Thursday, January 31, 2008

Osho recipe for basic understanding
Sadhana

This is a very busy time in Pune, Osho Meditation Resort. The place is overflowing with new visitors, returnees, re-returnees. A great buzz. It's a miniature universe, I tell you. Whenever you have time, come and feel the expansion of consciousness. Just being with so many diverse minds itself opens something inside.
But I sneaked out to post some short and crisp one liners by Osho. Like spicy
French Fries.

Osho says :
A woman is to be loved, not understood. This is the first understanding.

A psychiatrist is a fellow who asks you a lot of expensive questions that your wife asks you for nothing.

The key to happiness: You may speak of love and tenderness and passion, but real ecstasy is discovering you haven't lost your keys after all.

Women begin by resisting a man's advances and end by blocking his retreat.

If you want to change a woman's mind, agree with her.

If you want to know what a woman really means, look at her -- don't listen to her.

***
A lady walked up to the policeman and said, "Officer, that man on the corner is annoying me."
"I have been watching the whole time," said the cop, "and that man wasn't even looking at you."
"Well," said the woman, "isn't that annoying?"

The Great Pilgrimage: From Here to Here/courtesy Osho Interantional Foundation/www.osho.com

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Why do we jump into relationships?

Sadhana

I met one lovely and unique Romanian woman at Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune. Why unique? Because she has dared to meditate in Romania and be an individual.
"What is the most difficult thing for a woman in your country?" I asked her over a cup of coffee.
" To live alone." she said instantly," There is an old saying: 'Living with a bad person is bad, but it is worse living without the bad person'. It means we prefer to live a miserable life with someone, than live alone."
But this is not only in Romania, it is a common fear. People don't know how to live alone, which means how to live with themselves. Because they can't differentiate between loneliness and aloneness.
Osho wants us to understand that loneliness is not aloneness. He says,
" Loneliness is the absence of the other -- you would like the other to be there, but the other is not, and you miss them. YOU are not there in loneliness, the absence of the other is there. Aloneness is your presence; it is a positive phenomenon. You don't miss the other, you meet yourself. Then you are alone, alone like a peak, tremendously beautiful! Sometimes you even feel a terror -- but it has a beauty. But the presence is the basic thing: you are present to yourself. You are not lonely, you are with yourself.
If you are alone, you grow, because there is space to grow -- nobody else to hamper, nobody else to obstruct, nobody else to create more complex problems. Alone you are happy being with yourself, and a bliss arises. There is no comparison: because the other is not there you are neither beautiful nor ugly, neither rich nor poor, neither this nor that, neither white nor black, neither man nor woman."
And The Flowers Showered/copyright Osho International Foundation/www.osho.com

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Greed Is Inner Emptiness

Amrit Sadhana

Socgen, France's second-largest listed bank, said on Thursday a junior employee on its derivatives trading desk had confessed to carrying out a sophisticated fraud, triggering $7.16 billion in losses. It did not know where the trader was.
Astonishment over the scandal dominated the Davos gathering in the mountains of Switzerland. Osho says that the most common instinct greed is a symptom of inner emptiness. Why the mind stoops down to such a level that it amasses wealth by foul means?
The Osho insight is, ”Greed is the nature of mind. Mind is greedy because it wants to accumulate more and more. It may be money, it may be power, it may be knowledge, it may be good deeds, virtue, but whatsoever it is, mind is greed. It wants to accumulate more and more, it is afraid of being empty.
Inner emptiness seems to be like falling into the abyss, bottomless abyss. So people go filling themselves with anything; that is greed. Greed has nothing to do with money as such, anything that you go on filling yourself with is greed. "
The White Lotus #7

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Come and join the dance!

This is a beautiful picture of participants dancing and celebrating at the Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune.
Osho invites everybody to celebrate and dance because it makes one a part of existence.Every particle is dancing, why not you?

