Talking of Truth
From the introduction to a talk held on 26 October 1981 at Trinity College, Oxford, advertised as 'Wisdom and Where to Find It’.
This is not a lecture. If I were going to lecture you I would be adding to your memorable knowledge. I will give you nothing worthy to be remembered. I am not a lecturer. I am a man of truth. I will not try to persuade you. I will not try to convince you. I am not going to pose as anything.
I say I know the truth. You are all men and women of truth … The problem is that you do not know you know the truth. You may know the truth of a subject that can be remembered. But I know the truth. And you will discover that you know the same truth as I know.
You have to discover where you talk from. Do you talk from memory? Memory thinks it knows something. The secret of the truth, the only reason I can say I know the truth is: I know nothing. I do not refer to my memory. There is no need for you to refer to your memory. Unfortunately, most of us subtly connect with the memory, with what we think we know.
As seekers of the truth, do not go to a teacher to be lectured at. Question him. Challenge him, every moment. Is what he says true? Say, ‘Demonstrate it to me.’ If I say anything to you that I cannot demonstrate in your own experience and truth, you might believe me. But to know the truth you must believe in nothing.