From Ignorance to Innocence

Pseudo-religion: the stick-on soul

Humanity has always been miserable, not just today. The causes are camouflaged behind beautiful words, holy scriptures, spiritual sermons. Religious prophets, political leaders, moral lawgivers—you respect them, never suspecting they are the cause of your misery. Pseudo-religion: the stick-on soul. A child's vision is needed to see the obvious.

The other cheek: the masochist's slap-up feast

I am not a philosopher—philosophers think about things; I see through silence. Turning the other cheek is masochism, not spirituality. Nonviolence as preached by religions is a political strategy, not genuine compassion. Seeing is not thinking—thinking becomes a veil on the eyes. No philosopher has ever known truth.

The nuclear family -- the imminent meltdown

Senator Bob Smith proved my point about Oregonian idiots. I never said all Oregonians are idiots—only that the Oregonian idiot is a class unto itself. Politicians cash in on us to win elections. The nuclear family—the imminent meltdown: family is not natural but a social construct that traps individuals.

Danger: truth at work

The common masses are against me because what I say is the very truth—and truth is dangerous to those living in fictions. Truth shatters all consoling lies. Socrates, Mansoor, Jesus were all killed for disturbing people's sleep. Religions have been dream sellers, exploiting people's weaknesses. Danger: truth at work.

Ecstasy is now -- why wait?

Renunciation is based on the mirage that this world's happiness is illusory and the next world's is real. The mirage has two halves: reflected sunrays and your thirst. Your so-called happiness is one hundred percent your projection. Ecstasy is now—why wait? Renunciation mortgages today for a tomorrow that never comes.

Renunciation: mortgage today for a tomorrow that never comes

No place for renunciation in my religion. There's a difference between dropping things and things dropping by themselves. Renunciation is enforced dropping—repression. What you force goes deeper into the unconscious and returns in masks. When things drop through awareness, they drop naturally, without force. Renunciation is repression.

Shame is the name of their game

Religions used repression because it creates guilt, and guilt makes you dependent on the priest. Shame is the name of their game. Religion's first phase was magical—ritual sacrifice as bribery to God. Priests have never believed in God; they know ninety-nine percent of rituals fail. Repression creates a market for priests and psychoanalysts.

God is not a solution but a problem

God is not a solution but a problem. If God created the world in six days, there can be no evolution—creation means finished. Evolution means creation is incomplete. Popes were against Darwin because evolution kills God. God as creator implies a dictator. Thank God He doesn't exist—His existence would make life impossible.

I teach a religionless religion

I teach a religionless religion. All pseudo-religions create shock absorbers in you—my function is to destroy them. God is not the center of religion. One who doubts to the very end finds the answer. Those who believe without doubting remain dull, dead, idiotic. How can there be religion without God? Religion is inquiry, not belief.

God -- the nobody everybody knows

God—the nobody everybody knows. Hitler was a vegetarian, lived like a monk, married only three hours before dying. Followers believed he was the reincarnation of Elijah. God didn't create people like Hitler or Jesus in His image—nobody created anybody. The very idea of God creating man in His image is a fiction.

Truth: not a dogma but a dance

I am against all so-called religions because they are not religions. True religion can only be one, like science—no Mohammedan physics or Hindu physics. In an enlightened age there will be two sciences: objective and subjective. Truth is not a dogma but a dance. The birth of a science of consciousness will kill all exploiting religions.

Faith: the suicide of intelligence

The greatest harm religions have done is preventing humanity from finding true religion. They pretend to be the true religion. Every child is conditioned to believe his religion is the only true one. Faith is the suicide of intelligence. These religions created a society of blind people who don't need eyes—Jesus will lead the way.

Ecstasy is knowing that nobody is holding your hand

To be thyself and to know thyself are not separate—they are two aspects of one process. Start with being thyself: masks were forced on you, so they're easier to throw off. Whatever you're doing, ask: is this your voice or your mother's, father's, priest's? Ecstasy is knowing that nobody is holding your hand—you are alone, free.

Society crowds you out; religon outs your crowd

Man is born with an unknowable potentiality—he is not a thing but a seed. Society crowds you out; religion outs your crowd. The child comes empty, all dimensions open. Society fills him with its own patterns. Religion means deconditioning—removing what society put there, discovering your original face. The crowd inside you is not you.

They say believe; I say explore

A politician cannot be religious—politics and religion are diametrically opposite. The political man is psychologically and spiritually sick. Music can help a politician, but religion is not an addition—it's a different dimension. They say believe; I say explore. The political man seeks power over others; the religious man seeks power over himself.

Let's not face it -- you're absolutely alone

Calling God a hypothesis means God is already dropped. A hypothesis is an assumed fact, accepted temporarily. Let's not face it—you're absolutely alone. The idea of God makes you afraid to drop it because you've been told God is your protector. But God never protected anyone. You are alone, and that aloneness is your freedom.

