ON PREACHERS AND PREACHING: EVERY ONE WANT TO PREACH TO NAURISH EGO

Man is very much afraid of being ignorant. The reality is that he is ignorant. Now there are only two ways to get out of it. One is to seek and search the truth about his own being, which is a long path, arduous, needs guts. Very few travel on that path.

The second is very easy. That is through accumulating borrowed knowledge. It gives you a false sense of knowing. You really don't know, but you have a treasure in your memory. You can recite the Vedas, the Koran, the Bible without knowing anything actually, existentially, without ever being at the very center of your being. You can talk like a parrot. This is the easiest way to forget that you are ignorant – and it fulfills your ego, gives you the idea that you know. But this creates a trouble for others. You want to exhibit your knowledge – without exhibiting it how are you going to convince yourself that you know about the truth? That's why everybody is ready to preach. Very few are ready to seek. Very few are ready to question

People like to listen to preachers. I am not a preacher. I say things to you which may disturb you. You may feel hurt – and for strange reasons!

(The Sword and the Lotus)