"This very understanding that "I am an essential part of this vast beautiful universe" will make you dance, will make you celebrate.
There is no need for any reason for dancing, for singing, for celebration. Just to be is enough. Out of this being will flow all your joy, all your laughter, all your gratitude, all your prayers.
I teach you this simple religiousness which has no doctrine, which has no reward for virtue and which has no punishment for sin."
Om Mani Padme Hum

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Woman can help the evolution of man

Something remarkable has happened in Saudi Arabia--women traveling alone are now allowed to stay in hotels. This is being seen as a major step towards women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. Reports eTN
I was very happy to ready about this landmark decision by the Saudi government. Because I strogly feel about women's freedom and their right to evolve as individuals.
And I love Osho because he created space where women can blossom to their utmost potential.
Just see what Osho says: "I will continue to give woman every possible opportunity which she has been denied in the past. And there will be more women who will come to the surface. And they will prove my point that you are absolutely equal to men, there is no question of inferiority. Perhaps something may be superior in you, because you are the mother of man. The man has your blood, your bones, your marrow; all that the man has is a contribution from the woman. It was out of fear that woman might prove superior that man started putting her down.
It is now up to you not to be bothered about the past -- that which is gone is gone -- but to be ready for the future, and prove to man and to the whole of humanity that man need not be afraid of you; he can trust you. And you can be of immense help in the evolution of man."
Excerpted from The Razors' Edge

Woman can help the evolution of man

Amrit Sadhana

Something remarkable has happened in Saudi Arabia--women traveling alone are now allowed to stay in hotels. This is being seen as a major step towards women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. reports eTN.
This is a landmark decision by the Saudi government. I was ecstatic to read about it because I feel strongly about women's freedom-- not the so called liberation, mind you--real flowering of her as an individual.

I love Osho because he has given equal opportunity to women so that they can blossom to their utmost potential. Osho has great regard for feminine qualities: love, trust, care, intuition, compassion, poetry, aesthetics and so on.
Look what he says in this piece:

" I will continue to give woman every possible opportunity which she has been denied in the past. And there will be more women who will come to the surface. And they will prove my point that you are absolutely equal to men, there is no question of inferiority. Perhaps something may be superior in you, because you are the mother of man. The man has your blood, your bones, your marrow; all that the man has is a contribution from the woman. It was out of fear that woman might prove superior that man started putting her down.
It is now up to you not to be bothered about the past -- that which is gone is gone -- but to be ready for the future, and prove to man and to the whole of humanity that man need not be afraid of you; he can trust you. And you can be of immense help in the evolution of man."
Excerpted from The Razor's Edge

Monday, January 21, 2008

Wait for twenty four hours

Amrit Sadhana

Anger is a great problem with everyone. No matter how much we try to suppress/express , it is lurking in the unconscious only to explode at the most inappropriate moment. We repent after the anger subsides but it is too late.
Osho is so creative, he has devised many tricks and techniques to trasform such primal energies.
Here Osho suggests a remedy given to Gurdjieff, the great mystic of the 21st century, by his father. Gurdjieff was only nine years of age when his father died. He called his son to his deathbed and said, "Remember only one thing -- if you feel angry, wait for twenty-four hours. Then do whatsoever you want to do -- but wait twenty-four hours. If somebody insults you, you tell him, "I will come after twenty-four hours and do whatsoever is needed. Please give me a little time to think over it."
Of course the nine-year-old Gurdjieff could not understand what it is, but he followed it. By and by he became aware of the tremendous impact of it. He was completely transformed. Because two things he had to remember -- one, he had to be aware not to move into anger when somebody was insulting, not to allow himself to be manipulated by the other -- he had to wait for twenty-four hours. So when somebody was insulting or saying something against him, he would simply remain alert not to be affected. For twenty-four hours, he had promised his dying father, he would remain cool and calm. And by and by he became capable.
"And then he understood it -- that after twenty-four hours it is never needed. You cannot be angry after twenty-four hours. After twenty-four minutes you cannot be angry, after twenty-four seconds you cannot be angry. Either it is instant or it is not. Because anger functions only if you are unconscious; if you are this much conscious -- that you can wait for twenty-four seconds -- finished. Then you cannot be angry. "
Excerpted from The Discipline of Transcendence,Vol 1/copyright Osho International Foundation/www.osho/com/library

