An essay by Bhagawati.
A while back I mentioned to a friend that I was about to write an article on the subject of ‘Terrorism’.
“Yeah, right,” he said. “You write something about terrorism and the next thing you know your name is on a list, and from there to Guantanamo Bay it’s just a short trip; the good news is that you will be wearing an orange jumpsuit!”
We both laughed yet in that very moment it hit me: the fear that is being created about terrorism had even entered our sannyas life and I had almost accepted the notion that writing on this subject could be precarious.
Now there’s our master speaking his entire life on all topics under the sun, including many ‘very dangerous’ matters and did he ever consider repercussions? Of course not. Fear is not a word he adhered to. This is the very trap mankind falls into again and again: some powers create fear in the general population in such cunning ways that nobody dares to speak out. So whatever position somebody might take on terrorism there surely will be someone else who feels wronged, who feels that person needs to be silenced, who defends his or her faith and ultimately god ‘to the last drop of blood’. I don’t see why god needs mortals to sign up to defend him/her but never mind that for now.
Historically, the term terrorism was first coined during the French Revolution (1789–1799), a period of political and social upheaval during which the feudalism of the aristocracy and clergy were radically changed under a great loss of life and suffering. The goal was to introduce quite enlightened principles of nationalism, citizenship and inalienable rights for the general population. The revolution brought about violence, repression and warfare that involved several other major European countries. Far from being peaceful and free, in the following century France experienced the Napoleonic Wars, two attempts to restore the monarchy, a dictatorship and two additional revolutions. Nothing changed in the programming of the people nor did they attain freedom.
I have looked into the scriptures of all the religions,
I have looked into the ideological literature of all the political parties
and I am amazed: they go on piling up lies upon lies.
And the whole of humanity is asleep –
not only does nobody object, but nobody even suspects.Osho, Sermons in Stone, Ch 12 Q 1
Terror acts have been committed among humans since the dawn of life, and not only among tribes and nations but often, also psychologically, among families and in relationships. Nowadays the word terrorism is purposefully mainly connected to Muslim extremists. Most infamously it was George W. Bush after 9/11 who declared, “Our war on terror begins with Al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”
Of course we have here a very one-sided and simplistic view. The leaders of the very groups he is attacking are saying the same things to their people!
We all have witnessed what has been going on under the cloak of this term, from the unjustified war in Iraq, to slaughter in Afghanistan, civil war in Syria, uprisings in Iraq, the seemingly never ending battles between Palestine and Israel, the recent conflict in Ukraine and the unrest in so many African countries all the way to the creation of the Gestapo-like department of Homeland Security in the USA and the very latest, ISIS. Fear of terrorism has entered the collective unconscious. This is a horrendous intentional manipulation of the masses, and freedom of the individual is nowhere to be seen.
Even though every being senses deep within the quality of freedom and would like to live in this state, man still sleeps. Even if large groups of well-intended people gather to demonstrate against their government’s actions, even if hundreds of thousands rebel against a war, they still move in a kind of sheep-like way, chanting the slogans given to them. Even though people vote for a president with the hope he will bring about the necessary changes for their freedom, usually the very person they vote for is also fast asleep and acts unconsciously.
You can’t be free unless absolutely whatsoever happens spontaneously in you is allowed and accepted. Man has been programmed, you have been given blueprints – what to be, how to be, what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. And those programs have been put so deep down in your being that you have become unconscious of them. It appears as if you are acting out of freedom; you have been tremendously deceived.
“Even when you think you are acting out of freedom, even when you think you are acting out of your own conscience, you are not. The society is controlling you in a very subtle way. The moment the child is born, the society starts programming the child. The society treats you like a computer; it goes on feeding and programming you. By the time you become a little alert, you are already programmed – you are already a Christian or a Hindu or a Jain. You are already fixed; you are no more liquid, you are no more flowing. And you will function out of this fixity, out of this obsession that the society has put inside you. It is like an electrode put inside your brain. You will not know anything about it, but it will control you. That’s what conscience is.”
Osho, Take It Easy, Vol. 2, Ch 10
More than 20 years ago, Osho has spoken at length on terrorism while he was staying in Uruguay during the world tour which was sabotaged by every possible means, in particular by the US government, because Osho was considered a dangerous man to society. Since then, the global situation of violence and terror has increased and there is only one way out: to wake up!
[…] without freedom you cannot rejoice.
You live in fear, not in joy.
If we can clean the basement of the human mind’s unconscious…
and that’s what my work is.
It can be cleaned away.
The terrorism is not in the bombs, in your hands;
the terrorism is in your unconscious.Osho, Beyond Psychology, Ch18, Q 1
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