Fools

Question: The last question: Osho! Are religious leaders really fools? Deepak! I don’t know what you mean by “religious leaders.” If by religious leaders you mean Mahavira, Buddha, Zarathustra, Lao Tzu—then they are Buddhas, not fools. But they are not religious leaders; they are religion itself, the very embodiment of dharma. The religious leaders are the pandits, priests, mullahs—Ayatollah Khomeini, Pope Paul, the Shankaracharya of Puri—these are religious leaders. And these religious leaders are certainly fools. I have not the slightest hesitation in saying so. I prefer to state the truth utterly naked. If they were not fools, they wouldn’t be religious leaders. Adi Shankaracharya is dharma; but these are imitators. Are these any Shankaracharyas? They are carbon copies. And there is no greater insult to a human being than to become a carbon copy. Every person is original, and his dignity lies in his originality.

Osho, why do Shankara and you, before telling us to sing the praises of Govinda, always address us as fools?

Edison said, people say I know a great deal. My condition is like that of a small child on the seashore who has gathered a few shells and conches. That is the extent of my knowledge—just a few shells in my fists—while the vast ocean lies there, unknown to me. Your little knowledge seems very big to you! You have lit a small lamp; its flickering light falls a little around you, a small area gets illuminated—and you call this knowledge! And the infinite lies there filled with darkness; you have no awareness of it! When you understand your foolishness, you will say, “Is this knowledge—the flicker of a tiny lamp!” The infinite lies ahead to journey through, to explore, to search—and I, clutching these shells in my hands, am posing as a wise man! Then you will drop even this “knowledge.” And the day you know that you are…

“O fool, sing Govinda.” What is foolishness? Shankara is not insulting you by calling you a fool. It is an exceedingly loving address. Bhaj Govindam, Bhaj Govindam, Bhaj Govindam, mudha-mate. “O fool, praise the Lord, praise Govinda.” What does foolishness mean? Not ignorance. Foolishness means: being ignorant while believing you know. Foolishness belongs to the pundit, not to the ignorant. What is there to call the ignorant a fool for? He is simply ignorant—that is straightforward. Many times it has happened that the one who does not know comes to know, and the knower lags behind; for the ignorant has no ego; he is humble; he has no claim because he knows he does not know. But the pundit, without knowing, knows that he knows. He has learned words; scriptures weigh upon his head. He can recite grammar’s rules. And he sinks into them.

Beloved Osho, before telling us to sing the song of the divine why do you and shankara address us as 'idiot' every time?

Because you are! To call you anything else will be a lie! When Shankara says: OH IDIOT! SING THE SONG OF THE DIVINE, he says this with great love, he says this because of his compassion. He is not cursing you, he is not calling you names, because Shankara just cannot curse or call names; it is impossible for him. He is shaking you, he is waking you up. He is saying "Get up! It is morning and you are still sleeping." He is calling you 'idiot' because until he uses some strong words your sleep is not going to be disturbed and you are not going to wake up. He is calling you 'idiot' because this is true, this is a fact. Idiocy means unconsciousness. Idiocy means to live in sleep. Idiocy means to be without discretion. Idiocy means not being wakeful, not being conscious when you are angry.…