Politics and Religion - Partners in Crime in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is now proving to be yet another perfect example of what Osho has been warning humanity about, since forever. That the basic cause of all our problems is very simple: It is the priests and the politicians. They are the ultimate partners in crime. It may promote itself as a marriage made in heaven, but the results are made in hell.

Instead of listening to that warning, the masses, yes, that is you and me, give support to their political and religious ideologies. In return, the priests and the politicians use the power we give them to brainwash us into continuing to support those same ideologies – in a catastrophic vicious circle. Of course, with each catastrophe we are assured, “Never Again!” And again, and again, and again, and again….

Meanwhile, the masses continue to indoctrinate their children, with the help of education, the media, and the other “pillars” of society, with those same beliefs and values. In this way, those in power are able to make sure that nothing fundamental ever changes and we can be relied on to turn up and support them, as required.

To complete the process, we we will of course nod our heads approvingly as the whole charade is given the stamp of heavenly approval by some priestly figure. Once enough of us are locked into identifying with one geographical location or another, with one ideology or another, then the competition between these places and between the different beliefs inevitably follows – leading to whatever level of violence is required to prove we are right. The same destructive mess we see all around us continues in an endless sorry-go-round.

To experience exactly what Osho is describing, you can now watch the people of Afghanistan being butchered right on the screen in front of you. By courtesy of the priests and politicians.

You can review this powerful story here. In this documentary by Adam Curtis, “Bitter Lakes,” you can watch the twist and turns of how contemporary religion and politics have created this pathological outcome. Who knew that the foundations for the disaster of today’s Afghanistan began with a meeting between President Roosevelt of the USA and the King of Saudi Arabia in 1945?

As you watch this poor land descend into yet another round of primitive, violent insanity, do remember all those politicians – secular and religious – who we have to thank for making all this possible.

In case you imagine that the Afghanistan horror story is somehow exceptional, we keep a select up-to-date record of so many other examples happening every day here: “Priests and Politicians: The Mafia of the Soul.” These same people with their destructive ideologies are ravaging the world on a daily basis, mostly with our consent, explicitly or implicitly.

Or you can take a quick look here to see a comprehensive list of today’s bloodletting.

Can you find one example on that list that is not rooted in the competition between different religious and/or political ideologies? While we are giving credit where it is due for this endless stream of barbarity around the world, we mustn’t forget all the other beneficiaries, like the people making good money out of the sale all those weapons, that technology, those uniforms, those medals of honor…. All totally legal of course, by courtesy of lawmakers you probably voted for, and who probably pray to gods you may also bow down to.

If you feel trapped by this dilemma – using the conditioned mind to resolve the problems created by the conditioned mind – and you do not want to stay in this rut, Osho offers a very clear set of alternatives for everyone to explore. There is no revolutionary cavalry of comrades coming over the hill to rescue us. There is no savior waiting in the wings for “the right moment to come and save us.” Each of us individually is going to have to summon up the courage to just say “no” – and stop participating in our own destruction. And say “yes” to something totally different.

Everything else has been tried and has failed. Everybody and his uncle have tried to transform society.

After centuries of bloody revolutions, of theories, of philosophies, of ideologies, of beliefs, of this-ism and that-ism, always promising… always promising… always promising…. And here we are on the verge of major global catastrophes, having to scour Steven Pinker’s statistics to convince ourselves that there is – as so many people still blindly insist – “No problem.”

All that is now left is the more arduous journey of individual transformation. Which no one can do for anyone else.

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