Tuesday 25 December 2012

ARE WE NOT HERE TO HELP AND SERVE OTHERS IN THE WORLD?


My answer is an anecdote.
I have heard about a little boy whose mother was lecturing him about selfishness. ”You know, darling,” she pointed out, ”we are in this world to help others.” The little boy considered this for several seconds, then he asked with a great deal of seriousness, ”Well then, what are the others here for?” You first please look at yourself. Don’t try to become a do-gooder. These are dangerous people. In the name of doing good, they simply try to interfere with other people’s lives.Who are you to help others? You have not even helped yourself yet. Physician, first heal thyself.
It happens many times around me: you listen to me, your mind becomes more and more informed, you start gathering knowledge, and then suddenly the desire arises to help others. What you really want is just to pour your rubbish into their heads. You want to initiate people now. You want to help people to become spiritual. Please, unless you have known what I am saying, don’t try to convey it to others, because it will be a distorted form. And lies are better than half-truths; at least somebody can come to know that this is a lie and will drop it. A half-truth is very dangerous. He will never be able to detect that it is a lie because that half-truth will prevent him, and he will never be able to drop it, and he will become cluttered with it. For four years the little old lady had owned the parrot, and for four long years she had fruitlessly tried to get it to talk. She had tried everything: repeating little phrases endlessly, buying bells, mirrors, and the very best food. Now she was at last at her wits’ end. In desperation she turned to the parrot and screamed, ”For God’s sake, why won’t you talk!” The parrot regarded her with a beady eye. ”To tell you the truth,” it said suddenly, ”I have always felt that it was not a good thing to go around repeating things one hears.” At least be as wise as that.

Source: The Path of Love by Osho



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