The Ego is the Judas

A MAN was travelling through the wilderness when he came across some animals having a speech contest. The judge was a lion who invited the man to become part of the audience. The man accepted.

A fox stood up and gave a smooth and clever speech. At one point, he declared,'The moon is larger than the sun.'

The next speaker was an elephant whose voice boomed out with power and authority. His talk included the sentence,'Summer is cooler than winter.'

Then came a tiger whose eloquence impressed everyone. At one point he said,'The river runs uphill.'

The observing man remarked to the lion,'They are superb orators. However, I'm puzzled. All of them made statements which were obviously untrue. Not only that, but the audience either did not notice or did not care. Why do your speakers make false statements?

'That's an unworthy habit, alright,' admitted the lion,'but the audience is more interested in entertainment than in enlightenment. And, if you don't mind sir, I would like to tell you that we have picked up this bad habit from you human beings.'

The priests, the politicians: they are great orators, superb; great thinkers, very complex weavers, spinners of theories, philosophies, but, they are not sincere about religion. They use religion. Religion is, at the most, a profession. And the audience is not interested in enlightenment, the audience is seeking entertainment. Whether you go to a cinema hall or to a theatre, to a dancing party, or to the church or the temple, your interest is the same: you are seeking some place where you can forget yourself. You are seeking entertainment.

Enlightenment is just the opposite. You will have to seek a space within yourself where it becomes impossible to forget yourself; where even if you want, it is not possible to forget; where self-remembering becomes a constant flame.

Here is the point where people like Jesus create trouble. They are not great orators. They are not interested in theories and they are not there to entertain anybody. They are not professionals. They are not using religion for their own ends. They are sincere people - sincerely interested in helping, sincerely interested in creating a situation where man can realize himself. The trouble starts because the professionals are already there; the priests, the politicians are already there.

Whenever a man like Jesus enters into the world, the priests and the politicians become alert. It is dangerous for them. If Jesus succeeds, they will be thrown, uprooted. The whole establishment will collapse. If the establishment has to remain, then Jesus has to be destroyed.

This is the first thing to be understood because this is always happening, even today, and this will go on happening History goes on repeating itself not because there is any natural law that history should repeat itself, but only because man has not changed. Man remains the same, the old. He behaves again and again in the same way. You are here with me; many priests are worried about it, many politicians are worried about it. Why should they be worried? It is none of their business - but it is. Their very base is that religion should not become a sincere search. It should remain, at the most, a superficial entertainment; at the most, a mannerism, an etiquette. And they are afraid, because if somebody like Jesus asserts himself, the very presence of Jesus creates a deep inferiority in them. Not that Jesus is trying to make them inferior; Jesus is not even aware of it. He has not even thought about it. But through his very presence... the sun rises in the morning, and the stars, disappear. Whenever Jesus is there, the priests start disappearing. The politicians are in a difficulty; they cannot hold their ground.

I have heard a very beautiful anecdote about a certain doctor, Buzby. He was a great headmaster in England, a very famous headmaster. Even the king became interested. And once, the king went to see the headmaster in his school. The king was allowed in the school. Doctor Buzby started through the schoolrooms with his hat on his head, while His Majesty walked complacently behind him with his hat under his arm. The other people who had followed the king were a little disturbed and worried and restless:'Is this headmaster a little eccentric? He has not shown even that much respect to the king; he could have taken his hat off.'

Even the king was a little uneasy about it, but he didn't say anything.

When he was taking his leave at the door, the doctor, with great humility, then addressed the king,'I hope Your Majesty will excuse my want of respect hitherto, but if my boys were to imagine that there were a greater man in the kingdom than myself, I should never be able to rule them. So please excuse me.' He said,'They should know that even the king is not greater than their headmaster.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to rule them again.'

This is what happens when a Jesus walks on the earth: the politicians, the priests, become afraid. They cannot allow the common man to know that a greater possibility exists, that a greater man is possible. Otherwise, they will not be able to rule again. Hence, Jesus has to be crucified. He has to be destroyed before the public so the public can know well 'who is the boss here'.

Listen to the sutras.