Wait for twenty four hours

Amrit Sadhana

Anger is a great problem with everyone. No matter how much we try to suppress/express , it is lurking in the unconscious only to explode at the most inappropriate moment. We repent after the anger subsides but it is too late.
Osho is so creative, he has devised many tricks and techniques to trasform primal energies such as anger.
Here Osho suggests a remedy given to Gurdjieff, the great mystic of the 21st century, by his father. Gurdjieff was only nine years of age when his father died. He called his son to his deathbed and said, "Remember only one thing -- if you feel angry, wait for twenty-four hours. Then do whatsoever you want to do -- but wait twenty-four hours. If somebody insults you, you tell him, "I will come after twenty-four hours and do whatsoever is needed. Please give me a little time to think over it."
Of course the nine-year-old Gurdjieff could not understand what it is, but he followed it. By and by he became aware of the tremendous impact of it. He was completely transformed. Because two things he had to remember -- one, he had to be aware not to move into anger when somebody was insulting, not to allow himself to be manipulated by the other -- he had to wait for twenty-four hours. So when somebody was insulting or saying something against him, he would simply remain alert not to be affected. For twenty-four hours, he had promised his dying father, he would remain cool and calm. And by and by he became capable.
"And then he understood it -- that after twenty-four hours it is never needed. You cannot be angry after twenty-four hours. After twenty-four minutes you cannot be angry, after twenty-four seconds you cannot be angry. Either it is instant or it is not. Because anger functions only if you are unconscious; if you are this much conscious -- that you can wait for twenty-four seconds -- finished. Then you cannot be angry. "

Excerpted from The Discipline of Transcendence,Vol 1/copyright Osho International Foundation/www.osho.com/library



Sunday, January 20, 2008

Feeling Anxious? Call Your name!

Amrit Sadhana

When you are bogged down by anxiety what do you do? Try to repress it, or drown it in the drinks, smoke them away or worse, get some anxiety related disorders? The more you try alternatives, the more you get caught into anxiety. Anxiety cannot be removed by the mind because the mind itself creates it.

Zen monks have unusual ways of solving problems. The following Zen story could give an insight.

Bokuju, a Zen master lived alone in a cave.He would sometimes say loudly, “Bokuju” — his own name, and then he would answer, “Yes, I am here.”
His disciples used to ask him, “Why are you calling ‘Bokuju’, your own name, and then saying, ‘Yes sir, I am here’?”
He said, “Whenever I get into thinking, I have to remember to be alert, and so I call my own name, ‘Bokuju.’ The moment I call ‘Bokuju’ and I say, ‘Yes sir, I am here,’ the thinking disappears.”
Relating this story Osho says, "This can be a wonderful cure to anxiety. Just as Bokuju tried to wake himself by calling his name, you can try your own name. When you feel deep anxiety, just call your name and then reply, “Yes sir, I am here,” and feel the difference. The moment you call yourself, there is a jerk. The continuous flow of thinking is interrupted. Anxiety will not be there. At least for a single moment you will have a glimpse beyond the clouds. Once you know that if you become alert, anxiety disappears, you have come to a deep understanding of your own self and the mechanism of inner working."
For amazing Osho books on Zen see www.osho.com/library











www.osho.com/library

Friday, January 18, 2008

OSHO Never Born Never Died

OSHO
NEVER BORN NEVER DIED
ONLY VISITED THIS PLANET EARTH
BETWEEN
11 DECEMBER 1931 AND 19 JANUARY 1990

This is Osho's message for all those who are bent upon celebrating his "death anniversary" on January 19th. Death of the "never born?" Give me a break!
Osho is a mystic who always gives paradoxical statements just to shake us out of our rational minds.
Now The Osho Vision has spread like a wild fire around the planet. His books, translated in 55 languages, is a feat only next to Harry Potter books. www.osho.com/library
Here is a visionary who has dissolved into his vision. Only consciousness can create this miracle, isn't it?
I am reminded of a beautiful Hindi poem
A flower is tied to its branch
but the fragrance is roaming all around the world

