The Rebellious Spirit

CHAPTER 1

Meditation is the greatest charity
10 February 1987 pm in Chuang Tzu Auditorium

Question 1

BELOVED OSHO,
IN YOUR VISION, IS CHARITY A PART OF RELIGIOUSNESS? IF SO, WHAT WOULD
CONSTITUTE CHARITY? FOLLOWING THE CATHOLIC CONCEPT, THE INDIAN LEGISLATURE
SPECIFIES: 1) RELIEF FOR THE POOR, 2) EDUCATION, AND 3) MEDICAL RELIEF, AS BEING
CHARITY.
WHAT IS THE CONCEPT OF CHARITY IN THE EYES OF A BUDDHA?

Om Prakash, the concept of charity in the eyes of one who is awakened is bound to be totally
different from the so-called Catholic idea of charity.

The Catholic idea is relief for the poor. The idea of the buddha will be: there is no need for any
poverty in the world. Poverty is man-created, and it is in our hands to destroy poverty. But all the
religions – and most prominent of them is Christianity – have emphasized relief for the poor. Relief
for the poor is not charity; it is not love.

Why, in the first place, should poverty exist? It exists because there are a few people who are too
greedy. Poverty is a by-product of greed. One part of society goes on accumulating; naturally, the
other part of society becomes poor. And man has lived for centuries under this exploitation. This
exploitation can be completely destroyed.

Whatever the society produces belongs to all. And the most surprising thing is that the poor are
the people who produce, and the rich are the people who do not produce. Those who produce
are hungry and starving and dying. Just to give them relief is a very cunning idea: it protects the
exploitation; it protects the capitalists. It protects those who are the criminals, and it also protects
the poor so that they go on producing and go on fulfilling sick ambitions of pathological people.

A man who accumulates money, seeing clearly that it is going to destroy millions of people, cannot
be called healthy. To call him religious is a mockery – he is not even human. And particularly now,
when science has developed to a point that the whole earth can be comfortably rich, there is no
need of any relief for the poor.

What is needed is a revolution of the poor, a deep understanding among the poor that ”It is not
because of your past lives’ evil deeds that you are poor; it is not your fate that makes you poor.
It is a few people who are pathologically sick, who have lost all compassion, all sensitiveness,
whose hearts have become inhuman – it is because of these people you are poor.” And just a great
understanding among the poor can bring a revolution in the world.

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