| |
end of their lives, for those full of anxiety about what comes after death.
How can a religion based on the philosophy of death illuminate life? Even after five thousand years of religious teachings, the earth is sinking steadily from bad to worse. Although there is no shortage of temples, mosques, churches, priests, teachers, ascetics and the like on this planet, its people have not yet become religious. This is because religion has a false base. Life is not at the root of religion; religion is built on death. Religion is not a living symbol; religion is a gravestone. This kind of biased religion can never bring life to our lives.
What is the cause of all this ?
During these few days, I shall discuss the religion of life, the religion of the living faith -- and a certain elemental principle the common man is never encouraged to discover, nor even told about. In the past, the utmost was done to throw a blanket over this primary rule of life, to suppress this basic truth. And the result of this grave mistake has grown into a universal disease.
What is the basic drive of the average man?
God?
No.
The soul?
No.
Truth?
No.
What is at the core of man? What is the basic urge in the depths of the common man -- in the life of the average man, of the man who never meditates, never searches his soul, never undertakes any religious pilgrimages?
Devotion?
No.
Prayer?
No.
Liberation?
No.
Nirvana?
Absolutely not.
If we look for the basic urge in the common man, if we search for the force behind this life, we will find neither devotion nor God, neither prayer nor the thirst for knowledge. We will find something different there -- something that is being pushed into the darkness, that is never faced consciously, that is never evaluated. And what is that something? What will you find if you dissect and analyze the core of the average man?
Leave man aside for the moment. If we look at the animal or vegetable kingdom, what will we find at the core of anything? If we observe the activity of a plant, what do we find? Where is its growth leading?
|
|
|