N
nachi naga
Guest
osho on ambedkar
Mahatma Gandhi was the uncrowned king of India.
For the simple reason that he was able to torture himself more than
anybody else could. For any small reason he would go on a fast "unto
death." Every fast was "unto death," but within three, four days, it
would be broken -- there were methods to break it -- and soon there
would be a breakfast; everything was arranged.
But people can be deceived very easily.... He goes on a fast, and the
whole country prays to God that he should not die. All the great
leaders rush towards his ashram and pray to him to stop but he won't
listen unless his conditions are accepted -- any conditions,
undemocratic, dictatorial, idiotic -- any conditions.
For example he fasted against Doctor Ambedkar who was the head of the
untouchables. Ambedkar wanted the untouchables to have their own
constituencies and their own candidates, otherwise they would never be
represented in any parliament anywhere. Who would give votes to a
shoemaker? In India a shoemaker is untouchable -- who is going to give
him the vote?
Ambedkar was absolutely right. One fourth of the country is
untouchable. They are not allowed in schools because no other student
is prepared to sit with them, no teacher is ready to teach them. The
government says the schools are open, but in reality no student is
willing.... If one untouchable enters, all thirty students leave the
class, the teacher leaves the class. Then how are these poor people --
one fourth of the country -- going to be represented? They should be
given separate constituencies where only they can stand and only they
can vote.
Ambedkar was perfectly logical and perfectly human. But Gandhi went on
a fast, saying, "He is trying to create a division within the Hindu
society." The division has existed for ten thousand years. That poor
Ambedkar was not creating the division, he was simply saying that one
fourth of the people of the country had been tortured for thousands of
years. Now at least give them a chance to advance themselves. At least
let them voice their problems in the parliament, in the assemblies.
But Gandhi said, "I will not allow it while I am alive. They are part
of Hindu society, hence they cannot have a separate voting system" --
and he went on fasting.
For twenty-one days Ambedkar remained reluctant, but every day... the
pressure of the whole country. And he started feeling that if this old
man dies then there is going to be great bloodshed. It was clear -- he
would be killed immediately, and millions of the untouchables would be
killed everywhere, all over the country: "It is because of you that
Gandhi died." When the whole arithmetic of how it would work out was
explained to him -- "You figure it out soon, because there is not much
time, he cannot survive more than three days" -- Ambedkar hesitated.
He was perfectly right; Gandhi was perfectly wrong.
But what to do? Should he take the risk? He was not worried about his
life -- if he was killed it was okay -- but he was worried about those
millions of poor people who didn't know anything about what was going
on. Their houses would be burned, their women would be raped, their
children would be butchered. And it would be something that had never
happened before.
Finally he had to accept the conditions. He went with the breakfast in
his hand to Mahatma Gandhi, "I accept your conditions. We will not ask
for a separate vote or separate candidates. Please accept this orange
juice." And Gandhi accepted the orange juice.
But this orange juice, this one glass of orange juice, contains
millions of people's blood.
I have met Doctor Ambedkar. He was one of the most intelligent men I
have ever met. But I said, "You proved weak."
He said, "You don't understand: the situation was such that I knew I
was right and he was wrong, but what to do with that stubborn old man?
He was going to die, and if he died then I would have been responsible
for his death, and the untouchables would have suffered."
I said, "That is not the point. Even an idiot could have suggested a
simple thing to you. You should have gone on a fast unto death. And
you are so overweight." He was a fat man, four or five times heavier
than Gandhi. "If you had asked me.... A simple solution: just put
another cot by the side of Mahatma Gandhi, lie down, and fast unto
death. Then let them see! I promise you that Gandhi would have
accepted all your conditions within three days."
Ambedkar said, "But this idea never occurred to me."
I said, "You are a fool if this idea never occurred to you! That was
the idea with which that man was controlling the whole country -- and
it never occurred to you. The only difficulty would have been to go on
a fast -- particularly for a man like you: fat, eating four times a
day. Naturally you would not have been able to manage it. Gandhi has
practiced his whole life, he is an experienced faster; and you may not
have ever missed a single breakfast."
He said, "That is true."
I said, "Otherwise if it had been my problem and he was being so
illogical, I would have just lain down, even if I was going to die,
and let him be responsible. He would not have allowed that, because my
death would have taken away all his mahatmahood, all his aura, all his
leadership of the people. He would not have allowed me to die; he
would have accepted my conditions.
"But unfortunately I am not an untouchable, and anyway why should I be
bothered with you two idiots? To me both of you are idiots. You have
one fourth of the country in your hands and you can't do anything;
that man has nothing in his hands -- but just by fasting.... He has
learned a womanly trick. Yes, I call his whole philosophy a feminine
psychology."