AND WHILE HE YET SPAKE, LO, JUDAS, ONE OF THE TWELVE, CAME, AND WITH HIM A GREAT MULTITUDE WITH SWORDS AND STAVES, FROM THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND ELDERS OF THE PEOPLE.

Judas was Jesus' own disciple. He betrayed him. Only love can betray, because to betray somebody, you have to come close to him. To hate somebody, first you have to love him. Remember this complexity of love: whenever you love somebody, a part of you goes on hating because love requires surrender, and the ego resists. Love requires that you should be lost, that you should become one with your lover, your Master, your beloved, your friend, your God. Love requires that you should disappear, and the ego resists, the ego starts struggling against it. Judas is nothing but a representation of the ego. And remember that Judas exists in each of you; in everybody, the ego is the Judas.

Let me repeat it again. Those twelve disciples of Jesus were very simple people, except for Judas. They were uneducated people, common people, people of the earth. You would not have recognized them anywhere in a crowd. They would have been lost. Only Judas was not ordinary. He was polished, educated, cultured, sophisticated: that's what the ego is. Ego is nothing but a sophistication.

Ego is nothing but the part which has become extraordinary in you. When you love, you become ordinary.

Remember, people who are very egoistic are always against love. In India you will find them in the monasteries, in the Himalayas. People who are very egoistic are against love. They may say that they are leaving the world, the world of love, to seek and search for God. They are deceiving nobody except themselves; because unless you love tremendously, you cannot seek God. In the Himalayan peaks, they are seeking nothing but their own egos. God is to be sought in love because God is to be sought in your own crucifixion; when the ego disappears, He is.

Have you watched in your own mind that whenever you are moving in a love relationship, there arises a certain uneasiness? You are allured, fascinated. You would like to delve deeply into it, but a part of you starts becoming uneasy. Look at that part; that is Judas. That part says,'What are you going to do? - surrender?

What are you going to do? - become ordinary?'

Nothing is more ordinary than love. Love is very earthly. Nothing is more natural than love. Nobody needs to learn it; everybody is born knowing it. Love is all over. The whole existence throbs in love. Love is the very beat of life. Love is very natural, very ordinary.

The ego is *unnatura1, extraordinary: you want to feel superior to others, you want to be crowned. You don't want to belong to the earth because all belong to the earth. You want something to be special, to be somebody special - it is the Judas.

To betray, one needs to be in love.

Judas loved Jesus, but could not love totally. That is the problem: if you love and you don't love totally, you can betray at any moment, because the part that is not yet in love will go on finding ways and means to rebel, to go against. Then Jesus was crucified because of this betrayal. The next day, Judas committed suicide.

That too is a very deep, a deeply meaningful parable. Why did he commit suicide himself the next day? Because then there was no point - the whole ego had been existing against Jesus. He loved Jesus, but only a part, and a part was fighting.

Now with Jesus crucified, that part which was fighting disappeared. There was no point now, and he could not have found a man like Jesus again to hate, to fight, to struggle against, to love. Once Jesus was gone, Judas was meaningless.

Once Jesus was gone, the whole existence of Judas became empty. He committed suicide. In his life there was meaning because of Jesus; he loved and hated the man. On one side he loved, on another side he hated.

A Judas means: one who is divided within himself. A Judas means: one who is schizophrenic, split. Judas is not just the name of a certain person who betrayed Jesus; Judas is a disease. Judas is a psychological split.

So while listening to these sutras, always remember that you can be a Judas, and you can be a Jesus also. If the split disappears, you are a Jesus. If the split goes on existing, you remain a Judas. Between Judas and Jesus there is just a little distance, and the distance is that of division. Are you divided in your love? - then you are a Judas. Are you undivided in your love? - then you are a Jesus.

AND WHILE HE YET SPAKE, LO, JUDAS, ONE OF THE TWELVE, CAME, AND WITH HIM A GREAT MULTITUDE WITH SWORDS AND STAVES, FROM THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND ELDERS OF THE PEOPLE.

NOW HE THAT BETRAYED HIM GAVE THEM A SIGN, SAVING:

WHOMSOEVER I SHALL KISS, THAT SAME IS HE; HOLD HIM FAST.

