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Part IX : World Tour - Osho and the Pope
At this time the pope visits India. Osho challenges him to a
debate, and criticises the Hindu demonstrations against the pope.
Sannyasins apply for Osho to visit Italy on a tourist visa, which
is delayed indefinitely. When a press interview with Osho televised
in Italy has record ratings, the pope bans any media presentation
on Osho; he also bans Osho from visiting catholic countries!
And this pope goes on wasting your money in unnecessarily traveling
here and there. He came to India. And wherever he goes, the first
thing he does is to kiss the earth. He could have done it in the
Vatican. There was no need, the earth is the same everywhere,
but certainly tastes are different…. When he touched down
at New Delhi airport I was in Nepal, and I said to my people,
"This is his first taste of Hinduism." Because you cannot
taste earth in India unless you taste cow dung, and that is the
only essential Hinduism. hari01
While he was India I challenged him that I wanted a public debate,
and like a coward he remained silent….
I have certainly many things to say to him, because he is one
of the greatest criminals in the world today, and I have to point
out every crime that he is committing. So for posterity's sake
it should be taken note of that there was somebody who has pointed
out who is the cause, and who is the man creating all these troubles.
I have to ask this man many questions. I know perfectly well
that he has no answer for anything because for twenty centuries
none of the popes has been able to answer anything. Even Jesus
Christ had no answer for anything…just making statements
without any rational support, without any arguments. socrat15
It is absolutely wrong of Hindus to oppose the pope, because
this is not the way of the East. It is ugly. He should be treated
in an Eastern way. He should be invited in every place he goes
for a public discussion, in a friendly way. Hindus have nothing
to lose; they have a far richer religion. The pope is simply poor.
To oppose him is not worth it. Expose him, don't oppose.
And Christianity is a third-rate religion anyway. It has no
great heights, it has never produced great mystics. It has not
produced great philosophers. Its heritage is very poor.
In every place where the pope goes, respectfully, lovingly invite
him for a public discussion. There are Hindu thinkers, Hindu mystics,
there are Buddhist mystics, there are Jaina mystics. They should
have an open discussion about each of the fundamentals of religion.
That will be something valuable, and it will give him some taste
of what religion is. Right now he has only tasted cow dung!
When he kissed the land on the airport in India, what do you think
he tasted? This is not good to let him go with this taste; it
is not right. We should give him some taste of real spirituality.
I oppose the opposition of the Hindus. It is absolutely ugly and
un-Eastern….
I don't see that any religion that is born outside India has anything
comparable to the religions that are born in India. India's whole
genius is invested in religion, just as the whole Western genius
is invested in science.
So these pygmies have nothing to discuss. They cannot argue for
their theology, for their religion—and they are not really
religious people either. The pope particularly is a politician….
I am absolutely against what the Hindus are doing to the pope.
I would like him to be treated as a guest, but he should be shown
clearly that he has nothing to teach to the East. If he wants
to come to the East he has to come to learn. That will also help
the Christians to understand what a mistake they have made moving
from beautiful philosophies and great religions into a very third-rate
theology which has no grounding, no roots. The visit of the pope
should be used creatively.
But the way it is happening now, it will simply become a condemnation
of the Hindus and cause a sympathy for the pope which he does
not deserve. sword14
Just yesterday I received information from Italy—because
I was going to go from Nepal directly to Rome. I have challenged
the pope many times, but he is such a coward. I finally thought
it is better to go to Rome and challenge him to a public debate
so that he could prove that this book is holy. And if he could
not prove it then we would make a bonfire of this Bible in Vatican
City itself—"You should resign from your post and dissolve
this whole nonsense of Christianity which is based on this book."
Just yesterday I got information that the pope had instructed
all the newspapers, magazines, radios, that are under his power
or under some other Christian influence, that nothing should be
said about me if I come to Italy—neither positive nor negative—"because
this man takes advantage of both." Whether you are for or
against does not matter.
Now I can see this man understands; he does not misunderstand
me. He has understood one thing: that even the negative publicity
against me finally helps me, because finally the truth is with
me.
His instruction is neither negative nor positive: no publicity
should be given. But he does not understand that the first thing
I am going to do in Italy is to proclaim to the press: "Any
press who does not write about me—positive or negative—is
just a puppet in the hands of the pope. You have sold even your
intelligence. Just for a few rupees you have become a slave. You
cannot even report. And I am not saying report for me, I am saying
report whatever you want to report—let it be against me,
nothing harms me."
Even if somebody reads something against me, he starts thinking
about me. He starts thinking, "Why are so many people writing
against one man?" He goes to the library, he looks into the
bookstore, he finds some book, he tries to understand….
sword08
There are countries I was planning to go to and I heard that
they had been instructed by the pope that I should not be allowed
to enter because they are all Catholic countries. This world is
not yet human, it is not yet civilized. It is utterly uncultured.
sword13
In Italy they have been postponing for almost three months, just
for a three-week tourist visa. And the president and the prime
minister and the minister of foreign affairs, all are saying,
"We are going to give it to him—just tomorrow….
" And sannyasins are going every day; they are sitting there
in their offices, saying, "Whenever you want we are ready.
But when will your tomorrow come?" And after three months
they got so frustrated, because the pope is holding them back.
They cannot say no to the sannyasins because they have no reason
to say no.
And they know my impact in Italy. Just a few days ago, a television
interview of one and a half hours was seen by thirty-four million
people—unprecedented. The director informed me, "We
could not believe that so many people would be interested in you.
You have never come to this country." No other program in
his whole life, had attracted so many people. And not only the
show—the show was finished in one and a half hours—but
people are discussing each and every point in the marketplace,
in the university—everywhere. Somebody is for, somebody
is against, but everybody is intensely involved.
So the government could not say no because that might create
trouble. And the pope is insisting that I should not be allowed
into Italy. So they go on postponing. Finally the sannyasins got
so frustrated that they started making a protest, and one of the
most famous Italian film directors, Fellini, has signed their
petition first. They have thirty-six other world-known people
who have signed the protest, and they are collecting more names—and
I have never been there. psycho10
I have never done anything except to express my thoughts. If
that is a human right, then no government has anything against
me. I am not active in any politics; I am not interested in any
power. I am simply saying whatsoever I see more clearly than all
these blind politicians. What is the fear?
Just now the pope has called a World Conference of Religions.
All the chief priests and leaders of other religions have been
called.
My sannyasins from Italy have been writing to me: "We are
insisting to the pope—and his secretary is very much interested
in you and is willing to extend an invitation, but the pope is
against it." sermon26
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