Paintings In Words

When Osho speaks on Zen the whole ambience of Zen comes alive. The laughing bamboos, the wandering moon in the sky and the chirping birds are included in his talk and celebrate the way of Zen with him. I especially love the way Osho explains the Haikus. he calles them "paintings in words."
I feel like sharing this haiku with you along with Osho's commentary on it.

Basho wrote a small haiku:

YELLOW ROSE PETALS
THUNDER --A WATERFALL.

"Remember always, a haiku is a painting in words. Silently Basho must have been meditating and when he opens his eyes saw "yellow rose petals, thunder -- a waterfall."Just the minimum words are used.
"Haikus are telegrams -- not a single unnecessary word. You cannot add into this small haiku another word, nor can you take out a single word. It is exactly in a silent mind that opening the eyes and looking outside: rose petals and a great thunder and a waterfall.
"Try to understand haikus as paintings in words from great masters of meditation. That is the only way to understand them. Otherwise they are just empty words, unrelated, without any grammar and no care about the language.
"They don't say anything. They simply show something: if you are meditating, and out of meditation you open your eyes, whatever you see becomes so beautiful, so poetic, so musical that Zen masters keep a copybook with them. They simply note down a few words.Those words actually represent what they have seen. They don't elaborate, they don't make a great poem out of them. These are simply notes of meditators about the beauty of existence of which the non-meditators are absolutely unaware."

Excerpted from :Hyakujo: The Everest of Zen, with Basho's Haikus www.osho.com/library

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Who Killed Benazir Bhutto?

No, I am not in the Scotland Yard and neither do I belong to any secret intelligence agency. This question emerged out of the deep pain I felt about her merciless murder. Maybe it is a simple feminine empathy with the gorgeous, fearless fighter of a woman. Nothing to do with politics. I spent sleepless night for someone I had never met. The sheer brutality of this incident shook me deeply.
Her answer to journalists published in Pakistan msnbc.com speaks volumes about her indomitable spirit. "I am not scared. I am thinking of my mission," she had told reporters on the plane from Dubai. This is a movement for democracy because we are under threat from extremists and militants."
When I raise the question " Who Killed Benazir," I mean we are all responsible for it. The whole phenomenon of terrorism is increasing because our unconscious wikipedia is full of violence. We cannot deny our contribution to it.
The phenomenon is much deeper than it appears. Osho www.osho.com has delved deeply into the human psyche dictionary.com and has come up with some extraordinary but simple solutions. He says, '' Terrorism is related to what is happening in society. The society is falling apart. Its old order, discipline, morality, religion, everything has been found to be wrongly based. It has lost its power over people's conscience."
"'Man is basically a hunter, he enjoys killing. Therefore he needs war every few decades for a release of collective violence. Now a world war is not possible because of the nuclear weapons, as it will be a total annihilation of the planet. So the individual release of violence is a must. ''
The picture looks gloomy but the solution is bright. He says, teach people to rejoice in small things of life. Every human is carrying so much violence, hatred, anger within, they have to be taught to clean their unconscious mind with therapy Osho Meditative Therapy www.osho.com/Multiversity and meditation. Let them find an inner harmony and silence.We have to understand that terrorism is not in weapons, it is in the unconscious basement of the human mind.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Scared of making a decision?