Very symbolic - betraying Jesus by kissing him - the kiss of death. The same kiss that could have been of love, was of betrayal. The SAME kiss that could have been of love, was of betrayal. The same kiss that could been of life became part of death. The same kiss which could have been elixir, ambrosia, became poison. The kiss is the same, but the quality that you bring to it makes it either the ambrosia of eternal life or makes it poison.

Remember: gestures are always the same; only you change behind them. Only you change; gestures are the same. You love, you hate, you surrender, you resist; gestures are the same. But the quality behind them changes, because gestures are only containers; whatsoever you put inside them is the real thing.

Judas had chosen a kiss as an indication.

He said to the multitude, to the enemies,'Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; hold him fast.' He could have chosen some other gesture also. Anything would have been indicative, so why a kiss?

A part of him loved Jesus; a part of him loved him tremendously. Never be very hard on Judas. Christians have been very hard. Have compassion. Never be very hard on Judas, because he is hidden within you also. Don't just hate him because he betrayed, because you also have the same tendency to betray. Every human being is prone to become a Judas. I say to you, have compassion on him. Try to understand him. Why had he chosen the kiss? He could have chosen any indication.

A part of him really loved Jesus, but a part hated him. It was a love-hate relationship. It was both, a dichotomy. Remember, if your love is nothing but an opposition to hate, if your love is nothing but an opposite to hate, the hate will exist within you. There is another dimension of love where love is only the absence of hate, not opposite to it. I teach you THAT love: love as an absence of hate. The real problem is not how to love; the real problem is how to understand hate and drop it through that understanding. Don't hide your hate, don't suppress it; bring it out, get rid of it. Before you can be able to really love and love totally, hate has to be dropped. You can do a simple thing: you can hide the hate and you can go on loving. But the hate which is hiding behind you is going to betray, some day or other. You are a Judas, and you are going to be a Judas.

Until Judas betrayed Jesus, he himself was not aware of what he was doing. He became aware only when Jesus was crucified, when he himself saw what he had done. Then he became aware. Then he repented, and committed suicide.

... I SHALL KISS, THE SAME IS HE; HOLD HIM FAST. AND FORTHWITH HE CAME TO JESUS, AND SAID: HAIL, MASTER; AND KISSED HIM.

IN THAT SAME HOUR SAID JESUS TO THE MULTITUDES: ARE YE COME OUT AS AGAINST A THIEF WITH SWORDS AND STAVES FOR TO TAKE ME? I SAT DAILY WITH YOU TEACHING IN THE TEMPLE, AND YE LAID NO HOLD ON ME.

Jesus was moving with the multitudes, in the marketplace, in the temple; he was teaching. He said to these people,'Why have you come with swords and staves, as if you have come against a thief? And I have always been a part of you, I have always lived amongst you, I have been teaching in the temple, so why do you come in the middle of the night with swords, with such a big crowd to catch me, to hold me? Why? You could have caught me any day. And there is no need for swords. You know well that I have got no swords to fight with.' What was Jesus saying to them? He had not said a single word to Judas. That's very, very meaningful.

There was nothing to say to Judas. All that could have been said, had been said.

On Judas he had been working for years, but it seemed that the disease was incurable. It seemed that the more he had tried to change him, the more he had become resistant and stubborn, It seemed the more attention had been given to him, the more he had become egoistic. He didn't say a single word to Judas, but he talked to the multitudes, to the crowd.

Why had this crowd come with swords? They were afraid, afraid of what they were going to commit. Remember this, because to come to Jesus with swords is simply meaningless, absurd. He is a simple man who has always been moving everywhere, who could have been caught any day, by anybody; a fragile body.

There was no problem, ever. Why with swords? Try to understand.

Whenever you carry a sword, it is not against anybody else; it is only because you are afraid. It is because of your fear. They were afraid. For what they were going to commit, they were already guilty about it. These swords were not against Jesus because they were not needed against him. Those swords were against their own guilt, their own fear, their own cowardice. They knew well that to face Jesus was going to be difficult. Just to look into his eyes would be very difficult. And to catch hold of him, to make him a prisoner was going to be almost impossible.

They came with swords to have courage, to not be afraid. They came with swords so there would be no need to look into this man's eyes. Bare-handed, he could have been caught anywhere. He was absolutely unprotected, insecure.

