"It has not invented anything, it has not given any scientific insight to the world. Its foundations are not logical but superstitious.

"The most amazing thing is that a few mystics like Gautam Buddha, Mahavira, Patanjali, Gora, and Kabir…these great peaks of consciousness have been born here, unfortunately. I say unfortunately because the Indian intelligence has not imbibed their spirit, it has only worshipped them, and worshipping is a way of escaping from something. By worshipping you are saying, 'It is beyond us. You are special people, we are the ordinary, common humanity. At the most we can worship you.' But nobody has accepted the challenge or the possibility of having the same experiences and the same exploration of their own subjectivity as any Gautam Buddha, as any Kabir, as any Farid.

"But they have given a false notion to the country, which has proved immensely dangerous. Because of these few people, these few flowers, the whole country has been turned into one of the most hypocritical societies.

"Everybody talks about spirituality, it seems the whole country is spiritual; and I have been around the world – I have not found a more materialist country than this. It talks about God, about soul, but that is only a facade. Deep down it thinks only of money, power, prestige. But it has a very ancient mask, so glued to its original face that it has almost become its second nature.

"I have traveled all over the country for decades and I was surprised that everybody is repeating, like parrots, things which don't mean anything to them. The person does not even know the meaning of what he is saying; but he is repeating the scriptures, the Vedas, the Upanishads very accurately. That can be done by any machine – it needs no intelligence.

"Because of this hypocrisy your husband has not heard me, and I don't think he has read me. I don't think he knows anything about me. Still he is very much annoyed with me.

"The people who are annoyed with me are the people who don't know me. Such insincerity has entered into the very being of people that they don't give a simple consideration to the fact that, before you are annoyed with someone, you can at least give him an opportunity to explain himself to you."