Amrit Sadhana

It is said that good managers are those that make quick decisions. Which means they are willing to take responsibility for their decisions. The question is, what is it that prevents the rest of us from making decisions? What's the fear? The fear of taking responsibility, or the fear of failure or making mistakes? Osho aptly calls this fear 'decidophobia.'

Decision making becomes a phobia for many people due to the faulty thinking that goes behind it. One - they think that by not making a decision they do not make a mistake. Now, they have already made a mistake by making this decision. Two - that there is only one right answer. This is not the case, but thinking this way makes the prospect of decision-making overwhelming. What will help is facing the simple fact that you can't foresee the future, and can only make a decision with the data you have at the time you make it. So just go for it!

Making a decision is an intuitive process, you cannot learn it in the school. Either you have it or you don't have. Osho supports it totally because decision making makes people independent." The more decisive you become, the more integrated you become. Of course, it is very dangerous, but life is dangerous. There are possibilities of going astray or you may err, but one learns by erring. Life is trial and error.
" Going astray, you will learn something, you will become richer. You can come back and you will be happy that you went astray, because there are many things which can be learnt only by going astray. There are things which can be learnt only if you are courageous enough to make mistakes. Remember only one thing: don't make the same mistake again.
"My suggestion is that whenever you have to choose, always choose the unknown, because the known you have already lived. Never miss the unknown. Always choose the unknown and go headlong. Even if you suffer, it is worth it -- it always pays. "
www.osho.com/library

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

The New Year's Resolution

Amrit Sadhana

Many people must have made new year's resolutions hoping that they would not repeat their mistakes of the last year. If you rewind the time track you will find that most of the new resolutions made the last year were either forgotten ordid not work as the situations changed, and new problems demanded new solutions.
Osho has warned us against making new resolutions. His insight is an extremely novel and refreshing way of looking at this traditional system. He says that all resolutions are restrictions for the future. All resolutions are imprisonments. "If you decide today about tomorrow, You have destroyed tomorrow. Allow the tomorrow to have its own being. Let it come in its own way. Let it bring its own gifts.
Resolution means you will allow only this and you will not allow that. Resolution means you would like the sun to rise in the west and not in the east. If it rises in the east, you will not open your windows; you will keep your windows open to the west.
What is resolution? Resolution is struggle. Resolution is ego. Resolution is saying, "I cannot live spontaneously." And if you cannot live spontaneously, you don't live at all -- you only pretend. So let only one resolution be there: I will never make any resolutions. Drop all resolutions! Let life be a natural spontaneity. The only golden rule is that there are no golden rules."

The next question would be, how to face the new challenges of life? Just by being more and more creative. Creativity is a wonderful gift which makes you look at situations with fresh eyes. If you are creative you would not bring old solutions to new problems. Life is a constant flow but the uncreative mind is stuck in the past and obstructs the flow. AllThere are so many people with so many problems, but all the problems can be reduced to one single problem -- that people they have chosen a lifestyle that is not creative. And to choose a lifestyle which is not creative is to remain miserable.
Life goes on resolving its problems on its own. One need not resolve them. The most one can do is, not to come in the way. Let life work at its own pace and use its wisdom. Life is more experienced and wiser than human mind. When you resolve something, you somehow manage, you patch things up. Sooner or later the problem will arise again, maybe in a new form, from a new direction,! because it is not really resolved; you have simply covered it up. You are befooling nobody except yourself.
Pour your energies into creativity and problems disappear like dewdrops in the morning sun. And life goes on resolving all that needs to be resolved; you need not come into it. Then life is really a benediction, a pure benediction. One goes from one peak to another peak; one is always moving to a higher and higher plane. And the moment you move from one plane to another higher plane, all the problems that belong to the first plane simply disappear, they will become irrelevant. If you remain stuck on the same plane you cannot solve them. Try it -- and you will be surprised that there was no need to tackle any problem directly. The way is indirect.

www.osho.com