And these people knew him well. There was no need, in fact, for Judas even to indicate who he was. Everybody knew about him.

But the priests were also afraid, the politicians were also afraid. They also wanted to throw the responsibility on somebody else who could be, could become, the scapegoat for centuries to come. They found Judas. Then Judas became the symbol of betrayal. It is as if Judas became the real culprit.

IN THAT SAME HOUR SAID JESUS TO THE MULTITUDES: ARE YE COME OUT AS AGAINST A THIEF WITH SWORDS AND STAVES FOR TO TAKE ME? I SAT DAILY WITH YOU TEACHING IN THE TEMPLE, AND YE LAID NO HOLD ON ME.

BUT ALL THIS WAS DONE, THAT THE SCRIPTURES OF THE PROPHETS MIGHT BE FULFILLED.

This point is significant. In the life of Jesus, or in the life of Krishna, or in the life of Buddha, this point is very significant. They always speak as if they are playing a part in a drama, as if they are simply acting, as if this earth is a great stage and they are fulfilling simple prophecies.

It is said that before Rama was born, a great poet, Valmiki, wrote Rama's whole life; before he was born! And then Rama was born; he had to follow Valmiki, because when such a great poet writes something, it has to be followed. What else can you do?

It may not have been so, but the story is beautiful. It says that life is a drama: as if it has been written already and it is only unfolding.

Jesus said to those people,'But all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.' It was said in the old scriptures that this was the way the Messiah was to be caught, crucified. This was the way that the Messiah was to be betrayed by his own disciple, Judas.

What is Jesus saying? He's saying to Judas, in an indirect way,'Don't feel guilty about it. It is just a fulfillment of a prophecy. You are not responsible.' This is his love. He is taking the responsibility from Judas. He is saying,'Don't be afraid, don't feel guilty, don't feel responsible. You are not doing anything. You are just an instrument in the hands of history. It has been prophesied long before that one of my disciples would betray me. You are just instrumental.'

This is what Krishna said to Arjuna in the Gita:'Don't be worried. You simply fight the war. You are just instrumental; NIMITTA MATRA - you are not the doer. The doer is always God. You are just a vehicle that He is using. You just surrender yourself into the hands of the whole, and let things happen.

Whatsoever is going to happen is going to happen. You relax. Please don't be tense about it.'

The same is Jesus' meaning when he says,'But all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.' He is saying to Judas,'Don't be worried.' He is saying to the multitudes,'Don't feel afraid. Nobody is doing anything wrong. Everything is okay, because this is how it had to happen. This is a beautiful gesture on Jesus' part.

Just a few days ago I was reading the story of a Hassid mystic, Baal Shem. One day he was sitting just in front of his house. It must have been a winter morning like this, cold, and he was sunning himself. A beggar came. He told the beggar to wait and he would go in the house to search for something for him. But he could not find anything; there was nothing. The wife had gone to some neighbor, and he could only find his wife's ring, the wedding ring that he had given her. He came with the ring and gave it to the beggar.

When the wife returned and found her ring missing, she asked. Baal Shem told the whole story:'I searched, but nothing could be found.'

The wife created much trouble for him. She said,'You run after him! Catch hold of the beggar. That ring is my wedding ring and it is very costly, almost a hundred gold coins!'

Baal Shem ran to catch hold of the beggar, and many people followed him - 'What is going to happen?' They could not believe that Baal Shem could do that, but he ran. In the marketplace, he found the beggar. He caught hold of him and said,'Wait! Listen to me! That ring is very costly. It can fetch almost one hundred gold coins. Don't allow anybody to cheat you.' That's all that he did, and he went back.

You cannot understand the gesture of love. Everybody in the neighborhood thought that he was going to take hold of that beggar and take the ring back. The wife was very happy when he ran; she also thought so. Because we live in such a loveless heart, we cannot understand the gesture of love.

It is a gesture of love when Jesus says,'But all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.'

Remember well, he does not mean what he says. Christians have been befooled by the words. They think that exactly what he is saying, he also means. No.

Existence is freedom. It is not determined beforehand. It is not predestined. If it were predestined then all meaning would be lost. Life is not a drama, but you can take it as a drama. If you take it as a drama, you transcend life. But remember, life is not a drama; life is total freedom. Nobody can predict what is going to happen the next moment, because the next moment comes as if out of the blue, totally free and fresh. If it could be predicted, then all meaning would be lost.

