Osho – Kahlil Gibran also writes a similar story: A magician came into the town, chanted a few mantras, threw something into the well of the town, and said, “Whosoever will drink the water of this well will go mad.”
Now there were only two wells in the town: one was for the common people and one was inside the palace for the king and the queen and his ministers. Of course by the evening the whole town became mad; they had to drink the water. The king was very happy, the queen was very happy, that they had a special well. Otherwise they would also have gone mad.
But by the evening their happiness started disappearing. In fact they became very much frightened and scared, because a rumor went around the town that “Our king has gone mad.” The king’s guards, the policemen, the army, everybody had gone mad.
But now they were the majority. Only the king and the queen and his prime minister, these three persons were left. Now it was very dangerous; there was no protection and the whole town was convinced that these three people had gone mad. The king asked the old prime minister, “Now what to do?”
He said, “I will keep these people engaged, I will talk to them. You and your wife go out through the back door and drink from that well, and later on I will go and drink. This is the only way.”
The king and the queen went through the back door, they drank from the well. Of course then they didn’t come through the back door, they went dancing to the front door. The people had never seen them in such a state; they were rejoiced! That night there was a great celebration in the town. They thanked God, that “Our queen and our king are again sane.”
This is the situation: the whole world is insane, hence the man of God LOOKS insane. The whole world is neurotic; not to be neurotic here, just to be healthy and whole, is very dangerous. Hence you crucify Jesus, you kill Mansoor. That’s why thousands of people are against me: for the simple reason that they ARE neurotic — but they are in the majority.
They have drunk from the well, the contaminated well; now anybody who is not mad like them is a danger to their security, is a danger to their sanity, is a question mark. His presence is irritating, he has to be destroyed.