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else than herenow, because each moment that is passing is precious, so precious that you cannot get it back. Don't waste it!
But all the religions have been suicidal. Of course they don't call it suicide, they give it beautiful names -- asceticism, tapascharya -- but basically it is nothing but masochism, self-torture. They call it renunciation, but it is nothing but destroying yourself gradually, slowly. All the religions of the world up to now have lived with a philosophy of life-denial.
My fundamental approach is that of life-acceptance, total life-affirmation. There is no God other than life! The very idea of God other than life is dangerous, because if God is other than life then naturally you will start choosing God against life. You will be pro-God and anti-life, because life is momentary and God gives you the greed of being eternal, forever.
I say to you, there is no other God than life, hence the question of choice does not arise at all. Live! Live totally, live passionately, live intelligently, live lovingly. Become a flame so intense, so total, that each moment starts having the flavor of eternity.
Remember, eternity is not horizontal. It is not like a line going from A to B, from B to c, from c to D -- it is not horizontal. Eternity is intensity, it is vertical. It is diving from A to a deeper A, not going to B: from A to Al, from A1 to A2, from A2 to A3... In fact as far as intensity is concerned, A is the only alphabet. In fact, the word "alphabet" comes from A; it comes from Arabic ALEPH. A is enough! And when you can get A, why bother about B?
A man with a parrot on his shoulder comes to a stop at the border crossing.
"You have to pay duty on the parrot, sir," says the customs official.
"How much?" asks the man.
"Let's see," says the official, paging through his book. "Parrots: live, fifty pounds; stuffed, ten pounds."
"Bill, don't get any crazy ideas!" screams the parrot.
Even parrots are far more intelligent than your priests! But man has lived under a dark shadow of a suicidal approach: "Renounce life. Escape from life to the monasteries, to the deserts, to the mountain caves.
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