A World with No Borders

a world with no borders

“I don’t believe in countries at all. Neither have I a country that is mine, nor is any country foreign to me. I feel this whole earth as my own….

“Why am I not declaring myself a Hindu? I am not, I am not contained by any boundaries. Temples are mine, churches are mine and gurdwaras also… And I don’t believe in nations.

I believe that humanity is suffering because of nations; nations should disappear.

Too many national anthems have been sung, too many flags have been flown, too many idiocies have happened on this earth — enough of all this. Accept the oneness of mankind. Now, one earth and one mankind.

“These national governments must go, and until they go man’s problems cannot be solved because man’s problems are now bigger than and beyond nations….

The whole earth is ours.

“By dividing it into sections we have created disturbances. Today man has the means available that if the nations were demolished, then all the problems would also be destroyed. If the whole of mankind were to strive together there would be no reason at all for any problem to remain on this earth.

“But there are old habits: ‘Our country.’ ‘Hindustan is better than the whole world.’ This kind of idiocy exists in other countries too; they also have a similar idea. Conflict exists because of these egos, and then because of these conflicts and national boundaries all of man’s energy goes into war.

“You will be amazed to know that now we have collected so much war material all over the world — especially in Russia and America — that each and every man can be killed a thousand times over.

“We have the means available to destroy one thousand earths. There is, however, only one earth. Still, armaments go on piling up.

Any day now, the madness of a single politician, and this whole earth will be a heap of dust; it will become a pile of ashes.

“And such madness can be expected from politicians. Who else could you expect it from? A single politician going berserk and there will be such havoc; this whole earth will be in such a state of disaster that you won’t even have a chance to think about understanding it. It will take only five to seven minutes for the whole world to be reduced to ash. The news will not be able to reach us before death comes. With such terrible preparations for violence the old ideas of nations cannot work. Now it is dangerous. It is because of these concepts of nations that armaments have accumulated. For self defense…. ‘Lest the other somehow gets ahead. We have to keep ahead of them.’

Eighty percent of humanity’s capacity goes into war. If this same eighty percent of resources went into farming, into gardens, into factories, this earth would be a paradise.

“The dream that your seers and prophets used to have of a heaven in the sky can now be created here on the earth, there is no difficulty in it. But old habits…. ‘This is our country, that is their country.’ We have to fight, they have to fight.

“The poorest of the poor nations are also engaged in an effort to make atom bombs. They are dying of starvation, but they want to make atom bombs. Underneath, this same idea even chases after a country like India: ‘We may starve, but our glory must be preserved.’

“I don’t believe in nations. If I am listened to then I will say that India should be the first country to renounce nationalism. It would be good if the country of Krishna, Buddha, Patanjali and Gorakh renounces nationalism and says we are an international area.

“India should become an area of the United Nations Assembly. It should be said that we are the first nation that entrusts itself to the United Nations – you take custody. Someone must start it. And if it is started there is no need for wars. These wars will continue as long as there are borders. These borders must go. He is right it can be said that I am a traitor – in the sense that I am not a traitor to humanity. But all your lovers of nations are traitors to humanity.

“The very meaning of patriotism is treason towards humanity. Love of nation means dividing into parts. You have seen haven’t you that a person who is patriotic towards his region becomes an enemy of the nation. And one who is patriotic towards his district becomes an enemy of the region.

I am not an enemy of the nation, my idea is international. This whole earth is one.

I want to abandon the small for the vast. And these small-small enclosures, these dikes have troubled man too much.

“In three thousand years five thousand wars have been fought. And previously it was okay if wars fought with bows and arrows went on happening, there was no harm. If a few people died there was no problem. Now, war is total war. Now it is the suicide of all mankind. Now every place can become a Hiroshima – any day, at any moment…. Consider the horror of this war and think of how much energy is going into it.

“This same energy can fill the entire earth with greenery, can fill it with prosperity. For the first time man can dance absorbed in bliss, can sing songs of ecstasy, can follow the quest of meditation. But this will not happen. Your so-called patriots, these nationalists….

“Nationalism is a great sin. It is due to this nationalism that all these problems exist in the world. I am not a nationalist. I want to break all boundaries.

Whoever on this earth who has received a small glimpse of the truth has no boundaries.

“They do not belong to any country, any community, any class, any sect, any caste.”

Abridged from: Osho, Die O Yogi Die Talk #6 – The Juice of the Buddhas

This article was published in Medium

Trademarks | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Contact Us
OSHO International Foundation | All Rights Reserved © 2024 Copyrights