In war it seems to be perfectly right, but somehow the same war is going on continuously between every individual in the society. So a certain culture develops it as a gesture of tremendous respect. It is not a gesture of respect, it is a gesture of humiliation, that “I humiliate myself completely. I am at your disposal. If you want to cut off my head you can. I cannot do anything in such a position.” And of course the other person feels great, his ego is satisfied.

Our culture, our education, our religion – they all teach us to be hypocrites in such subtle ways that unless you go deep in search, you will never find out what you have been doing.

Why do you smile when you meet a friend? What is the need? If you are not feeling like smiling, why do you smile? You have to do it. This is a policy that is paying, because some day you may need this man’s help, and if you have always been smiling at him, he cannot refuse. If you have never smiled at him and never even said “Hi,” then you need not bother even to approach him; he will throw you out of his house with a “Go to hell!”

One has to understand all these layers and detach oneself from all of them. Become a watcher so that you cannot become identified with any dream.

That’s my work; and if you start dreaming about me, you are destroying my whole work. Take the indication, then drop the dream and then find real food. Just dreaming of a feast is no good. When a real feast is possible then why be satisfied with a dream feast? When real joy is available, then why a phony smile? When authentic ecstasy is just close by your hand, perhaps not even that far, then why be satisfied with being miserable, crying and weeping, feeling empty, feeling worthless? Your treasure is within you, and you are becoming a beggar.

My effort is to wake you up. Perhaps it will be hard on you in the beginning because you have been a beggar for so long that you will think I am taking your kingdom. Hence sannyas is difficult.

On the surface I have made it so simple because I know, inside it is so difficult; to make it difficult on the outside also would be inhuman.

So on the surface I have made it absolutely simple– it cannot be simplified more – because inside the real work is hard.

But it has to be done. Without doing it you lived without knowing what life is. You existed in a way which cannot be called living, it can only be called vegetating.

Don’t be vegetables, cabbages, cauliflowers. Yes, these are the two classes of people: cabbages are uneducated people, cauliflowers are college – educated cabbages; but there is not much difference.

The only thing that makes a difference is: Wake up!