Jesus is not saying that he believes in fate. Jesus is not saying that he believes that life is absolutely determined, every bit of it, no. Then why does he say this:'But all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled'? This is a gesture of love. He is trying to create a situation in which Judas should not feel guilty. He is creating a situation in which the multitudes which have come to take over, to make him prisoner, should not feel guilty. He is saying that it has to be so, so it is happening; nobody is at fault. He is making everybody free of fault.

This is a love gesture; tremendously loving and caring about people.

His last words on the cross were again the same:'Father, forgive them, because they don't know what they are doing.

BUT ALL THIS WAS DONE, THAT THE SCRIPTURES OF THE PROPHETS MIGHT BE FULFILLED.

THEN THE DISCIPLES FORSOOK HIM, AND FLED - one betrayed, the remaining fled. To be a disciple is really a very arduous thing.

When everything was going well, disciples were there. But now everything was going wrong. Jesus is being caught; disciples start disappearing. They fled. This is the moment, the moment which will decide who is a disciple. Judas betrayed, but the others who fled also betrayed in a way. Their betrayal was negative and Judas' betrayal was positive, but both were betrayals. It is really difficult to become a disciple, because when things are going good everything can be with the Master, but when things start going bad, and every hill has a valley, and every day has a night... even Jesus has a dark night following him. In the day you can be with Jesus, but in the night, when darkness surrounds and everywhere is fear; when death is lurking all around, then to be with Jesus - there is the test, there is the criterion - of whether you are really a disciple or not.

I have heard a beautiful story. It is not exactly a story, but a real thing: it happened.

Shortly after the Second World War, a devastated city in England began its heart- breaking and wearing work of restoration. In the old city square had stood a large statue of Jesus Christ with his hands outspread, in an attitude of invitation.

On the pedestal were carved the words: Come unto me. In the process of the restoration of the statue, with the aid of master artists and sculptors, the figure eventually was reassembled except for the hands, of which no fragments could be discovered anywhere in the surrounding rubble. Someone made the suggestion that the artist would have to fashion new hands, since the former hands could not be found. Later came a public protest, couched in the words,'No, leave him without hands.' So today, in the public square of that English city, the restored statue of Christ stands without hands, and on its base are carved the words: Christ has no hands but ours.

Those twelve hands all betrayed: one positively, eleven negatively. And Christ has no hands except ours, because Christ is a being, PURE being. And all that is to be done is to be done through us, through the hands. In that moment, when Judas betrayed and the remaining eleven fled, Jesus was left without hands, a pure being. In fact, that moment was the moment of crucifixion. The next day, it was nothing new. In that moment, the hands of Christ were cut. In that moment, the real crucifixion happened. The next day was just a repetition of it in more materialistic terms, but spiritually, Jesus was left without hands.

WHEN THE MORNING WAS COME, ALL THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND ELDERS OF THE PEOPLE TOOK COUNSEL AGAINST JESUS TO PUT HIM TO DEATH:

AND WHEN THEY HAD BOUND HIM, THEY LED HIM AWAY, AND DELIVERED HIM TO PONTIUS PILATE, THE GOVERNOR. AND JESUS STOOD BEFORE THE GOVERNOR, AND THE GOVERNOR ASKED HIM, SAYING: ART THOU THE KING OF THE JEWS? AND JESUS SAID UNTO HIM: THOU SAYEST.

Jesus was tremendously misunderstood whenever he talked about the kingdom of God. He never talked about the kingdom of this earth. Whenever he said,'I am the King of the Jews,' he never meant to assert any throne on this earth. He was saying something very symbolically. He was saying that he was the cream of the Jewish genius. He was saying that he was the heart of the Jewish race. He was saying that he was the flower of the Jewish tree of life. When he said that he was the king, he never meant that he was the king politically.

But this is always so: you have to use the language of the people you are talking to, and that very language which you wanted to communicate with becomes the barrier, becomes the cause of all misunderstanding.

The people understood the superficial meaning of his words. Had they been a little more in tune with themselves, had they been a little more silent, had they been a little more meditative and prayerful, they would have understood what Jesus was saying.

