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Kabir, this is beautiful; this is how it should be.

In fact there is nothing to drop. Just the understanding that the ego is not something to be dropped, just the seeing that it is not, is the dropping. The seeing is the dropping; the understanding is the liberation.

Jesus says, “Truth liberates,” but I would like to tell you, truth liberates only when it is your own. Jesus’ truth cannot liberate you, my truth cannot liberate you – only your own truth can. Liberation cannot come from the outside, liberation has to arise within you.

And this is good, Kabir, that you say, “I still don’t know what to drop, but thank you,” because you have started seeing. And the moment you start seeing you will find there is not anything to drop.

The deeper you go into the ego the more nonsubstantial you will find it. And once you have looked through and through, you will simply laugh at the whole thing; it is so ridiculous because the ego is not there. And for so long it has tortured you, and for so many lives it has been a hell for you, so many miseries it has created for you. The harm has been incalculable – by something which, in the first place, is not.

The ego is a misunderstanding: so when you understand, the misunderstanding disappears. It is as if you have been calculating and you have put two plus two is five, and the whole calculation goes wrong. Then suddenly you look, you find the error, you see where you went wrong – two plus two is not five, two plus two is four.

You need not drop anything, there is nothing to drop. Simply seeing the error, the error disappears. Ego is a misunderstanding.

Two young lovers were strolling along a garden path. The boy felt exceptionally romantic. “Some moon in the sky, eh, honey?” he remarked. “Yes, dear,” she agreed, “some moon in the sky.”

He steered her toward a part of the path where roses were blooming. “Some roses out there, eh, honey?” he nudged. “Yes, dear,” she admitted, “some roses out there.”

By this time the dew was already shining on the grass and in his exuberance, the boy could not help remark, “Some dew on the grass, eh, honey?”

“Yeah, some do on the grass,” she snapped. “But I don’t, so be on your way.”

The ego is a very simple misunderstanding, just a fault in calculation, just a linguistic fallacy – just as your name is only part of the utilitarian world. A name has to be given – it would be difficult to manage in ordinary life without a name – but you know perfectly well that a name is not reality.

Still, if somebody insults you by insulting your name you will be offended, although when you came into the world you had no name. Your parents called you Rama so you became Rama; they called you Chris, you became Chris. They could have called you something else, but if somebody now says something against Rama or Chris you are offended, you go mad. You are ready to kill or be killed – for a name which is only a utility, not a reality.

This is the case with the “I”; it also is a utility. You have to call yourself something, otherwise things would become very difficult. If you all started using the third person, if you all started calling yourselves “he” or “she,” it would become very difficult; things would become more complicated, it wouldn’t help anybody.

Even when people become enlightened they go on using the word I, but now it is only a word; they are using their names still, but they are only labels. That has to be understood.

You cannot insult Buddha by insulting his name because he knows he is not it. You cannot insult Buddha by insulting his personality because he knows he is not that either. In fact you cannot insult him because he knows he is always the witness, and the witness cannot be insulted.

That is the miracle: when you are insulting him, the witness is witnessing the insult. You cannot insult the witness. Buddha will always be the witness, you cannot reduce him to anything else.

The witness always escapes any traps you lay, it is never found in those traps, it simply disappears; it is always standing outside. You cannot put it in prison, it is always standing outside.

Kabir, there is nothing to drop. One just has to see it, see that there is nothing to drop. And there is nothing to gain either. All is as it should be.

And I am happy that that understanding is arising in you – hence your thankfulness.