Re: Osho on Ambedkar and Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi was the uncrowned king of India.
For the simple reason that he was able to torture himself more than
anybody else could. For any small reason he would go on a fast "unto
death." Every fast was "unto death," but within three, four days, it
would be broken -- there were methods to break it -- and soon there
would be a breakfast; everything was arranged.
But people can be deceived very easily.... He goes on a fast, and the
whole country prays to God that he should not die. All the great
leaders rush towards his ashram and pray to him to stop but he won't
listen unless his conditions are accepted -- any conditions,
undemocratic, dictatorial, idiotic -- any conditions.
For example he fasted against Doctor Ambedkar who was the head of the
untouchables. Ambedkar wanted the untouchables to have their own
constituencies and their own candidates, otherwise they would never be
represented in any parliament anywhere. Who would give votes to a
shoemaker? In India a shoemaker is untouchable -- who is going to give
him the vote?
Ambedkar was absolutely right. One fourth of the country is
untouchable. They are not allowed in schools because no other student
is prepared to sit with them, no teacher is ready to teach them. The
government says the schools are open, but in reality no student is
willing.... If one untouchable enters, all thirty students leave the
class, the teacher leaves the class. Then how are these poor people --
one fourth of the country -- going to be represented? They should be
given separate constituencies where only they can stand and only they
can vote.
Ambedkar was perfectly logical and perfectly human. But Gandhi went on
a fast, saying, "He is trying to create a division within the Hindu
society." The division has existed for ten thousand years. That poor
Ambedkar was not creating the division, he was simply saying that one
fourth of the people of the country had been tortured for thousands of
years. Now at least give them a chance to advance themselves. At least
let them voice their problems in the parliament, in the assemblies.
But Gandhi said, "I will not allow it while I am alive. They are part
of Hindu society, hence they cannot have a separate voting system" --
and he went on fasting.
For twenty-one days Ambedkar remained reluctant, but every day... the
pressure of the whole country. And he started feeling that if this old
man dies then there is going to be great bloodshed. It was clear -- he
would be killed immediately, and millions of the untouchables would be
killed everywhere, all over the country: "It is because of you that
Gandhi died." When the whole arithmetic of how it would work out was
explained to him -- "You figure it out soon, because there is not much
time, he cannot survive more than three days" -- Ambedkar hesitated.
He was perfectly right; Gandhi was perfectly wrong.
But what to do? Should he take the risk? He was not worried about his
life -- if he was killed it was okay -- but he was worried about those
millions of poor people who didn't know anything about what was going
on. Their houses would be burned, their women would be raped, their
children would be butchered. And it would be something that had never
happened before.
Finally he had to accept the conditions. He went with the breakfast in
his hand to Mahatma Gandhi, "I accept your conditions. We will not ask
for a separate vote or separate candidates. Please accept this orange
juice." And Gandhi accepted the orange juice.
But this orange juice, this one glass of orange juice, contains
millions of people's blood.
I have met Doctor Ambedkar. He was one of the most intelligent men I
have ever met. But I said, "You proved weak."
He said, "You don't understand: the situation was such that I knew I
was right and he was wrong, but what to do with that stubborn old man?
He was going to die, and if he died then I would have been responsible
for his death, and the untouchables would have suffered."
I said, "That is not the point. Even an idiot could have suggested a
simple thing to you. You should have gone on a fast unto death. And
you are so overweight." He was a fat man, four or five times heavier
than Gandhi. "If you had asked me.... A simple solution: just put
another cot by the side of Mahatma Gandhi, lie down, and fast unto
death. Then let them see! I promise you that Gandhi would have
accepted all your conditions within three days."
Ambedkar said, "But this idea never occurred to me."
I said, "You are a fool if this idea never occurred to you! That was
the idea with which that man was controlling the whole country -- and
it never occurred to you. The only difficulty would have been to go on
a fast -- particularly for a man like you: fat, eating four times a
day. Naturally you would not have been able to manage it. Gandhi has
practiced his whole life, he is an experienced faster; and you may not
have ever missed a single breakfast."
He said, "That is true."
I said, "Otherwise if it had been my problem and he was being so
illogical, I would have just lain down, even if I was going to die,
and let him be responsible. He would not have allowed that, because my
death would have taken away all his mahatmahood, all his aura, all his
leadership of the people. He would not have allowed me to die; he
would have accepted my conditions.
"But unfortunately I am not an untouchable, and anyway why should I be
bothered with you two idiots? To me both of you are idiots. You have
one fourth of the country in your hands and you can't do anything;
that man has nothing in his hands -- but just by fasting.... He has
learned a womanly trick. Yes, I call his whole philosophy a feminine
psychology."
Re: Osho on Ambedkar and Gandhi