That is the glory of man, and the agony – the glory, because man is free. Can’t you see it? A tree is not free; a rosebush is a rosebush. Whatsoever is going to happen is already predestined. The rosebush is not free. If it decides not to grow roses, nothing will happen; roses will still come. If the rosebush decides to change the color of the roses, nothing will happen; the rose will remain of the same color as before. If the rosebush decides to become a lotus, nothing will happen; the rosebush will remain a rosebush. It is destined to be a rosebush. It is beautiful, but not free.

That’s why I say nothing can be compared to man’s beauty. Even roses are nothing compared to man’s beauty. Because a rose has to be a rose, it is in a sort of bondage. It cannot do otherwise. It cannot go astray: it has to be a saint. It has to be a Jesus, it cannot be a Judas. That’s why a rosebush is just a rosebush – good to look at, but nothing to be compared with the beauty of human beings. The beauty comes because a person can be a Jesus or a person can be a Judas, and everybody carries both possibilities – Jesus and Judas.

Everybody is totally free. And the range is big – the whole spectrum. Man is a rainbow, all the colors. Man is not predestined. Hence we have created this world out of our freedom. The responsibility is ours. If you want to become a Buddha, you can become one. Nobody can force you to become a Buddha. If you want to become a Genghis Khan, you can become a Genghis Khan; the choice is yours. God is not dragging you anywhere. He has given you enough rope; you can go astray, you can come back. Because of this possibility of going astray, this world exists. This world can be changed, can be utterly changed. Once we change our consciousness, this world can become a totally different affair.

You ask, “Why did God create this world?” So the first thing: he has not created this world, he has created you, he has created human freedom – and one should feel grateful that he has made you free. Otherwise, if you are forced to become a Jesus, then to be a Jesus is mechanical, meaningless; there is no significance, no poetry in it.

Because you can miss the target… The Christian word sin is very significant. Its original root means: missing the target. The original root for the word sin comes from “missing the target.” You can miss; it is up to you. Sin is missing the target, it is going astray. And God will not prevent you: his love is so infinite that he will love you even if you have gone astray. He loves the sinners as much as the saints. And if you listen to Jesus, Jesus says he loves the sinners even more, because they need more love.

Have you not seen? If a child is ill, the mother cares more about the ill child than the healthy child – naturally so. It is justified. The healthy is healthy, so there is no need for the mother to be over-careful. But the ill is ill: the mother sits by the side of the bed, massages the child, takes more care. Jesus says God cares more for the sinners, those who have missed the target. He goes on showering his mercy on them.

This world is our going astray, our sin. It has nothing to do with God.