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understood the point because I said, 'Now you are afraid that you may get into another trap. But are you aware that your ego itself can become the trap, and the greatest of all? You have lived within many other commitments and you found they all became imprisonments -- but your own ego can become the imprisonment. When you surrender to a nobody he cannot imprison you, and the very danger of your own, ego becoming an imprisonment for you also disappears. When you surrender to me you are not really surrendering to me, because I am not here. And I'm not enjoying your surrender at all -- whether you surrender or not makes no difference to me. In fact, when you surrender to me, you surrender yourself. You don't surrender to me. You simply surrender your ego. I am just a device, an excuse. It will be difficult for you to go and surrender to the river, or to the sky, or to the stars -- it will be very difficult and you will look a little ridiculous. So I pretend to be here just to help you so that you don't feel ridiculous. You can put you r ego here. There is nobody to receive it and nobody to be happy about it, but it helps.
Buddha used to call such things devices -- UPAYA. It is just a UPAYA, a device to help those who cannot put their egos down unless they find some feet. I make my feet available to you, but inside there is nobody.
The fifth question:
Question 5
WHY DO YOU GIVE US THESE RELIGIOUS TITLES? THEY SEEM ABSURD. OUTSIDE THE ASHRAM INDIANS SELDOM CALL ME SWAMI WITH A STRAIGHT FACE.
You must be hankering for it. I have not called you swami to be swami for others. The word 'swami' means lord. Don't hanker for others to call you lord. I have called you swami just to indicate your path -- so that you become lord of yourself. It is not to make others slaves to you, it is just to make a master of you. The word 'swami' is intended for self-mastery. So don't feel frustrated if nobody calls you swami. In fact, if somebody calls you swami, be alert, because there is danger. You may start thinking that you are a swami, you may start thinking that you are some holy man or something. Don't carry that type of nonsense. I am not here to
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