Spiritual Talk: “Good” and “Bad” Divide the World
People always believe that they are good and somebody else is bad. That's the only way they can carry on their missions in the world.
Right now, we're on this part of the Himalayan road; they are making it into a two-lane highway. Every year, so many people die here because of landslides and vehicles going off the road. So they are laying a two-lane highway. Is it good or bad? It's good, because people like you can travel in more comfort, with less risk; so that's good. Today, a lot of people may tell you to stop building roads, disfiguring the mountain, and disturbing the creatures on this planet. So for them, this is bad.
Just because those in power, or the majority, think something is good, it won't become good. Maybe it would be better to take a person as an example. Now whatever a terrorist is doing, is it good or bad? You may say bad. In the same situation, who is good and who is bad all depends on which side of the border you're on. Is India good or is Pakistan good? You're on this side of the border, so obviously Indians are good; Pakistanis are evil. If you were on the other side of the border, you would be arguing for the other side. It all depends on what you're identified with. Accordingly, you have your ‘goods' and ‘bads'. You cannot think beyond that.
Your thinking itself is limited to your identifications. Your identifications are always limited, so your thinking is also limited. With this limitedness, why do you get into this nonsense about deciding what's good or bad? The moment you say something is bad, you can't stop disliking it, can you? Can you say, "This is a bad person, but that's okay with me"? On the surface you may say it, but if he gets closer to you, though initially it is just dislike, later it will turn to hate. The moment you identify something as good or bad, you're just dividing the world.
Now somebody comes and says they want to walk the spiritual path. So I tell them, "Okay, stay here for a week. Let us see what we can do." Then he says, "No, no, Saturday is my cousin's birthday; I have to go. I can be here only for three days." So I ask, "All right, but how far would you like to go with this?" He says, "All the way." Then I say, "So in three days, all the way?���Anyway, you do these few things when you're here, then let's see what to do next." Then he says, "No, I don't like this." So I tell him, "Okay you give me a list of things that you like. We will do only that." He sits there, thinks seriously for a while and writes down half a dozen things. So I ask, "What? In this vast existence, you like just about half a dozen things, and with that, you want to be spiritual?" Where is the possibility?
The moment you create good and bad, you are dividing the world. Once you divide it, where is the question of inclusion? Where is the question of yoga? Where is the question of becoming one with everything? Where is the question of knowing truth? Your division is because of your stupidity; it has got nothing to do with reality. Good and bad are always according to your ego's requirements. If you go by this, you enslave yourself to the dualities of life; you divide the existence. So the question of turning spiritual never arises.
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