For two thousand years Christian theologians have been misinterpreting Jesus. His last words on the cross were, “Father, forgive these people because they know not what they are doing.” If you analyze this statement, it has many implications. First, you can forgive only if you have already become angry. Asking God to forgive them does not show that God is angry – because nobody knows about God – but that Jesus is angry and resentful. Jesus was trying his best to follow his philosophy; but that philosophy was not his way of life. That is why a great effort is needed to follow it; it is not spontaneous. So first, to ask God to forgive these people shows resentment, anger.

Secondly, the reason he is asking for them to be forgiven is very egoistic. He is saying, “They do not know what they are doing” – he knows; they do not know. That was the whole problem for which he was being crucified; he was pretending to be the only begotten son of God, that his words were directly from God, that he knows and nobody else knows. Everybody is ignorant. He is stubborn. Even at the last moment he does not forget his stubbornness. He is not humble. For yourself to think that you know and nobody else knows is pure egoism.

If the American government had killed me, as they had made all the preparations for, I would not have had any resentment for them because I cannot have any resentment in my heart. I could only have loved them. I could not have prayed because there is no God to pray to. If I had something to say to existence, I would have said, “These people know exactly what they are doing. Make them a little more aware so that they don’t go on doing the same thing to other people.

To me it matters nothing; I have attained the ultimate experience of my life, now death does not matter. Why should I feel resentful? – they are not stopping me from anything, they are not taking anything away from me; they cannot take away my experience, they cannot take away my being…but they know exactly what they are doing. They should not do it to others, because others may not yet have experienced the light, the innermost shrine of their being. They may still be empty, and if they are killed their life is simply wasted – one great opportunity lost.

I have no philosophy.

I have only a way of life which is spontaneous.

I don’t have a program, a discipline to follow, a certain creed to live accordingly.

I live moment to moment.

I do not look backward; I do not look forward.

I am absolutely centered in the moment – here, now. Those two words define my way of life.

Would you like to settle in France? And what do you think of French people?

I would love to settle in the south of France, but I don’t have much communion with French people; they are the most unknown people to me on the earth. The reason is that every country has developed certain characteristics; the French have developed a characteristic that they think that they are at the top as far as philosophy is concerned. It is not true, but this gives them a closedness; whoever thinks in this way becomes closed.