"Roland Seeman, sannyas is not a program at all. It is a process of de-programming. But because you are programmed already, you will have to accept the process of de-programming.

"You say you don't want to get identified with a name – then who is this Roland Seeman? You say you don't want to become a label, but you are one. The question is not of becoming a label, a name – you already are one. It is as if a hypnotized person says, 'I don't want to be hypnotized.' Neo-sannyas is a process of de-hypnosis: the person who is already hypnotized needs to be de-hypnotized – if he says this again is a kind of hypnosis, then he is going to remain hypnotized forever.

"The society hypnotizes you, the church hypnotizes you, the parents hypnotize you. You have passed through that process already; now you will have to go backwards. Neo-sannyas is a process of dropping all that has been forced on you; neo-sannyas is an anti-process.

"Mulla Nasruddin has a signboard in front of his office saying that no salesmen are allowed in. If anybody tries to enter he will be prosecuted.

"A friend asked him, 'Why are you so much against salesmen?'

"He said, 'They bore me to death.'

"The friend said, 'That's true, that's my experience too. From where did you get this signboard?'

"And Mulla laughed and said, 'That is the only practical thing I have ever purchased from a salesman.'

"Sannyas is not a new program. The orange and the mala and the new name are just a gesture from your side that you are ready to drop all the programs, a gesture from your side that you are open to me. It is just a gesture; that's why it is so simple. Anybody can take sannyas, with no conditions attached to it, no strings attached to it.

"Have you ever heard of any spiritual tradition in the world giving sannyas so easily? Great preparation is needed. If you want to become a Hindu sannyasin you will have to go through a long process of preparation. If you want to become a Christian monk, the same. This is happening for the first time in the whole history of humanity: I am giving you sannyas without asking whether you are worthy of it, ready for it."