America has no ideology. America also wants to have a certain ideology against communism and islamism; without it, just nuclear weapons won't help.
Geoerge Bush is trying to enforce Christianity on America more and more. First he wanted prayers to be made compulsory in all educational institutions from the kindergarten to the university. But the Supreme Court ruled against it unanimously. They said, "This is bringing religion into politics, creating a mixture of religion with the state."
Then he started another thing -- that all Christian educational institutions should receive the same grants that public educational institutions receive. The Supreme Court has again decided against it, because this is against the constitution of America, to give support to a religious institution.
But why is Bush so interested? And now, see how politicians work. Now he has found a way roundabout. The Supreme Court has decided that no religious institution -- and in America, most of the religious institutions are Catholic or Protestant -- should receive any state support. So what is he doing? Now he is proposing, "We will give grants to the parents, not to the institution. And then the parents are free to send their children wherever they want."
The Supreme Court ruling has been cancelled in a very cunning way. "Don't give to the institution, but give to the parent whose child is in a Catholic school." Now it is the parents' freedom to send their children wherever they want.
Bush is afraid that America has no ideology to present before the world, as the communism has. But Christianity is not going to give any counter-argument to communism.
Communism says, "There is no God."
Christianity has not been able to prove in two thousand years that there is.
Communism says, "There is no heaven and no hell."
Christianity has not been able to prove... in two thousand years of continuous theological and philosophical argumentation, no proof has been found for heaven and hell.
Communism does not believe in the independence of soul. Christianity has no answer for it.
Christianity will be a poor ideology against communism. If anything can stand against communism, taoism is the alternative.
Jesus says truth liberates. Yes, truth liberates, but never borrowed truth. Jesus' truth will not liberate you. But Christians believe that Jesus' truth will liberate them. Not only that, they think that just by Jesus' crucifixion humanity is already liberated. This is being blind, absolutely blind. Nothing is liberated, nobody is liberated; salvation has not happened. Jesus was crucified, that's okay, but through Jesus' crucifixion Jesus was liberated, not you. The whole thing seems to be a trick. Jesus died on the cross and humanity, particularly Christianity, is liberated; one who is a Christian is already liberated. This is how the mind thinks: it goes on throwing responsibility onto somebody else. If you are a sinner you are a sinner because Adam sinned and was thrown out of heaven, and now you are liberated because Jesus has again entered the kingdom of God. So Adam and Jesus are the authentic persons; you are just shadows. Adam sins, and you have become a sinner -- so who are you? You are a shadow. Adam is thrown out of heaven, therefore you are thrown out. This can happen only to a shadow, not to a real person. If I am thrown out of this house, only my shadow will be thrown with me, nothing else. And if I enter the kingdom of God, only my shadow will enter with me; you cannot enter. Jesus solved everything. He entered the kingdom of God, and all humanity entered with him. Nobody has entered, nobody can enter in such an easy way. You have to pay the cost, you have to carry your own cross, you have to be crucified through suffering -- your suffering, remember. Neither Jesus' suffering, nor anybody else's will open the doors. They are closed, and you cannot enter just following Jesus. Nobody can enter that way. The doors open for the individual, because the individual is the authentic reality.
A man driving his car on a lonely road suspected that he had missed the path, suspected that he was moving in a wrong direction. He saw a beggar walking, so he stopped the car and asked the beggar, "Does this road lead to Delhi?" The beggar said, "I don't know." So the man asked, "Does this road lead to Agra?" The beggar said, "I don't know." The man, who was already irritated, became more irritated, and said to the beggar in anger, "So you don't know much." The beggar laughed and said, "But I am not lost."
So the question is not of knowledge. The question is whether you are lost or not. The beggar said, "But I am not lost. Whether I know or not is not the point." When you are lost a map is needed, knowledge is needed, a book is needed. When you are not lost, what is the point of carrying a book, a map? And an enlightened person is at the goal everywhere. Wherever he is, is the goal. Once you become aware that you are the goal you cannot be lost. The beggar is not lost. Why? -- because he is not going anywhere. Wherever he reaches, that is the goal.
Love knows no resentment. Love only knows how to give opportunities for transformation.
And always remember one thing very fundamental to the taoistic way of life: anything a person does is just a mere act. It does not qualify and color his whole being. Being is vast.
The murder happened in the past. Nobody has the right to destroy this man's future, because in the future he may turn into a poet, a painter, a scientist, a musician, a dancer. One thing is certain: he has energy. He misused it. All that you have to do is treat him psychologically, to make it clear to him that something is wrong in his mind, to make him aware of how to drop it and how to change the direction of his energies. What is destructive can become creative.
All punishment, particularly the death sentence is inhuman, resentful, revengeful, and without any consideration of the person -- in his situation even you would have done the same. And past is past. Why distort the future of a person? Any individual is worthy of respect. Your respect will help him to change. Your trust will help him to change.
Trust creates such a space, and love gives such courage.
If a person can see, can say to the court, yes, he has murdered, and he is sorry for it, and he wants to be changed.... He does not know why he murdered. There must be something in his psychology which is wrong, which is destructive. But in the ordinary world outside he will be sentenced to death, or to remain in jail for his whole life, which is worse.
Naturally, the murderer cannot be changed by your courts, by your laws. And for thousands of years your laws have gone on growing, your courts go on becoming bigger, and you have more judges. But do you know, your murders are not less. They are increasing far more rapidly than your judges. Strange -- there is something basically wrong.
Anything that is done should not be taken in the spirit of revenge, punishment; but the outside society lives only with greed and fear. Give respectability to a person who is obedient to the rotten society, and give punishment to anybody who does anything against the society. This society is not for transformation.
Learn the power of love and forgiveness, and see that there is no alchemy which can transform a man other than love.
There is no other way to change a person.
