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Either everybody is a messenger of God, or nobody.

The whole idea that somebody is a prophet and somebody is a Teerthankara and somebody is a messenger or a Christ is absurd.

You all come from the same source. We all come from the same root. Nobody is special.

And this is what a religious man tries to live. A religious man is one who sees that he is ordinary. A religious man is one who sees that he is exactly the same as others, and he does not pretend to be special -- because the very idea that "I am special" is foolish; the very idea that "I am the chosen one" is egoistic.

And a religious man cannot claim that -- a religious man has no claim. He simply accepts and he realises that he is a part of this cosmos as you are a part of this cosmos. He never puts himself above you.

This is his superiority, that he never puts himself above you. This is his 'aboveness', that he never thinks that he is extraordinary or special in some way. He never carries the attitude of 'holier than thou'. He knows that you are also gods and goddesses. Maybe you don't recognize it -- that's the only difference. The difference between me and you is only one: I recognize who I am; you don't recognize -- but there is no other difference.

You are exactly the same as I am. You are a Buddha asleep, but there is no question about any difference. A Buddha is a Buddha, whether asleep or awake. You may not have come across your divineness, you may not have tried, you may not have opened the door of your inner treasures, but the treasure exists.

You may think that you are not special and I am special, but how can I think the same way? You may think that -- it is natural. People may have thought that Christ was special -- that is natural, because Christ looks special. He is special in a way, because he has recognized his godhood, and in that very recognition he has become luminous, a clear light without any smoke, a pure flame. People recognize that he is special.

But how can Jesus say he is special? In recognizing his own inner flame, in recognizing his own inner godhood, he has recognized everybody's godhood -- not only about human beings but about trees and birds and animals, even rocks. Even rocks he knows now are gods -- fast asleep, snoring. Some day or other rocks will awaken and will become gods!

You may not see who you are, but I am seeing who you are.

The day I recognized who I am, I recognized everybody's innermost core.

A religious person cannot think he is special. And a religious person cannot think that you are condemned, that you are sinners. A religious person starts laughing.

He laughs at you because you are a saint and thinking yourself a sinner. He laughs at you because you are God and thinking yourself somebody else. The whole thing seems to be absurd -- what a drama!

Everybody is having a mask and has completely forgotten his own original face. Your original face is God's face.