"It is strangestill millions of people are following certain routines, certain prayers, certain scriptures; they constitute their 'way.' And all ways have failed – because if all these ways had succeeded, the world would have been totally different. It would not have been a world of constant wars, violence, crimes, murder, suicide, madness, of all kinds of perversions. And man would not have been so miserable as he is. He is nothing but a deep wound which knows no way to heal.

"Everybody is hiding his wound. You smile just to hide your tears, and you show each other that everything is perfectly alright; and everybody knows nothing is right at all.

"I had a friend, and whenever I met him, I used to ask him, 'How are things going?' and his reply was almost mechanical, always the same: 'Everything is alright.' I inquired of other friends about this man, and they said, 'That does not mean anything; he says that to everybody. Ask anything: 'How is your wife?' – 'Everything is alright.' 'How are your children?' – 'Everything is alright.''

"One day I met him on the way to the university, and I wanted to ask him once again, because three months before, his father had died. I knew it, so I inquired of him, 'How is your father?' And he said, 'He has been alright for three months, absolutely alright.' I could not believe my ears. The father was dead – certainly he had been alright for three months; he had not created any problem, any difficulty. But he said it in just the same, routine way.

"Everybody is showing a face which is not his. Nobody wants to expose himself and his suffering. For thousands of years, people have been practicing great religions, following great religious leaders, and this is the outcome. If a tree is known by its fruits, then all your religions should be judged by your state of misery and suffering. You are the fruits of your whole past.

"Zarathustra is absolutely right: there is no way. What does he mean exactly, when he says there is no way?

"He is saying many things. One thing: you have to walk, and create the way by your walking; you will not find a ready-made path."