In one of his discourses, Osho says: India has never invaded any country, has never been aggressive, violent, has had no desire to become bigger and bigger, huge; India has never been imperialistic. It has been invaded by many people, and for two thousand years it has been a slave country under Hunas, Turks, Moguls, British people, Portuguese people, French, you just say the name — and India has been invaded by everybody. And why did such a vast country, almost a continent, yield so easily? They were not interested in fighting.
It is a question that mystifies us all. I have a feeling that India has been living in a Taoist way forever, even before Tao happened to China. One may ask what is the Taoist way?
Lao Tzu, who was born in China in the 5th or 6th century BC, says in his book Tao Te Ching: Whenever you advise a ruler in the way of Tao, counsel him not to use force to conquer the universe. For this would only cause resistance. Thorn bushes spring up wherever the army has passed. Lean years follow in the wake of a great war. Just do what needs to be done. Never take advantage of power.
This is the way India has always lived. This was not her weakness but feminine strength. This is the strength of the superior quality of love and compassion born out of meditation and spirituality. This is the reason we call our country Mother India. We call the whole earth Mother Earth. Vande Mataram!
Osho adds: Love, trust, beauty, sincerity, truthfulness, authenticity — these are all feminine qualities, and they are far greater than any qualities that man has. But the entire past has been dominated by man and his qualities. Naturally, in war, love is of no use, truth is of no use, beauty is of no use, aesthetic sensibility is no use. In war, you need a heart which is more stony than stones. In war, you need simply hate, anger and a madness to destroy. In three thousand years, man has fought five thousand wars. Yes, this is also strength, but not worthy of human beings. This is strength derived from our animal inheritance.
This is the basic message of the enlightened sages and the mystics, the Buddhas which the war-mongers and power-hungry rulers of the world have always ignored for their personal glory. And the ignorant people of the world have been applauding them as Alexander the Great. It is about time we stop this nonsense of the so-called great conquerors and pay attention to Tao: Achieve results, but never glory in them. Achieve results, but never boast. Achieve results, but never be proud. Achieve results, because this is the natural way. Achieve results, but not through violence. Force is followed by loss of strength. This is not the way of Tao. That which goes against the Tao comes to an early end.
