakrishna. "The world is indeed a mixture of truth and make-believe. Discard the make-believe and take the truth." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-world-is-indeed-a-mixture-of-truth-and-26186/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The world is indeed a mixture of truth and make-believe. Discard the make-believe and take the truth." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-world-is-indeed-a-mixture-of-truth-and-26186/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.









