Science of the Rishis: A Daily Rhythm

Part VI: Beyond Superstition: Why Oaths Hold No Power Over a Free Mind

These things make a man so significant that you cannot ignore him, yet in no Jewish history he is even mentioned, not even in the footnotes! George Gurdjieff has an argument there; he says it is simply a drama. Nobody has been able to criticize George Gurdjieff; you cannot find anything that can contradict what he is saying. So what is the truth?

Take the oath; if that is the rule of the game, play it accordingly. But make it clear that it makes no difference to you.

Perhaps it was making a difference to people in the past. And I say to you, it will make a difference to the Quakers too, because they believe in THE BIBLE, they believe in the biblical God, they believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The whole Christian theology is theirs.

If you believe in God, you feel afraid taking the oath in the name of God — the superstitious man will feel afraid: now it is not a question of the court, it is now a question of God and the holy book. To lie now will not only be a crime, it will be a sin also. Afraid of this, there is a possibility he will say the truth.

For my sannyasins there is no problem. There is no God, there is no holy book. My sannyasins can take an oath on any novel and it will be the same. They can take an oath on anything, it makes no difference at all; they will say what they want to say. The court cannot exploit their superstitions, because they have none.

The oath was significant, is significant, for the so-called religious people of the world. And that’s why a Hindu is not given THE BIBLE to take an oath on. He is given the GITA, because THE BIBLE he can spit on without any trouble. But the GITA? If by accident the GITA falls from his hands, or his feet by accident touch the GITA, he is in tremendous anguish. He has to fast, and go to the holy Ganges river to take a bath: he has committed a great sin.

Now, this man can be exploited. The court can manipulate this man to tell the truth. But no court in the whole world can manipulate my people. We don’t have any holy book, we don’t have any God to be afraid of. Once you are free of superstitions, laughingly you can take the oath and say whatsoever you always wanted to say — oath or no oath. So remember, there is a difference.

And if the court is stubborn, don’t take it seriously. It is stupid to suffer two years in jail just for not taking the oath. And why are you so afraid? Are you afraid because you were going to lie, and now after the oath you cannot lie? What is the fear?

You say, “I have been told that the Quaker only speaks the truth.” You have been told — and the man who has told you was lying! Just being a Quaker makes no difference. How can it make any difference? Yes, Quakers sit in silence, but I know their silence is bogus, because they don’t have the method to enter into silence. They just say, “We sit in silence.” Yes, they are not talking, but they are thinking, they are feeling — emotions are there.

Silence means you are a witness, and that word “witness” has no place in the Quaker theology. And without being a witness you cannot be silent; there is no other way. You will have to go through the whole process of witnessing; only then, slowly, slowly, things will start dropping away.

My people know that unless they succeed in meditation — which is another name of witnessing — they will remain unconscious, and an unconscious man is asleep. Can you say to a man who is just getting ready to fall into bed and go to sleep, can you tell the man, “Please take an oath that you will not dream about wrong things”? He may take the oath, but he will be dreaming in the same way as he was dreaming before.

The oath will not make any difference, because the oath is taken by the conscious mind, and there are deeper layers which know nothing about it. The unconscious mind has no idea about the oath, and the collective unconscious mind is far deeper, and the cosmic unconscious mind is deeper than the Pacific. They know nothing about your oath, and in sleep they will be functioning, not your conscious mind. Your conscious mind, which has taken the oath, will be asleep.

Sleepy people, unconscious people, can believe in anything, but their belief makes no difference to their inner reality.

So please, forget the idea that my opposition to the oath is the same as the Quakers’ opposition to the oath. Their opposition has different arguments for it. They say, “Because a Quaker always speaks the truth, that’s why we will not take the oath.”

I say to my sannyasins, “Make the statement in the court: `The oath is a very ancient superstition. I will take it, if this is the game that I have to play, but I cannot be serious about it. It does not matter — you can give me THE BIBLE or you can give me PLAYBOY magazine, it won’t make any difference; I will simply say what I have to say. Your oath cannot make any difference to my statements.”

And we are not ready to go for two years to jail for such a stupid thing. If those judges and juries and the courts are behaving stupidly, have you also to behave the same? Make them a laughingstock, make their idea of oath taking foolish.

My reasoning against the oath is totally different. It has nothing to do with your Quakerism.

Theory: Meditation vs. Morality: Why Consciousness Trumps Promises

Mindful Workplace (Sattva): Master Pragmatism and Adaptability (Playing the Game Consciously)

• Workplace Practice: Treat workplace bureaucracy and formal protocols simply as the operational rules of the game: comply with necessary procedures without wasting emotional energy rebelling over trivialities, so you can conserve your focus for high-stakes priorities and effortlessly navigate complex corporate structures.