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Main Index
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not in the collective mind, my trust is in the individual. I am an individualist; I believe in the supreme value of the individual. there is nothing higher than the individual.
There is a beautiful saying of a Baul mystic, Chandidas: SAHAR UPAR MANUSATYA. TAHAR UPAR NAHIN. Chandidas says: The highest truth is the individual man, there is nothing higher than that, there is nothing more valuable than that.
The individual is not a means to anything -- to communism, to socialism, to Hinduism, to Jainism, to Buddhism, to fascism. And up to now, hitherto, for thousands of years man has been treated always as a means to some end -- any stupid end is enough excuse to sacrifice millions of individuals.
I don't want to sacrifice any individual, because there is nothing higher than the individual My respect for the individual is absolute, unconditional. The individual is an end unto himself. I want to help you to support you. so that you can be yourself.
You ask me: WHAT IS YOUR FUNDAMENTAL TEACHING...
There is something fundamental, but it is not teaching. It is my love, not my ideology. It is my drunkenness that would like to impart to you, a spark that I would like to ignite your soul with it, a fire.
A dervish, a Catholic priest, and a Rajneesh sannyasin met in a railway station and got round to talking about religion.
"Well," said the dervish, "we Sufis are the vital force in Islam. We are the sap that keeps the tree green. We are constantly infusing the old traditions with fresh insights and energy. But, of course, Islam is a very conservative religion, and so we have to put the new wine in old bottles to make it acceptable."
The priest, who was an American Jesuit, said, "I can sure understand that. We Jesuits are the dynamic force in the Catholic Church. We are the ones who give it intellectual stature and keep the faith up-to-date with a rapidly changing world. Naturally our Lord's teachings remain eternally true and valid, but we have to give the Church new forms to deal with modern needs. You might say that we put old wine in old bottles to make it palatable."
The sannyasin remained silent until the dervish
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