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his father without even asking, "Why? What have I done? For what is this punishment being given to me?" Fourteen years he passes, on foot, in the forest.
Today, nobody who has any intelligence can say that obedience can be of such a high value. He should have disobeyed.
And this is my feeling, that if Rama had disobeyed Dasharatha, his father, this country would have been a totally different country. His obedience made this whole country a country of slaves. It is not a simple phenomenon, it is very complicated. When you respect Rama, you are respecting obedience. Then invaders came and the country obeyed, and invaders went on coming and the country went on obeying.
In five thousand years you have not seen a single revolution because revolution has never been a value for us. We have never thought that revolution is anything good. We have always condemned the rebellious spirit, while the rebellious spirit is the only spirit in the world which helps evolution. If we are lagging behind everybody in the world, it is because of our respect for obedience.
I am not saying be disrespectful, I am not saying be disobedient. I am simply saying be discriminating. And discrimination comes out of awareness -- be alert, be aware, see the whole situation. And let the decision come from yourself, not from outside -- not from your father, not from your teachers, not from your priests. Listen to what they have to say, listen carefully, respectfully. But the decision has to come from your own innermost being. Then you will have an individuality and you will have an independence. And with you, the whole society will move higher into consciousness, into freedom.
Don't judge people.
Rather, love people.
You are not told to love people but, knowingly or unknowingly, you are being taught to judge people.
Love knows no judgment; it simply loves, as you are. It is your question, it is your life. How to live it? And if my love is truly great, it may change you without any effort on my part. Without judging you, there is a possibility of changing you.
You can look at me: I have lived with thousands of people; I have never judged
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