Diogenes lamp9/11/2023 ![]() ![]() Aristotle had defined man as “a two-legged animal without feathers.” That shows the depth of logic, and the insight of Aristotle. Diogenes was a contemporary of Aristotle. That was his category, but he was with the wrong people. He belongs to the category of people like Bodhidharma, Chuang Tzu, Hotei. So one thing I can say before I die – a good thing about humanity – is that my lamp was not stolen.”Īt the moment of death also he could laugh and joke. Otherwise when I looked at these people they were criminals, murderers, thieves, and I was worried about my lamp – that’s the only thing I possess. I have not been able to come across an authentic man, but even this is enough, that they have left my lamp with me. He said, “I have not found him, but I am grateful to the whole of humanity that nobody stole my lamp, because I found all kinds of thieves all around. Have you found him or not?”ĭiogenes was really a beautiful man. Your whole life you have been searching for the authentic, real man, with your lamp. Before you die, please answer one question. One man, just to joke, asked Diogenes, “Now you are dying. The day he died he had his lamp by his side, still in his hand. It simply says that he is putting his whole lighted being as a beam on the person, as an X ray, to see whether there is anything left or everything is hypocrisy. But the real, authentic man cannot be searched for with a lamp.ĭiogenes’ lamp is only symbolic. My search is, in a way, similar: I am also looking for a real, authentic man. He used to say, “I am looking for a real, authentic man.” People would ask, “What are you doing? It is full daylight, the sun is shining why are you carrying a lamp? And what do you go on looking for in people’s faces?” ![]() ![]() He used to carry a lamp with him, and whomsoever he met – even in full daylight – he would raise his lamp and look at the man. In India Mahavira’s nakedness became spiritual in Greece Diogenes became a madman. Diogenes was as beautiful a man as Mahavira – both lived naked – so proportionate, so beautiful. ![]()
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