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

272 THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12
Adolf Hitler was not consciously trying to do evil, remember it. He was not knowingly destructive; he was
thinking he was trying to help humanity. He was thinking he was trying to bring a better human being into the
world the superman. He believed deeply in Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy of the superman and he also believed
that the Germans were the really superhuman beings, that they were entitled to rule the world.
And it was not that he was deceiving anybody; he was utterly convinced of the fact. It was not a fiction for
him, it was a fact that the German race is the real Aryan race, that the Nordics are the purest people in the
world. He could influence millions of very intelligent people for the simple reason that he was convinced of what
he was saying and doing. His conviction was hypnotizing. He was not a man of great intelligence, he was utterly
mediocre, but one thing was there: he was convinced that only through him could the world be made a better
place to live in. By murdering millions of Jews, he was not thinking that he was doing any violence he was serving
humanity, he was getting rid of the enemies of humanity. And it was not a question of his befooling anybody he
was so unconscious that he himself was befooled by his own convictions.
Adolf Hitler did great mischief all the politicians do. And they always do it behind beautiful slogans: socialism,
democracy, freedom, equality and whatnot. They are all trying to improve upon the world, but the total result
is more and more confusion and chaos. The world would be a far better place if we could be alert enough not to
listen to these lunatics. But we are also asleep. What they say appeals to us; it has a great magnetic quality in it.
In fact, a Buddha is bound to be misunderstood, not Adolf Hitler; a Jesus is bound to be misunderstood, but
not Joseph Stalin. Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, they speak the language that you understand.
They are just people like you; they live in the same kind of sleep. Hence there is a communication between you
and them which is missing between you and a Buddha, between you and a Lao Tzu.
Buddha stands on the Everest and you live in the dark valleys far below. You don’t look up, you have forgotten
how to look up. You crawl in the mud. Those who are crawling by your side can be understood more easily by
you. They speak your language, they speak your idiom; they are perfectly in tune with you. They are not different
people. But a Buddha, a Krishna, a Mohammed, these are different people. They speak a different language, from
a different height, from a different vision although they use the same words. But they give different meanings to
your words, and you are going to miss those meanings.
Meditate over this:
”Why won’t you, honey?”
”I’m too tired.”
”Ah, come on....”
”Leave me alone!”
”I won’t be able to sleep!”
”Well, I can’t sleep now.”
”Please.”
”Why in the middle of the night?”
”Because I’m hot.”
”You get hot at the damnedest times!”
”You don’t love me!”
”Yes, I do....”
”If you loved me you would do it.”
”Well, damn it alright.”
”What’s the matter?”
”I can’t find it.”
”That feels better.”
”It should be it’s all the way up.”
”That’s enough; thanks, dear.”
”Next time, open the damned window yourself!”
And all the time, what were you thinking?
Buddha says:
A MASTER GIVES UP MISCHIEF.
... Because a master gives up mind. Mind is mischief; there is no other mischief. Mind is the source of all
mischief. A master is a master only because he has ceased to be dominated by the mind. A master is a master of
himself; he is no longer unconscious. Whatsoever he does, he does it knowingly. Whatsoever he is, he is perfectly
aware about it. His life is not accidental. His every act is rooted in consciousness, it is intentional.