THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12 The ...

THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12 175
But the masses are not ready. And don’t be worried about them, Rajesh. That is none of our business. If they
misunderstand, for us it does not matter. If they misunderstand, they miss something. If they misinterpret, it is
their loss. Try to help them to come closer to me, but don’t argue with them.
I am a physician, I am not a philosopher. My work here is that of a surgeon, not that of a teacher. The master
is always a surgeon. He cuts away all that is false in you, chunk by chunk. Slowly, slowly he demolishes the whole
edifice of your falsehood. And then what is left behind is your truth, is your being. When you have experienced it,
only then will you be able to understand what is being conveyed to you through words, through silence, through
communion.
I am trying every possible way to reach to you, but I can reach you only if you are open to me. I cannot reach
to the masses; that is not possible in the very nature of things.
The second question:
Question 2
BELOVED MASTER, HOW CAN I BECOME THE NEW MAN THAT YOU SPEAK ABOUT?
Bhagwato, Jesus says: Unless you are born again you will not enter into my kingdom of God. Exactly that’s
what I say to you: Unless you are born again....
There are two births. One is given to you by your parents; that is a physical birth. That is only an opportunity
for the second birth. If you think that the first birth is all, you have missed the whole point. The first birth is
only a seed. It is of immense value if the second happens; it is of no value at all if you miss the second birth. You
have to be twice-born. That’s how we have defined the buddhas in the East.
The second birth has to happen within you; it is of consciousness. It is not of your body, it is not even of your
mind; it is of awareness.
Ordinarily, the first birth makes you only a machine. You start living in a very superficial way; you don’t have
any depth, you don’t have any soul yet. You eat, you drink, you work, you sleep, but all like a robot. You don’t
see the beauty of existence you can’t see it. You don’t see the godliness of every moment; it is impossible for you
to experience it. It needs a transformation of your whole interiority. It needs a new subjectivity, a new vision, a
new perspective.
You see in a certain sense, you hear only in a certain sense. Yes, you hear the words, but the meaning is missed.
You read the Bible, the Koran, the Vedas, but just like a parrot. Even parrots are far more intelligent than your
so-called pundits, than your so-called knowledgeable people. You go on repeating like a gramophone record. And
you are so egoistic that you can’t accept, you can’t say, ”I don’t know.”
Jascha Heifetz, the distinguished violinist, was in London where he was scheduled to give a concert. A few
hours before curtain time, he noticed that a violin string had broken, so he hurried to a music supply shop for a
replacement. He was waited on by a girl who was new to the business. ”I would like to have an ’E’ string for my
violin,” said Heifetz.
”A what?” asked the uncomprehending girl.
”An ’E’ string.”
”Sorry, luv,” she replied apologetically, ”but ye will have to pick it out yourself. I can’t tell the he’s from the
she’s!”
People are very reluctant to accept the fact that they don’t know. They try in every possible way to manage a
facade that they know. This is the greatest mistake in life. You are not yet born, but if you think you are already
born, if you think you have already attained to life, then this whole opportunity is going to be lost. It will go
down the drain.
And you can learn great words; they are available. You can learn them so much so that if you meet Jesus you
may repeat his words better than he can do it himself because you have been repeating them for so long. You may
defeat him; in a competition he may not be able to survive at all. Some stupid priest may win the competition
because he will be just repeating exactly, word for word. Jesus cannot do that; that is impossible. He has to
be spontaneous. He will respond to the situation. He may say some new things because twenty centuries have
passed. How can he go on saying the same old things? Impossible.
That’s why the people who believe that they know are the most ignorant in the world. To be ignorant is not
that bad, but to believe that you know, without knowing, is very dangerous.
It seems that talking parrots had become quite fashionable. Understandably, Mulla Nasruddin’s wife decided
she must have one for herself. However, every store she went to had sold out of parrots. Finally she found a shop
that had one left.
”But,” the owner cautioned, ”this bird was previously owned by a madam in a whorehouse and its language
may be quite salty. Perhaps if you keep him covered for a week, he will forget what he has seen and heard.”