Half of humanity, women, were not allowed to read holy scriptures. In India, half of humanity, the women, and one fourth of humanity, the untouchables, were not even allowed to enter a temple, or to hear a brahmin chanting mantras from the Vedas. The punishment was death.

What was this secrecy? The reason was that if everybody comes to know them, then two things are going to happen. First, people will know that there is nothing holy in the scriptures. Ninety-eight percent is sheer nonsense. In perhaps two percent can you find something which has some beauty, some inspired sayings. So it will be a great exposure: “You have been hiding these scriptures, and there is nothing in them.” And secondly, the priest’s monopoly is lost; people can look into the holy scriptures for their consolation.

The priests were very much against publishing their books. Finally they agreed, because under British rule they had to agree, they had no power. They agreed, but they agreed that the books should be published in Sanskrit, which is not a living language. Only the priests know it, only the brahmins know it. It has never been a living language of the common people. Buddha had to speak in Pali, not in Sanskrit. Mahavira had to speak in Prakrit, not in Sanskrit, because the public has no idea of Sanskrit.

Not only have they kept the Vedas secret, they have also kept the language as a monopoly of the brahmins, of the priests. And this has been the case all over the world to different degrees.

So you are finally forced to go to the priests. When you are feeling so miserable that you don’t see any light anywhere, and the night is so dark and goes on becoming darker, and there seems to be no hope for the dawn, where are you going to look? The priest, who claims he knows God, who claims that he has the sole monopoly of God’s message for humanity is there.

Man easily became a prey because he listened to all these people, and they managed to convince him. They were more educated; they were the only educated people. They knew how to argue, how to convince – the whole masses have been kept in darkness – so they argued against nature, and they convinced people. And it is very convincing. For example, everybody is suffering because of marriage, and marriage is a creation of the priests. It is a good device to keep people miserable. You will not find any misery amongst my people because there is nothing like a bondage.

You should live as individuals, in freedom. Out of your freedom you love, but not against your freedom. If you sell your freedom for love, you are going to be in despair. Marriage was one of the devices to keep people harassing each other, fighting with each other, because they cannot separate. No divorce was allowed by any religion, and it is human nature to get fed up.

You cannot eat the same food every day – except me! My cooks, my people who take care of my body, they get fed up. And I am eating, and they get fed up, because they have to bring the same…