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Now, Socrates was a peak of evolution. If the weaker people had not destroyed Socrates, Greece would have been at the top of all the nations today. With the poisoning of Socrates, Greece has fallen lower and lower and lower -- not evolution, but INvolution.
And Nietzsche is right that the weaker are in the majority; hence they can destroy the delicate flower of evolution -- which has a strength of its own; even destroyed, it will somehow remain in the air. Socrates is still more alive in the air than even the alive people are.
But the majority, which is the little man, cannot tolerate a very evolved being like Buddha. Buddha suffered many attempts on his life.
The story is very beautiful ....
One day Buddha's own brother, Devadatta, who had become his disciple, wanted Buddha to declare him his successor. Now, no buddha declares successors. It is not a dynasty, it is not like wealth that the elder son will succeed to it: You become a buddha. It is not a question of succession. Nobody is preventing you.
"I am giving you as much attention as everybody," Buddha told Devadatta. "You become a buddha, it is not a question of succession. I cannot declare you to be my successor. There are many enlightened disciples and you are not even enlightened."
This hurt Devadatta very much. He dropped the commune. He was also a prince, and he had a small gang of followers in the commune. They also dropped with him. He was thinking to create another commune in which there would be no need for anybody to make him a successor, he would be the founder. But he could not gather people; he had no light in his eyes, no grace in his hands, no ecstasy in his heart. He was just hungry for prestige, power.
Slowly slowly, those who had come with him also deserted him. Most of them went back to Buddha with apologies. Being alone he became furious, almost mad. He wanted to kill Gautam Buddha, his own brother, and he tried.
Once Buddha was sitting on a rock meditating; Devadatta was hiding just behind him up a big hill, and he rolled a big rock down the hill, directed towards Gautam Buddha. It would have crushed the fragile flower of the Buddha.
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