Geography

 

 

Politicians are fighting war after war -- for what? I don't see the point. The earth has no lines; then why make these maps and draw lines?

 

One of my teachers was a very intelligent man. One day he brought a few pieces of cardboard; he had cut the whole world map into small pieces, put them on the desk and asked, "Can anybody come and arrange them in the right order?" Many tried and failed. Just one boy, seeing that everybody was failing and they were not making the world map by putting the pieces together, he looked at one piece on the reverse side. Then he turned all the pieces over and he found the picture of a man. He arranged the picture of the man, which was very easy, and that was the key. On one side the man was arranged, and on the other side, the world map was arranged.

 

Perhaps the same is true about the real world... if we can arrange man, the world will be arranged. If we can make man silent, peaceful, loving, nations will disappear, wars will disappear, all dirty politics will disappear. And remember, all politics is dirty; there is no other kind.

 

But we have to hit on those who have the power. Hitting the poor common man will not help, because he has no power, he is a victim. Even if we can change him, it won't be a great change. But if we can abolish the conspiracy between religion and politics, priests and the politicians, it will be really a great change, a revolution -- the only revolution that is needed and that has not happened yet.

 

-Osho, "Beyond Psychology, #26, Q1“

 

⯎

 

I have a story: When India and Pakistan were divided, there was a big madhouse just on the border. Nobody was interested in the madhouse, whether it goes to Pakistan or to India, but it had to go somewhere. And because no politicians were interested, finally the superintendent gathered all the mad inmates and asked them, "Do you want to go to India or to Pakistan?" They said, "We are perfectly happy here. We don't want to go anywhere."

 

The superintendent tried hard to explain to them that, "You will not have to go anywhere. You will remain here, but just tell me where you want to go -- to India, or to Pakistan?" Those crazy people said, "Have you gone crazy? You are saying, `You will remain here.' And still you are asking, `Where are you going -- to India or to Pakistan?' We don't want to go anywhere. We are perfectly happy here."

 

The superintendent tried in every way, but he himself started feeling a little dizzy because what they were saying seemed to be absolutely right: if they don't have to go anywhere, then what is the problem? They are perfectly happy.

 

Finally it was decided ... because they could not be convinced, they could not even be explained to; they were all laughing and enjoying the whole thing -- what kind of stupidity is this? So finally the superintendent decided to divide the madhouse into two parts.

 

A big wall was raised in the middle; those who were living on the other side became citizens of Pakistan and those who were living on this side became citizens of India. And I have heard that still those madmen climb up the wall and talk to each other, and they say, "This is strange. We are where we used to be always, and now you have gone to Pakistan and we have gone to India. It seems the whole world has gone insane. By great fortune, it is good that we are inside and not outside; outside it seems everything has gone insane."

 

They are still meeting on the wall, laughing and enjoying, that this is a wonderful experience. Everything is as it used to be, everybody is in his own room -- just a wall has been added in the middle. Those mad people seem to be certainly more sane than the people outside in the world. We go on drawing lines dividing countries, making new countries, fighting for new countries -- and we are where we are.

 

-Osho, "The New Dawn, #2, Q1“