It is astonishing that man learns nothing from his own experience. And this very astonishing fact is also the foundation of man’s ignorance. Man learns nothing from experience.
I want to make my point clear with a small story.
I have heard: on a dark night a thief slipped into a man’s house. The wife woke up and said to her husband, It seems a thief has entered the house. From the bed, without getting up, the husband asked, Who is it? The thief replied, Nobody. The husband went back to sleep. The theft took place that night. In the morning the wife said, We’ve been robbed—and I told you! The husband said, I asked, and I heard with my own ears that there was nobody, so I went back to sleep.
In such a house, a theft will happen again. Naturally. In a house where the thief’s statement—“nobody”—is accepted, a second robbery is absolutely inevitable. Fifteen or twenty days later the thief came again. The wife said, Now there’s no need to ask—just catch the thief straight away. The man got up, caught the thief, and started taking him to the police station. Halfway there the thief said, Forgive me, but I forgot my shoes at your house. The man said, How foolish you are! I’m not going all the way back now. I’ll wait here; you go back and get your shoes. The man stood there waiting. The thief went back—and of course never returned.
A month later that thief entered the man’s house again. This time the man caught him again and said, I’m taking you to the station—don’t leave anything behind this time, take it with you; last time you tricked me and ran away. The thief said, No, I’m not forgetting anything. Halfway there he said, But forgive me, I was mistaken—I’ve left my blanket at your house. The man said, You seem very foolish! I can’t repeat my old mistake. Now you wait here and I’ll go home to get your blanket.
We laugh at this man, but all men are of this very kind...
(Some people, intending to disrupt the discourse, set up loudspeakers nearby and, under the pretext of loud kirtan, begin to create a great racket. In the end the discourse has to be stopped midway. Before those who had come to hear Osho, a member of the managing committee expresses his regret in these words:
We are very happy that Acharya-ji has graciously come here and is presenting his thoughts before you. At the same time, we regret that our neighbors, who have always been our neighbors and have loved us, have shown no regard for such a large gathering. And they wish that these thoughts should not be allowed to be heard. We only wish to request that if any gentleman has an objection regarding Acharya-ji’s views, he can even set up a separate stage and do so.
This new game that is being played is in no way becoming or appropriate. I would, with great humility and in the spirit of service, request the respected priests of that temple and the managers: yesterday Swami-ji gave a lecture there on service, and they too listened to it with great love. And besides that, last night, how deeply moving thoughts on devotion to the Lord were shared here before you.
We do not wish for any kind of disturbance here. Nor do we wish to become the subject of mockery in any way. Therefore, if our brothers do not consider this appropriate, we will bring this assembly to an end; and from tomorrow we will seek permission to hold the congregation at Gurdwara Manji Sahib.
So the purpose of my saying this is: if he says anything against religion, against the country, then I think, first of all, Bhatia Sahib is sitting here, Sardar Kartar Singh, MLA, is sitting here, and many esteemed gentlemen are sitting here—we ourselves can object. When he is sharing his thoughts on devotion to God, on love of the country, then it is our duty to listen with love. Therefore I humbly request those respected priests and managers, in the spirit of service. Kindly grant us this favor and accept our request. If they do not, the gathering will of course be held in some way; and if it cannot be held here, then tomorrow at Manji Sahib—or we will find some other suitable place and let you know.)
Osho's Commentary
I want to make my point clear with a small story.
I have heard: on a dark night a thief slipped into a man’s house. The wife woke up and said to her husband, It seems a thief has entered the house. From the bed, without getting up, the husband asked, Who is it? The thief replied, Nobody. The husband went back to sleep. The theft took place that night. In the morning the wife said, We’ve been robbed—and I told you! The husband said, I asked, and I heard with my own ears that there was nobody, so I went back to sleep.
In such a house, a theft will happen again. Naturally. In a house where the thief’s statement—“nobody”—is accepted, a second robbery is absolutely inevitable. Fifteen or twenty days later the thief came again. The wife said, Now there’s no need to ask—just catch the thief straight away. The man got up, caught the thief, and started taking him to the police station. Halfway there the thief said, Forgive me, but I forgot my shoes at your house. The man said, How foolish you are! I’m not going all the way back now. I’ll wait here; you go back and get your shoes. The man stood there waiting. The thief went back—and of course never returned.
A month later that thief entered the man’s house again. This time the man caught him again and said, I’m taking you to the station—don’t leave anything behind this time, take it with you; last time you tricked me and ran away. The thief said, No, I’m not forgetting anything. Halfway there he said, But forgive me, I was mistaken—I’ve left my blanket at your house. The man said, You seem very foolish! I can’t repeat my old mistake. Now you wait here and I’ll go home to get your blanket.
We laugh at this man, but all men are of this very kind...
(Some people, intending to disrupt the discourse, set up loudspeakers nearby and, under the pretext of loud kirtan, begin to create a great racket. In the end the discourse has to be stopped midway. Before those who had come to hear Osho, a member of the managing committee expresses his regret in these words:
We are very happy that Acharya-ji has graciously come here and is presenting his thoughts before you. At the same time, we regret that our neighbors, who have always been our neighbors and have loved us, have shown no regard for such a large gathering. And they wish that these thoughts should not be allowed to be heard. We only wish to request that if any gentleman has an objection regarding Acharya-ji’s views, he can even set up a separate stage and do so.
This new game that is being played is in no way becoming or appropriate. I would, with great humility and in the spirit of service, request the respected priests of that temple and the managers: yesterday Swami-ji gave a lecture there on service, and they too listened to it with great love. And besides that, last night, how deeply moving thoughts on devotion to the Lord were shared here before you.
We do not wish for any kind of disturbance here. Nor do we wish to become the subject of mockery in any way. Therefore, if our brothers do not consider this appropriate, we will bring this assembly to an end; and from tomorrow we will seek permission to hold the congregation at Gurdwara Manji Sahib.
So the purpose of my saying this is: if he says anything against religion, against the country, then I think, first of all, Bhatia Sahib is sitting here, Sardar Kartar Singh, MLA, is sitting here, and many esteemed gentlemen are sitting here—we ourselves can object. When he is sharing his thoughts on devotion to God, on love of the country, then it is our duty to listen with love. Therefore I humbly request those respected priests and managers, in the spirit of service. Kindly grant us this favor and accept our request. If they do not, the gathering will of course be held in some way; and if it cannot be held here, then tomorrow at Manji Sahib—or we will find some other suitable place and let you know.)