"Jesus said that if somebody hits you on one cheek, turn the other cheek. You are asking me what I have to say about it. This will be the attitude of a man who believes in the idea of non-violence, the philosopher of non-violence. But when you are hit by somebody and you give him the other cheek, you are encouraging violence in the world. It is not non-violence. And you are assuming something which is absolutely your imagination. If somebody hits me, according to Jesus I have to give him my other cheek. But his tastes may be different. He may have enjoyed the first hit, he may enjoy the second even more; he may be a sadist. Then you are encouraging a sadist to torture people; you are encouraging violence. Even to allow your own body to be tortured by somebody is to encourage violence.

"No, this stupid ideology has been the downfall of the whole of India. After Buddha and Mahavira, India never again became the same golden bird it was. After Buddha and Mahavira begins the downfall. Buddha and Mahavira are absolutely responsible for twenty-five centuries of slavery in India, because they taught people to be non-violent. They completely forgot that the other people surrounding the country are not non-violent. You are encouraging those people, inviting them: ‘Come and be violent to us. ’ That′s actually what has happened in Indian history for twenty-five centuries. Anybody who wanted riches, women, slaves, invaded India. There was no trouble, India was non-violent. Most probably they would pass through kingdoms and there would be no fight at all, no resistance even.

"If you look at your non-violence and it has provoked violence, then what kind of non-violence is this? It has brought more violence in the world than there was before. Before Buddha and Mahavira, India was never invaded. There had never been any violence because people knew that to invade India was to just invite your death. But after Buddha and Mahavira′s teachings people became just like butter – you just cut into them with your knife, and there would be no noise at all. And millions of people were killed, burned without any resistance, because resistance would be violence.

"But you go on missing seeing the point that you are provoking the violence in the other person. Who is responsible for it? Now turning the other cheek means you are telling the other person, ‘Please hit me a little more, it is not enough; I am not satisfied. Hit me a little more so that I can become a little more saintly.’ And you have only two cheeks. What are you going to do when he has hit you on your second cheek? What Jesus is saying looks a beautiful statement but it is not at all practical, pragmatic, scientific.

"Reverence for life approaches the whole problem from a different angle. I will say respect life, yours included. In fact, you are first to be respectful towards yourself, then only can you be respectful towards anybody else. Be loving towards yourself, then you will be able to love others too.

"Reverence for life will not allow any provocation to violence. It will not start violence, but if anybody starts it, it will stop it immediately." Osho