Unity is nothing but a pretense. Whether it is a nation, a community, or a religion, true unity can never come. Leave aside nations, religions, and communities—there is not even unity within one’s own family. Why is there no unity? Because the “mind” of each person is different. And mind means self-interest, which is also different. Many thoughts, ideas, or interests may coincide, but the entirety of two different minds can never be the same.
Every individual has their own personality. Those who pass through the same society, the same environment, or the same circumstances may have minds that align to some extent, their thoughts and ideas may match, but never the whole mind. You must have seen and experienced this yourself—no matter how close friends, or husband and wife, or brothers, or neighbors may be, there is always some quarrel or conflict. The reason is always the same: in some matter, the two minds do not meet.
We have grown up in a society and environment based on personal competition and greed. This is our existence and our world. From the moment you are born, thoughts and ideas are imposed upon you. You are trained like a soldier, or like a robot, a machine. You are taught that you must succeed, you must move ahead, you must earn name, fame, wealth, and riches. You must be respectable in society, build a good image, reach a high position—these are the things your parents, like mine and most others, want for you. Your energy and your entire existence are pushed toward becoming something and reaching somewhere.
There is competition in school, competition among brothers, competition for food, for work, for marriage, and in every sphere of life. A person who competes and carries goals inevitably becomes corrupt. In pursuit of their goal and in competition, they become corrupt. Among us, raised in this way—you, me, and others—unity and friendship can never truly arise. There may be some exceptions. But overall, in the majority, we lack the quality that brings unity. We have never taken a single step outside our self-interest. Every step is driven only by self-interest; even when it does not seem so, it is still self-interest. If you say, “I am not selfish, I have done this or that act without self-interest,” then I would consider you equal to Gautama Buddha.
To do one thing out of self-interest and another out of selflessness—this is impossible in this world. Either a person is selfish, or they are not. There is nothing in between. Either you are completely free from self-interest, or you are entirely selfish. There is no such thing as partly selfish and partly selfless. No matter how much someone gives in charity, donations, or virtuous acts, there is no one here who is selfless. In this country and society, unity can never come. When common interests and goals align, people may unite, but soon they will fragment into different pieces. That unity will only be a momentary pretense. How many conflicts exist within a single religion, within a single country, within a single village, and even within a single family. If an external enemy comes—of another religion, another country, another community, another outsider—then even those who fight among themselves will unite, but such unity is only a pretense.
To truly be one, the influence of your mind must be reduced or nullified. The mind will not stop until your death, but the influence and value of the thoughts and ideas arising from it can be reduced or nullified. But remember—this is not something that happens because you say, “I will reduce the influence.” If you think or try to do so, it will only increase. Because you are the mind itself; the thinker and the mind are not separate. You are the mind. This happens naturally—if it happens, it happens; if not, it does not. It is not something you can bring about by will. Nor am I telling you to bring it about.
Two things should be clear—unity is a pretense, and why it is so. Because minds can never be one, love does not belong to the mind. There is a difference between liking with the mind and loving. Love is of the heart. The heart sees everyone equally because, unlike the mind, it has no eyes. The heart is blind, and so is love. Only love can unite the whole world. But this is natural; it is not something our thinking can bring about—thinking belongs to the mind. When distinctions of form, color, style, caste, nation, and religion no longer remain—which is possible only for the heart—then alone will there be unity. Until then, it is only the pretense of the mind.