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CHAPTER 1. NONVIOLENCE
downfall? Why? One thing becomes certain that we do not have any joy or tranquility with ourselves. We are in search of the 'other'. There is no joy within one's self.
Man becomes so miserable with himself as he does not become even with his enemy. Man does not get as bored even with the greatest of bores as he gets bored with himself, what is the meaning or cause of this? It is very interesting to see that no man wants himself as his companion. And he becomes very unhappy when some other person does not want him as his companion, though he has already rejected himself. He has already declared we cannot make himself his friend. You are not willing to sit alone with yourself even for one hour. In case you are required to sit alone for the whole day, you become nervous, or you perhaps think of committing suicide, or you will be confused about what to do. It is very difficult to live with one's self, because he alone can live with himself who has achieved the highest of joy within. One who is full or misery within is anxious to live with another.
So I told you violence is unhappiness - uneasiness within. That is why a violent mind is always in search of another, sometimes it is in search of a friend and sometimes in search of an enemy. And it does not take much time in doing so, as the friend can be made an enemy or an enemy can be made a friend very quickly. Man is always in search of another as he desires to save himself from himself. So I tell you the other is an abyss. One who desires to be saved from one's self, can never go on a higher journey. Is it possible that a person who is not willing to reach his 'self', can gather that much courage to reach God? Can a person who is not willing, touch the highest peak of supreme existence? That is why we are in search of another, and there will certainly be violence in us as long as we remain in search of another. Violence enslaves others.
There are many kinds of slavery. There are sweet kinds of slavery which are worse than bitter ones, because there is some honesty, some sincerity in bitter types. Sweet kinds of slavery are very dangerous, they are sugar coated. They have poison within and sugar outside. We have made all our relationships sugar coated and poison is kept within inside. The poison comes out as soon as a little of the coating is removed. Then we somehow repair the coating and carry on with our relationships. But this fact - to be in search of others is a solid proof that we are unable to get that joy of being with ourselves. Then violence will start again and we shall be in search of another because we cannot live without him. We shall certainly make him a slave without whom we cannot live, we shall certainly possess him, we shall certainly be his master, we shall certainly claim ownership of him. And we shall destroy those - kill those - whose masters we become.
That mastership can be of any type, because all types of ownership kill and destroy. Ownership is a very subtle violence, it is a subtle murder. This ownership is the killing of somebody slowly. A religious teacher also can enslave somebody and kill him. There are many types of slavery. When we chain somebody, grip his neck tightly, become dependent on him, then we hang like a stone - a weight - on his neck. And this action of hanging is a downward journey. There is no end to this journey. It goes on spreading.
Ours is such a mind which remains in search of another. Such a mind journeys downwards. Its violence goes on increasing. Such a mind will assume many forms, it will have thousands of faces, it will have thousands of ways, it will suppress others, harass them, torture them. There can be very subtle and cunning ways and methods of torturing such as, a father can torture his son, a son can do so to his father, a mother can torture her son and the son can torture his mother. Psychologists
The Perennial Path: The Art of Living
7
Osho