Many times I say things to you and immediately I feel that you must have misunderstood me. I have to use words. You hear my words, you cannot hear my meaning - because the meaning is a silent shadow that follows the word.

You hear the word and you supply the meaning. My meaning is lost.

Words may be mine, but meanings are yours.

Once it happened: A thirsty wanderer in the desert was in despair over finding water. He struggled frantically from one hilltop to the next in an effort to sight a stream which was supposed to be in that region. His eyes searched in every direction, but without success. While staggering through some dry bushes his foot caught on a branch, spilling him to the ground. Exhausted, and dejected, he remained there. Feeling no energy, feeling no motivation to move, feeling nowhere to go, he remained there as if dead on the ground, listening to the surrounding silence. The desert was absolutely silent. There was nothing except silence. Suddenly, his head jerked upwards. He heard something new. It was the faint but definite sound of running water. Strengthened by the sound, he followed it all the way to a clear and cool stream of water.

A silent but alert mind can hear the first faint invitation to abundant supply and refreshment.

When you are near a man like Jesus, listen to his silence, not to his words.If you only listen to his words you are bound to misunderstand him. Just listen to his silence, and each of his words is followed by silence. In fact, a man like Jesus speaks only so that you can hear his silence. You will say,'Then why does he speak in the first place?' If he did not speak, you would not be able to understand his silence. Speech becomes the contrast, words become the contrast. It is just as if you write on a blackboard with white chalk. You can write on a white board with white chalk, but then it will be impossible to read what is written.

A man like Jesus speaks: through his words he creates the blackboard, and through his silence, the white chalk. Forget the blackboard. That is just a device to bring silence to your heart, to bring silence to your awareness.

THE GOVERNOR ASKED JESUS: ART THOU THE KING OF THE JEWS? AND JESUS SAID UNTO HIM: THOU SAYEST.'I am not saying,' he said.'I have not said it. It is you who are saying it. If you say so, it's okay.'

AND WHEN HE WAS ACCUSED OF THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND ELDERS, HE ANSWERED NOTHING.

This has to be understood also. He answered Pilate; at least he said,'Thou sayest.'

But when the priests and the elders accused him of a thousand and one things, he answered nothing. Why?

Pontius Pilate was a stranger. It is possible sometimes to speak to a stranger. It is very difficult to speak to people who think they are familiar with you, who already think that they know you. It is impossible to speak to the people who think they know you, because whatsoever you say is not going to help; they already know you. They will interpret you in the old way, in their way, so that they understand you. Pilate was absolutely a stranger. He was a Roman governor, he was not a Jew. He was not at all concerned with the Jewish religion.

Jesus looked at the governor, and he said,'Thou sayest.' He may have been able to understand Jesus. And the story goes that Pilate felt very much for him. He understood, a little. Being a stranger, it was possible for him to understand this man. At least he could see him without any prejudice. It was none of his concern:

he was not a Jew, he was not a priest, he was a foreigner. He could look at this man directly, without any clouds in his mind. He felt for this man. This man looked absolutely innocent. In fact, Pontius Pilate wanted him to be freed.

Two more persons were going to be crucified that day: two thieves along with Jesus. And it was the custom that the people could ask for one person to be freed.

One person could be freed by the governor, so the governor hoped that they would ask for Jesus to be freed. He even hinted; he sent messages to the elders, to the priests, saying,'It will be good if Jesus can be freed. The man seems to be innocent.' But no, the people wanted his blood. They asked that one of the thieves should be freed, not Jesus.

A thief, a murderer, was freed and an absolutely innocent man was killed. The man, the thief who was freed, himself became a disciple of Jesus. Seeing the innocence of this man, he could not believe how he had been freed. He was not worthy. The very phenomenon changed his life.

AND WHEN HE WAS ACCUSED OF THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND ELDERS, HE ANSWERED NOTHING.

THEN SAID PILATE UNTO HIM: HEAREST THOU NOT HOW MANY THINGS THEY WITNESS AGAINST THEE?

AND HE ANSWERED TO HIM NEVER A WORD; INSOMUCH THAT THE GOVERNOR MARVELLED GREATLY.