Jesus, the only forgotten son of god

God is not a hypothesis nor an idea. Karl Marx wanted God proved in a lab—but if you dissect God, you can manufacture Him. Jesus, the only forgotten son of God. Has anyone met God? Those who claim to have met Him have met their own projection. God is the unknown—not a person but the mystery of existence itself.

One god, one messenger, one book -- one big lie

Religion is individual experience; cult is establishment. Christians call us a cult—but when Jesus was alive, Jews called his followers a cult. One god, one messenger, one book—one big lie. The cult lives on the dead past; religion lives in the present. A cult is an organization that exploits in religion's name.

Religion is rebellion

It is almost impossible to preserve a living religion from becoming a cult—but not absolutely. It is not my religion; when I ceased to be, it came into being. Religion is rebellion. The first thing: the religion is not anybody's property. No scriptures, no commandments, no hierarchy. The master's presence, not his words, keeps religion alive.

Surrender: the ego upside down

Organization is a political entity—religion needs it to survive, but it doesn't need religion. Surrender: the ego upside down. The Catholic church is a solid organization with no religion left. The moment religion organizes, the politician enters. Organization is necessary but dangerous—it must serve, not dominate. Religion without organization is possible only with conscious individuals.

Personality: the carbon cop-out

Personality is the carbon cop-out—a thin mask given by society. Individuality is your authentic being. I was mischievous in childhood because I didn't allow anyone to spoil it. I refused to participate in the school prayer because the song claimed 'my country is the best'—every country thinks that. Personality is borrowed; individuality is born.

The commune: the distillation of rebellious spirits

There is no paradox between being an individual and melting into the commune. The confusion is between individuality and personality. Personality cannot melt—it's a mask. Individuality melts naturally, like a river into the ocean. The commune is the distillation of rebellious spirits—not a crowd but a communion of unique individuals.

Conscience: a coffin for consciousness

Is there any point in living? The question arises from a schizophrenic split between means and ends. Religions created this split: living is the means, the goal is somewhere far away. Conscience is a coffin for consciousness—society's voice internalized. Life has no goal; life is the goal. Living is the point, not a means to an end.

Imitation is your cremation

Disobedience is a religious quality but needs tremendous intelligence. To obey, an idiot can do. Disobey anything imposed against your will, intellect, being. But disobedience doesn't mean disobeying everything blindly—that's idiocy. Imitation is your cremation: don't imitate, be yourself. Participation in the commune's prayer is voluntary, not imposed—if it comes from your being, do it.

Jesus -- the only savior who nearly saved himself

Bible-packing Christians come to save us—but the very idea of saving somebody is violent trespass. They save others to gain confidence they themselves are saved. Life needs transformation, not belief in Jesus. Jesus—the only savior who nearly saved himself. We unsave people: pull them back from foggy beliefs to the earth, to reality.

Meditation: watchfulness, awareness, alertness -- the real trinity

There is only one way to explore higher states of consciousness: awareness. Man is almost unconscious—only moments of danger make him alert. Meditation: watchfulness, awareness, alertness—the real trinity, not Father-Son-Holy Ghost. Watch your thoughts, feelings, actions without judgment. As awareness grows, consciousness expands. The house on fire creates temporary alertness; meditation makes it permanent.

Baptism: wading for godot

My concern is with man's being, not his doing. All religions label acts right and wrong—that misses the point. Man is asleep; he needs awakening, not moral codes. Baptism: wading for Godot—rituals don't transform. Awakening is not doing right or avoiding wrong; it is becoming conscious. Sin is unawareness; virtue is awareness. No punishment—only natural consequences.

Science plus religion -- the dynamic formula for the future

Science and art are one-dimensional—hence obsession. Einstein forgot to eat, stayed six hours in the bathtub. Concentration is obsession. The new religious man is not obsessed—he is multidimensional, aware in all directions. Science plus religion—the dynamic formula for the future. Science provides means; religion provides direction. Together they create the whole man.

Positive thinking: philosophy for phonies

Positive thinking is philosophy for phonies. A firm believer in positive thinking is shocked when I criticize Mother Teresa. Belief—firm or not—is still belief, not knowing. Positive thinking represses the negative, which returns in uglier forms. I don't believe in anything or disbelieve—either I know or I don't know. Positive thinking is escape, not transformation.

Surrender: the ego upside down

Surrender is the ego upside down—the subtlest form of ego. Who surrenders? The ego. Jesus says 'blessed are the meek'—but meekness is ego standing on its head. A man without ego cannot be humble or meek; he is simply himself. I don't teach surrender because I don't teach ego. Be aware, and the ego dissolves on its own.