THE BAUL attitude is a great synthesis between these two polarities. The Baul understanding uses both half-truths and makes a whole truth out of it. The Bauls say, “This moment is not all, right; but to say that this moment is nothing is wrong.” The Bauls say, “Life is a preparation, but the preparation is nothing but to be blissful in this moment.” They are not materialists and they are not spiritualists. They are religious people. Religion is a great synthesis. And if you don’t understand this, you will be a victim of either this extreme or that. Or, you can be a victim of both, half-half. That’s how schizophrenia arises.
Schizophrenia is not a disease that happens to a few people – it is the normal state of humanity. Everybody is divided, split. You can watch it in your own life. When you are not with a woman, with a man, not in love, you think, you fantasize about love. Love seems to be the goal. That seems to be the very meaning of life. When you are with a woman or with a man and in love, suddenly you start thinking in terms of spiritualism: “This is attachment, this is possessiveness, this is lust.” A condemnation arises.
You cannot be alone and you cannot be with somebody. If you are alone you hanker for the crowd, for the other. If you are with somebody you start hankering to be alone. This is something to be understood, because everybody has to face this problem. You are born in a schizophrenic world. You have been given double standards. You have been taught materialism, and you have been taught spiritualism, together. The whole society goes on teaching you contradictory things.
The Beloved Vol 2
