The reason is very clear: before fire was discovered, night was the most dangerous time. If you survived one night you had done something really great, because in the night all the wild animals were ready to attack you. You could not sleep, you had to remain awake – just the fear of the wild animals was enough to keep you awake. And still they would attack in darkness, and man was helpless.

So darkness became evil, bad, and synonymous with death. And the fear has entered so deep in the heart, that still today, when darkness has gone through a complete transformation…. Neither wild animals attack you in the dark, nor does darkness bring any evil or death to you. It only brings soothing sleep, takes all your tiredness of the day; makes you again young, alive, full of energy, ready to meet tomorrow’s morning sun. But our attitude remains the same. So is the case with everything.

In the past, throughout the whole of evolution, man had to become part of a certain group, organization, society, tribe, for a simple reason: because alone he was so helpless. Alone, and the whole wilderness against you – it was difficult to face it. Together, with a crowd, you felt more protected, more secure.

You have to remember that man is the most weak and helpless animal in the world, and because of this helplessness and weakness our whole civilization and culture has grown. So don’t think of it as a curse; it has proved a great, the greatest, blessing.

Lions cannot create society, lions cannot create culture, because a lion has no need of the group. He alone is powerful enough. Sheep move in groups; lions don’t move in groups. Each lion has its own territorial imperative. They have a specific technique to declare their territory. All the animals – they piss on a certain area. Its smell makes others aware that this is the boundary line, the fence. Outside it, everything is okay; just a single step in, and there is danger.

Lions like to be alone for the simple reason that they are enough for any enemy. Now if you think about man…his body is not so strong as that of an animal. His nails are not so strong that he can kill any animal just with his nails. His teeth are not so strong that he can eat the raw meat of an animal killed by his own hands. Neither can he kill with his hands nor can he eat raw meat directly with his teeth. All his limbs are weaker than other animals. He cannot run with a horse or with a dog, or with a bull, or with a wolf, or with a deer: he is just a nobody.

It is good that these people don’t participate in your Olympic races; otherwise your great runners will just look silly. You cannot move like monkeys from one tree to another tree. They go on jumping from one tree to another tree for miles; they need not touch the ground. You cannot fight even with a monkey.

This has to be accepted: that man is the weakest animal on the earth. And this is the foundation of his whole behavior, his commitments, his groupings. He has to be part of something bigger than himself; only then does he feel safe.