| |
only Socrates has. And that is a scientific approach about everything -- and that was his crime.
And you are all being benefited by science all over the world, not knowing that Socrates sacrificed himself for the same scientific enquiry. He was asking only one thing: that nothing should be believed. Everything should be experienced, experimented with, and unless there is evidence, evidence without exception, it should not be accepted. Even when you accept a thing as truth, if you are honest, accept it only as a hypothetical truth, because who knows? -- tomorrow there may be new facts known, and you will have to change the truth.
Nobody has been in the service of truth as much as Socrates. Even if you have found the truth -- today it looks absolutely true, not a single flaw, no possibility that it will ever be untrue -- still he says the scientific spirit will accept it only as hypothetical, for the time being... because eternity is ahead. Every day new facts will be discovered, and those facts may not go with your truth. You may have to change it, you may have to make place for those new truths. This is something absolutely unique in the whole world.
And the man was not like Jesus -- proclaiming himself the only son of God, or proclaiming himself a prophet or a messiah. That makes me tremendously respectful towards Socrates, and disrespectful towards all those pretenders who have been talking about being prophets and saviors and messiahs. Socrates was far more intelligent than any of them, but still so humble that he remained just a human being, with no claim of being special, being higher.
Twenty-five centuries ago it was even more difficult, because in every country there were messiahs, prophets, messengers of God, sons of God. In that climate the man's humbleness is really surprising and makes him one of the most respected human beings who has ever walked on the earth.
Socrates does not believe in any God, but he does not say that there is no God. He is very scientific. He says, "As far as I have enquired, there seems to be no God, but who knows about the results of further enquiry? Take it as a hypothesis that there is no God,
|
|
|