A Religious Revolutionary Has No Conflict
Is it possible to find a way of life, which is basically and radically free, and therefore revolutionary? There is only one revolution for me, religious revolution. The others are not revolutions at all; economic, social, political, and all the rest are not revolutions. There is only one revolution, which is the religious mind in revolt, not as a reaction, but a mind that has established a way of life in which there is no contradiction. All our lives are in contradiction, in conflict, either the conflict born of trying to conform, conflict through fulfillment, or the conflict engendered by social influence.
Everything we touch turns into conflict, within and without. Either it's a war between people or life as a human being is a battlefield within. We all know this constant, everlasting battle, outwardly and inwardly.
Conflict does produce a certain result by the use of the will, but conflict never is creative. To live, to flower in goodness, there must be peace, not economic peace, the peace between two wars, the peace of politicians negotiating treaties, the peace which the church talks about, or what organised religions preach, but peace that one has discovered for oneself. It is only in peace that we can flower, can grow, can be, can function. It cannot come into being when there is conflict of any kind, conscious or unconscious.
Is it possible to live a life without conflict, in the modern world with all the strain, struggles, pressures, and influences in the social structure? That is really living - the essence of a mind that is inquiring seriously. The question of whether there is God, whether there is truth, whether there is beauty can only come when this is established, when the mind is no longer in conflict.
You can't avoid conflict. You have to understand the nature of conflict. We have tried to avoid conflict, so we take to drink, sex, church, organized religions, social activities, superficial amusements - every form of escape. We have tried to avoid this conflict, but we haven't been able to. The very avoidance is contributory to conflict.
We can see, perhaps only intellectually, the necessity of a mind, a heart, the whole structure of a human being not having conflict, because then there is peace. That peace is really a form of moral behaviour because a mind that is not peaceful cannot behave, cannot have right relationship; and right relationship is behaviour, conduct, virtue, morals, all the rest of it.
What is conflict, both outwardly and inwardly? We can see outwardly the wars, which are the result of nationalities, economic pressures, religious, personal prejudices. There have been religious wars right through the world. Perhaps Buddhism has not contributed to war, except recently Buddhist priests have burned themselves, but it is totally against the teaching. They are told never to touch politics, but politics is the new alcohol. It gives intoxication; that is nationalism.
Then there is the inward conflict, which is much more complex. To examine this we must be clear in our thinking, acute in our observation; we must be intensely aware in observing the whole nature and significance of conflict. We are conscious of conflict only when there is pain; when there is a contradiction. I want to conform to society because it gives me profit. For security, for a means of livelihood, to become famous, to be recognised, I must conform to the pattern set by society. There is conflict the moment there is a distraction from that conformity.
Om Namah Shivay
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