It is meaningful that the gospel says, “Some of the people who said these words belonged to Jerusalem” – the sacred place, the holy place. the holy place becomes the most unholy, because when people think they know, they are the most unholy. When people think they know, they are the most ignorant people, because those who know, know that they know not. It has happened always. Go to Varanasi and you will find only parrots – great scholars, but without any realization. Go to Mecca, and you will find maulvis who know everything about, and know nothing; who can recite the whole Koran – they have memorized it. They have become great computers, but the knowledge of reality has not dawned on them. Their innermost shrine remains dark, unlit, and they go on talking about light.

It is meaningful that the gospel says:

Then said some of them of Jerusalem…

Jerusalem is the Mecca of the Jews. Then it became the Mecca of Christians also. It is the Varanasi of the West. Whenever a certain place becomes a sacred place, it loses all sacredness – otherwise, the whole existence is holy. But whenever religion is organized, truth made a doctrine, scholars becoming more important than mystics, information becoming more important than knowledge, then this misfortune happens.

Those people of Jerusalem – they knew all. “When Jesus comes,” the scriptures say, “nobody will know from where he comes.”

“Howbeit we know this man whence he is: they said, but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is?”

A very pertinent question – because they knew it well – from where this man comes. They knew his father, his mother, brothers and sisters; they knew all about them. And this information clouded their minds. In fact, do you know from where you come? Do you come from your father? Do you come from your mother? Maybe you come through them, but you don’t come from them. Maybe you pass through them. They may be like crossroads, but you don’t come out of them.

It is said when Buddha became enlightened and came back to visit his father, the father was very angry and said, “I can forgive you because I have a father’s heart. But drop all this nonsense. You belong to the family of an emperor. Don’t move like a beggar. You are my son.”

Buddha laughed and said, “Sir, I may come through you, but I don’t belong to you. I may come through you, but I don’t belong to you. To whom do you belong?”