BENGALURU: I think it is very important for human beings to communicate with each other. To communicate implies we must both be interested in the same thing, at the same level, with the same intensity, otherwise you can't communicate. If you are not interested in this question of self, and the relationship of that self with another, which is very important - of sociological as well as psychological importance - I don't think any talking about it becomes clear. Unless one wants to go into these things very carefully, I think we had better stop talking to each other.
First of all yesterday we were talking about something very important, it seems to me at least. We were saying, what is love in relationship with each other? That was the thing we were talking about yesterday - the love that exists between man and woman, the love of a mother with her baby, the love of one's country and so on and so on. We were going to go into that question which said: Can there be love if there is no total comprehension or self knowledge? Right? We were exploring that question. And that question also can be answered, what is the relationship between human beings who have self-knowledge, or who are understanding themselves? That's the first question raised.
Are you all quiet now, after all the morning disturbance? I would like, if I may, to go into this question with you, a dialogue, this is a communication between us, both verbally and non verbally. Because most of us, as far as one sees throughout the world, have no real understanding, or the depth of this extraordinary word called love. And it is worthwhile, I think, to go into it very quietly, not offering opinions - your opinion against my opinion, or your ideas of what love is and so on - exploring - do you understand? Which is quite different from offering opinions.
So can we go into that question, which is related to self-knowledge. We said self-knowledge, knowing oneself, must begin knowing the world outside, knowing what is happening in the world - politically, religiously, economically, socially, racially, the class differences, the totalitarian states, leftist, right and centre, all that one must observe. It is not possible to observe if one is prejudiced. That is very simple and very clear. If I stick to my nationality, to my belief, to my race, I cannot possibly investigate, explore, observe the world.
So through the observation of what is taking place outside of each human being. Without observing what is going on around us, socially, morally, religiously and so on, merely to investigate oneself leads to insanity, because there is the object very clearly to be observed, what is going on. From there you begin. Move from the outer to the inner, not the inner and then the outer. You can deceive yourself enormously if you begin with yourself. Whereas if one begins from the outer, then goes deeply within oneself, then you will see there is no difference between the outer and the inner. It may be like the sea, the ebb and flow, going out and coming in all the time.