Society

 

 

[A french sannyasin said that he found passports and all those official kind of papers stupid and bureaucratic.]

 

 

Mm... but one lives in a stupid society. Just by throwing the paper in the river, you cannot be helped -- and you cannot throw the whole society in the river. Even if they are stupid, it is not very wise to throw them in the river. You live in a stupid society, you are born in a stupid society, so nothing can be done; one is helpless. One has to follow these things. This is not the way to be free. By throwing the papers and the passport in the river you will be in more trouble, because that stupid society will not forgive you. And the power is with the society. One has to be very understanding about these things.

 

When you live with blind people, live like a blindman, because you have to live with them. You cannot change the whole world. If they are stupid, they are stupid, but you have not done anything very wise; it is even more stupid.

 

I know bureaucracy is there but it has to be there because people are absolutely irresponsible. There is no way to suddenly drop the bureaucracy and the court and the law and the policemen. There is no way because you will not be able to live for a single moment. It is a necessary evil. One just has to learn to live with people who are not alert, who are fast asleep; they are snoring. It may be disturbing to you, but nothing can be done about it.

 

At the most, the one thing you can do is not to enforce the same stupid behaviour that has been forced on you by society. Don't force it on anybody else. You may have your wife someday, your children someday, but don't force it on the n, on your friends. That's all you can do. But you have to live in society and you have to follow the rules.

 

Man is born in the society, he lives in the society. He is a social animal. You are born of two person's love affair. Society was there even in your birth. Your mother was following a certain rule, your father was following a certain rule; husbands and wives and this and that. Because they followed certain rules, they brought you up, otherwise they would have thrown you into the river. Why bother? Who are you? Why should you disturb their life and become a burden on them? They followed a rule that children have to be looked after.

 

So the game has to be understood and if you want to play the game, you have to follow the rules. If you don't want to follow the rules, don't follow the game. It is simple. And you will unnecessarily create trouble. Now if you don't have a passport the police will catch you. If you don't have the right papers, you will be thrown out of the country. So how is it bringing you freedom ? It will destroy all your freedom. So don't do that.

 

This type of idea arises many times because there are stupid rules, but that's how things are. We have such a small life that we cannot hope to change the whole society. So it is better to be wise and to simply follow the rules. You will be freer if you follow the rules. If you follow the rules perfectly, you will be completely free. The moment you break a rule, you are caught.

 

So a wise man simply follows the rules. Be a Roman when you are in Rome and just follow the rules. You will fit there and nobody will create any trouble for you. They can create trouble because the power belongs to them. You are a tiny individual. What can you do? There is no point in fighting because you are fighting against a brick wall. You will hurt your own head.

 

That's where the hippie attitude is wrong. They are perfect in their insight that these rules are just bogus, but they don't understand that they are needed. The bigger the group, the more rules are needed. When you are alone, no rules are needed. When two are there, a few rules; three are there, more, four, more. And the world is populating itself so fast that more and more rules will be needed. Otherwise there will be chaos and madness.

 

So don't just condemn things. Try to understand. There are many evils which are needed; they are necessary. The choice is not between right and wrong. In real life the choice is always between a bigger evil and a lesser evil, a bigger wrong and a lesser wrong. The choice is not between right and wrong, otherwise it would have been very easy. The choice is of the lesser evil.

 

Just think of a society where no passport is needed, no documents are needed, no papers are needed. We could not have electricity. We could not sit here so silently. A mob could come and start dancing and we would not be able to talk. Somebody comes and starts living in your house. You cannot say, 'Get out!' because there are no papers; the house belongs to nobody. Then you cannot even keep your shirt on your body. Anyone who has more power will take it away.

 

Just conceive of a society existing even for twenty-four hours without any rules and regulations. Within twenty-four hours the whole civilisation will go to dust. There will be murders and robberies and nobody will be able to even sleep because when you want to go to sleep, a mob comes inside the room and they want to play cards or drink there, and who are you to prevent it? Somebody takes your wife or your girlfriend and you cannot do anything. Even for twenty-four hours without those stupid rules, society cannot exist.

 

There is a possibility -- but that is simply a possibility; it is not going to ever happen -- that in some future time there will be a society of enlightened people. Then there will be no rules because they will be so responsible. But that you cannot in fact even hope for. It is a utopia.

 

This word 'utopia' is beautiful. It means 'that which never happens'. The very word means 'that which never happens'. It is just a dream. Good -- dreamers have always been dreaming about it -- but don't become a victim of it, mm?

 

-Osho, "A Rose is a Rose is a Rose, #12"