The perfume of sandalwood,
rosebay, or jasmine,
cannot travel against the wind.
It has certain absolute limitations, it can only ride on the wind. It cannot have its own will, it is not really free. Unless you can exist in total freedom, something is missing. If you have to follow the laws, then you are a prisoner. The laws may give you enough rope, but still you are a prisoner.
That’s how things are: if enough rope is given to you, you forget about the prison. For example, these so-called nations – India, Pakistan, Japan, Germany – these are all great prisons, but they are so great that you cannot see the boundaries of your prison. Cross the boundaries of your nation and you will see that you were a prisoner. But the prison is big enough; you can move in the prison anywhere you want. But move out of the prison, try to enter another prison, and then you will see the limitation.
These are man-made prisons; big enough so they can give you a false feeling of freedom, but there is no freedom. Unless all nations disappear from the world, the earth will remain a slave, humanity will remain in prisons, small and big. But it makes no difference whether the prison is very big and you cannot see the wall surrounding it…. The walls may be very subtle – of passports and visas – the walls may be very subtle, you may not see them, but they are there. You are not free to move.
Almost all the constitutions of the world say that the freedom of movement is the birthright of every human being, but it is only written in the books, it is not true. You cannot move freely. If you want to go to Russia, impossible; if you want to enter into China, impossible.
Nations have become such great prisons, and your presidents and your so-called prime ministers are all nothing but jailers. Those who talk about freedom are nothing but policemen. They say they are guarding you for your own safety, but in fact they are prison wardens watching so that you cannot escape.
I have heard:
An old Russian was dying, and he heard a knock on the door. He asked, “Who is there?”
And some very ghostly voice said, “Death.”
The old Russian said, “Thank God! I was thinking it is the secret police.”