Why did the governor marvel greatly at the silence of Jesus? His silence was very, very eloquent. His remaining in silence showed much that could not be said. Whenever a person feels guilty he starts defending; that is natural.

Whenever you feel wrong you start arguing; that is natural. Whenever you feel that something has gone amiss you start rationalizing; that is natural.

If you are really innocent, then what is there to defend, argue, rationalize? If you are really innocent, only silence can say anything. Words won't help. Pilate, the governor, must have seen many criminals in his life, all arguing.

I have heard a story: Once it happened that one great Russian Czar, Peter, went to see his prison. Once a year he used to go there, and it was up to him to free anybody. If he took the fancy of freeing anybody, there was nobody to hinder. So he would go from one cell to another, and all the criminals, great criminals, murderers, would say,'Sir, - we are innocent. We have been unfairly caught.

Somebody else has done it. Have mercy on us!'

Only one man who was accused of murder and was sentenced for his whole life said,'Sir, I am a criminal; I have committed the murder. And I don't feel that even my whole life's imprisonment is enough punishment. Give me more punishment! I feel guilty!'

Peter said,'Release this rascal immediately! He will corrupt others. All are so innocent but this rascal.' That man was freed immediately.

Innocence accepts. PURE innocence has nothing to reject, nothing to accept. If you are a criminal, your whole mind will work on how to get out of it. If you accept it, you are already out of it. But Jesus was not a criminal at all. He had not committed any crime. He was the purest soul ever. He had nothing to accept, nothing to reject that's the meaning of his silence.

'And the governor marvelled'... he had never seen such a silent man, so close to death yet so peaceful; so close to death and so relaxed; so close to death and so un-defensive; so close to death and not trying in any way to save himself - so surrendered.

AND HE ANSWERED TO HIM NEVER A WORD; INSOMUCH THAT THE GOVERNOR MARVELLED GREATLY.

Jesus succeeded as a rebel; he failed as a revolutionary. If you ask buddhas, they will say that he succeeded. If you ask ordinary people, they will say that he failed.

A great crowd had gathered on the day when he was crucified to see whether he was going to do some miracle. They went home frustrated. No miracle happened, no miracle at all. He died silently, as any ordinary man would have died. There was not a difference, not a bit of difference.

But I would like to tell you: give flowers to rebels who fail, because all the successful ones have always betrayed the revolution.

Every revolution has been a betrayed revolution. Only a rebel who fails totally is a real rebel, because to succeed he will have to use the ways and means of this world. And in using those ways and means is the failure. Jesus died a humble man, in total surrender, without any power; this is his success.

The church is a failure because the church has succeeded in becoming a great establishment. Now, upon this earth, the Christian church is the greatest establishment. Fords and Rockefellers, Morgans and Carnegies are nothing; the Christian church is the greatest business on the earth today. Other great companies are very, very small companies compared. to the Christian church. It is a world-wide establishment. The church succeeded and failed; Jesus failed and succeeded.

Give your flowers to rebels who have failed, because they are the truly rebellious people.

A rebellious person remains individual; there is no other way. He flowers, he blooms, and disappears. He does not leave any trace behind of his success. In fact, there are no proofs to show that Jesus ever existed; except for the Gospel, which is a Christian document, there is no other proof that he ever existed.

Nowhere else is ke mentioned. How has it happened that such a great phenomenon has not left any footprints?

The greater the phenomenon, the lesser the footprints in history. The greater the phenomenon, the lesser the footprints in time. He succeeds in eternity; he fails in time. Those who succeed in time fail in eternity.

Give your flowers to those rebels who have failed....

And Jesus is the topmost failure in the world. He failed tremendously, he failed beautifully. He is a pinnacle of failure, the climax, because he is a rebel, not a revolutionary. Lenin succeeded, Gandhi succeeded, Mao succeeded; these are revolutionaries, they are not rebels. They all betrayed the revolution. Once a rebellion becomes a revolution, it is already on the path of betrayal.

If you really want to be a rebel - and that is the only way to be a religious person - then you have to be alone. Then you have to be an alone flame in the infinite darkness around; without any organization, without any establishment. You have to live alone. Only God is your companion, nobody else. And that too is not right to say, that God is your companion, because God is your innermost being.