Inward Revolution Bringing About Radical Change in the World

is, How do you see all this? Do you see it as an observer outside looking in, or do
you see it without division? Please, this is really important because this is the
basis of all our understanding.
How do you look at yourself and at the world? Please watch it, examine what
you are doing when I am asking the question. How do you regard yourself; how
do you look at yourself, and how do you look at the world? If you look at the
world as a Hindu, then you are not looking at the fact. You are looking with the
prejudice of a Hindu; therefore, you are incapable of looking. If I look at the
world as a communist, I am looking only from a particular point of view, from a
particular conclusion; therefore, I am incapable of looking at this immense
problem. If I look at this extraordinary thing called living from a particular,
narrow point of view as a Muslim, as a Hindu, as a Buddhist, I cannot possibly
see the extraordinary beauty of life with its complexity.
So how do you look at it? Do you look at it from your traditional point of
view, or do you look at it as a scientist, as an engineer, or as a follower of a
particular sect? How do you look at it? You see the illogic, the absurdity of being
a Hindu. The house is burning, the whole world is burning, but you want to put
the fire out as a Hindu, a Muslim, a Parsi, God knows what else. So what is most
important before you ask what you as a human being can do with regard to this
madness that exists in the world is that you must first understand what it means
to look at the world. Are we taking the journey together, or do you still remain a
Hindu or a communist?
In trying to look—in looking, not trying—in looking at this whole problem of
existence, you drop all divisions; you are concerned with understanding the
problem not as a Hindu. Are you doing it? I’m afraid you won’t. You are going
to remain a Hindu, a Parsi, a Buddhist, a follower of some guru. That way you
maintain division; therefore, you maintain conflict. Where there is conflict, there
must be pain, suffering, and in that there is no love. Is this clear, verbally at
least? You may observe this intellectually, verbally. You may say that you
understand that division in any form must bring about misery, but intellectual
comprehension doesn’t do anything. Intellectually saying “I agree with you” or
“I disagree with you” has no meaning. If you really see the truth that any division
must inevitably bring about conflict, then action follows. Then you are concerned
with eliminating in yourself and in the society every form of division.
Look, when you observe yourself, there is the observer and the observed, you
the censor and the thing that is condemned or justified. You know, this is real
work; you have to work. Probably you are not used to work; you are used to
being led. And when a person is used to being led, coerced, threatened, he will
inevitably do something that is not his own. Whereas here, now, we are not
offering anything—reward, punishment, heaven, bliss, nothing—but only how to
end conflict. When once you have ended conflict, then you have the whole
heavens open to you.
So, that is the primary thing. Ending conflict doesn’t mean living a static life,
living a life that is mechanical. Ending conflict means the beginning of love,
care, affection. Where there is conflict, there must be callousness. Aren’t you all
very callous, totally indifferent to what is happening around you? So the first