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I remember an old parable that I've known since my earliest childhood.
When a young king had just ascended the throne, he wanted to become the greatest ruler in history. He summoned the wise men, but found their answers boring. So he decided to ask the one who knew all the secrets of power. He summoned the devil.
The devil did not appear amid fire and darkness, but in the guise of a neat and well-groomed gardener. He led the king to a balcony, pointed to an endless field of flowers, and said:
“Look. Do you see these flowers? Do you see the ones that have grown a little taller, a little brighter than all the others? They stretch toward the sun more than the others; they stand out more; they’re more beautiful. Remember the main law of power: as soon as you see someone who stands out from the crowd, who becomes taller, better, brighter, and more visible, you must nip it in the bud immediately. Destroy anyone who dares to be above average. Don’t let others take them as an example. Make everyone equal, and then you will become the greatest ruler.
The king followed that advice. And ever since, for thousands of years now, many rulers and kings have lived by that law.
Herod followed that law when, frightened by rumors of the birth of the King of the Jews, he ordered the killing of all the young children in Bethlehem. He feared that someone might overshadow his greatness, and he even tried to destroy the Son of God while He was still in the cradle.
Pilate followed that law when he washed his hands and handed Jesus over to be crucified, because the crowd was shouting, “Crucify him!”—and the crowd always shouts against anyone who rises too high.
And that's how it's always been.
Socrates was forced to drink poison because he made the Athenians think and question their gods and their laws. Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake because he saw the infinity of the universe and was not afraid to speak it aloud. Galileo was forced to recant so that the greatness of those in power would not be shaken.
At first glance, what was so terrible about the Earth revolving around the Sun rather than the other way around? But that could cause people to doubt the infallibility of the clergy, destroy their authority, and thereby undermine the entire system of influence and the channels of information. For it is precisely on blind faith in the authorities that the enslavement of the masses is based.
In India there was Mahatma Gandhi. A small, thin man with a huge heart. He had no army, no weapons, but he carried the light. People followed him like a living flame in the midst of darkness. And what did the system do?
He was imprisoned dozens of times, in South Africa and India. Years behind bars, hunger strikes, isolation.
But even in prison, his light did not fade. The British Empire did not fear his strength, but his inner light: the fact that he taught nonviolence, love for one’s enemies, and that truth is stronger than weapons.
They tried to cut him down like a flower, but he still grew taller than everyone else, and India achieved freedom. And in the end, Gandhi was assassinated. Such was the gratitude for all the good he had done for his people.
A little later, Osho appeared in this world. He spoke of love, of freedom, and of how God resides within human beings. He became too conspicuous, stepping outside the bounds of the ordinary. His radiance was so intense that it aroused the hatred of those who were accustomed to living in the shadows.
He was expelled from the United States, a campaign of persecution was launched against him, lies were spread about him, and he was labeled a “sex guru.” The world’s most sensationalist newspapers published crude slander about him. And even after his death, that lie lives on: many still repeat that “Osho is all about sex and orgies.”
However, those who were truly by her side saw something completely different: light, silence, and unconditional love. The propaganda did its job: they smeared mud on the flower so that people would stop noticing its beauty. You only have to open her books to see that they say very little about sex, and much more about love.
But the media often distort the meaning, turning everything upside down, with a single goal: through lies and slander, to cast a shadow over the one who brings the light, to turn people away from him, and to keep them in ignorance. For those who do not know the truth are easier to control and turn into an obedient crowd. Today, the media often become those very shears of the diabolical gardener that cut down the most beautiful flowers, so that no one may lead people toward the light and the truth.
When the Bolsheviks came to power, they understood this law better than many others. They did not merely kill: they destroyed the entire elite—the nobility, the generals, the intelligentsia, the priests, the shamans—everyone who could guide the people, everyone who could open their eyes to the truth. They cut down the flowers across the entire countryside, leaving only a gray, manageable weed.
Bloodily, cruelly, but according to the same principle: no one should stand out, no one should rise above the others.
It has always been this way. Prophets were stoned. Mystics were declared heretics. Poets were sent into exile. Musicians were banned.
This is how the devil’s power works: it cannot tolerate heights; it needs a plain. It does not need spiritual giants; it needs an obedient, faceless flock.
I’ve known this parable since childhood. And I always understood that I would be one of those flowers they try to cut down. They will try to bring me down, to tarnish me, to break me, to destroy me, so that no one will see the light within me. But many years ago, I made a decision: I will not give up. Never. I will never stop reaching toward God, toward the Sun, toward the Light.
And I want to say to everyone reading this right now: I will be with you. With all of you who feel within yourselves the strength to reach for what is pure and true. I will help through my poems, my music, my books, and my heart. I will keep alive within you that longing for the light so that it never fades. So that no one can match you, cut you down, or turn you gray and complacent for their false, petty, and evil greatness.
Let the devil teach rulers how to cut flowers. I will teach people how to bloom—even in the desert, even in prison, even under the scissors. Because true greatness does not lie in cutting others down, but in helping them to bloom.
And if even one flower remains above the grass, it means the devil has lost. And the light has triumphed. Because all flowers were created by God. And those who are not afraid to bloom serve God.
Konstantin Rudnev
His health is deteriorating while injustice continues to prevail.
But you can make a difference.
Your support can help Konstantin regain his freedom and return to his family.
