Sound: a passage to feeling

Amrit Sadhana

In this environment full of noise polution and artificially produced eletronic sounds we have forgotten the value of natural sounds which can be used as a direct passage to deep feelings and to the silent spaces of the heart. Natural sounds have a calming effect on the mind, the nervous system and the body. Any sound uttered with feeling can lead one to the silent harmony of the heart.

Recently I came across a wonderful sutra, a meditation technique from The Book of Secrets, the ancient treatise of Tantra.

The technique goes like this: Intone a sound audibly and then less and less audibly as feeling deepens into this silent harmony.

It may sound like a scientific formula, difficult to solve. It indeed is a formula. And it needs an enlightened one like Osho to unravel the mystery of this ambiguous sutra. You will come to know the secret if you practise it.

There are some sounds we have a feeling for. For instance the names of our loved ones, or a certain art-form, maybe our birthplace or our mother tounge. When we utter these names which are essentially sounds a deep feeling of love, pride, gratitude or joy wells up. These feelings stem from the heart. Normally we are not aware of them while uttering the sound hence we don't separate the sound from the feeling. But Tantra shows us the way of intoning the sound, and by repeating it continuously we can intensify the feeling hidden in the sound.

Osho gives the clue: " Intone one sound. Go on intoning it, first audibly so that you can hear it, and then by and by, inaudibly. No one else can hear it then, but you can hear it inside. Make it more quiet, make it less and less audible, and then suddenly drop it. There will be silence, an explosion of silence -- but feeling will be there. Now there will be no thought, but simply feeling will be there."

In this way the name you love becomes a mantra. Even your own name can become your mantra. This sound can be used as a passage toward feeling. The mind cannot reach the heart directly, it needs a passage. Repeating a sound creates vibrations and these sound vibrations reach the core of the heart.

Go on dropping the audible sound, make it more subtle and you will feel the change. The more sound will drop, the more you will be filled with feeling. It is like peelingoff the skin of a fruit. When sound disappears, only feeling remains. This feeling cannot be named. It is a deep love, but not towards anyone . It is unaddressed. It is the inner sky-- a cloudless, blue presence.

Corruption: a play of greed and power

 
Amrit Sadhana

The report released by Transparency International ranks India as one of the most corrupt nations. No Indian is surprised. Because it doesn't need an international agency to show us the mirror of our own reality. We are living with this pain.

It is said that one of the biggest causes of corruption is greed and power. It normally thrives in societies where ethical and moral standards are weak and where punishment is lenient, because even the punishing authorities play an important role in perpetuating corruption. We can't get rid of this monster because we don't have a clear vision. We are only treating the symptoms without going to its causes. Poverty may be one of the causes but not the only cause. What compels the rich people to amass money by foul means?

You can go down the history and come across stories of corruption at the highest level of power. Basically corruption is an ingredient of the unevolved human mind.

Can corruption be eradicated? Yes, if the mind is more evolved, more mature than it is right now.

Look deeply into this phenomenon: in every dishonest deal there are two parties involved –– the giver and the receiver.Who is more punishable?

If we ask the enlightened masters, they have a different take on it. Osho cites a story of the Chinese master Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism

Lao Tzu was made the chief justice of the Supreme Court of China. He pleaded with the emperor that he is not the right man. But the emperor knew that LaoTzu was the wisest man alive, so he wanted to benefit from his consciousness.

Lao Tzu said, " My judgement will come from my wisdom. And your judgements cannot be adjusted to my judgements." But the emperor was stubborn.

The first case came: a thief was caught red-handed in the richest man's house. Lao Tzu listened to both the sides, pondered for a moment and gave his verdict, "Both of you, you and the man whose house you have been stealing from, are criminals. The rich man has collected so much money, that almost fifty percent of the wealth of the city is in his possession. This situation creates the possibility of stealing. This thief is a victim; in fact you are the criminal. But I will be very equal: six months of jail for both."

The emperor said, "This is a very strange judgement."

Lao Tzu said, "It is not. If people were living in harmony with nature, if people were compassionate to each other, if they felt a certain brotherhood with each other, how could there be rich people and poor people? There should only be people."

New Year's Resolution

Someone asked Osho: " if one were to make only one new year's resolution, what would you suggest?"


Osho said: " This and only this can be the new year's resolution: I resolve never to make any resolutions because all resolutions are restrictions for the future. All resolutions are imprisonments. You decide today for 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."



Walk Without Feet, Fly Without Wings and Think Without Mind

Political Ecology

"The Copenhagen climate conference set to wrap up Friday was supposed to produce a landmark accord on climate change. It won't. Hopes for a binding treaty died weeks before the meeting. And with some observers terming the proceedings "Constipagen," it's all too easy to wonder whether the conferees will even be able to conclude a less ambitious political agreement. Negotiators have gone in procedural circles for nearly two weeks, and, on some issues, consensus looks even more distant than before. With heads of state arriving as you read this editorial, what can the conference produce in its final stage?" says  today's  editorial of  The Washington Post.

It is so true. Will the world politicians allow the earth to breathe naturally? The root cause of the threat to this planet is more political than ecological, as rightly said by Osho. Will the politicians listen?

Osho says: "The ecology is so interdependent.... It became clear that if anything goes wrong in the Soviet Union, in their nuclear plants, then the clouds of nuclear radiation will spread wherever the winds take them, and winds don't think about about national boundaries. Now the problems are international, and your solutions are national. Unless humanity is one there is no hope.

"But the politicians will not allow humanity to be one because it is their whole power trip. If there is only one world government, it will not satisfy so many people's egos to be presidents, to be prime ministers, to be ministers, to be governors. To fulfill these people's egos, we have to suffer. Everybody has to suffer."

Om Mani Padme Hum # 23

Can Human Beings Be Equal?

Thursday, December 10 is International Human Rights Day. This year's focus is on non-discrimination. In the words of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights : "Discrimination lies at the root of many of the world's most pressing human rights problems. No country is immune from this scourge. Eliminating discrimination is a duty of the highest order."

The promise of equality without discrimination has been part of every major human rights treaty in the last 60 years starting with the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."

Unfortunately, the eradication of unlawful discrimination has been more difficult and is taking longer than many people imagined.

Why? Because the concept of equality is a myth. Osho points out : " They say that every human being is equal. And of course it satisfies the ego of every human being -- nobody objects. It is one of the most dangerous lies to tell human beings.

"I say to you, equality is a myth.

" There are not even two human beings who are equal -- in any way, in any dimension. I don't mean that they are unequal, I mean that they are unique, incomparable, so the question of equality or inequality does not arise. Are you equal to these pillars in the hall? The pillars may be beautiful, but you are not equal to them. But does that mean you are inferior to the pillars? It simply means you are not a pillar -- pillars are pillars, you are you.

" Every human being is a category unto himself.

And unless we recognize the uniqueness of each individual, there are not going to be any human rights, and there is not going to be a civilized world -- human, loving, rejoicing."



Sermons In Stones/Courtesy Osho International Foundation

Man is an experiment

Sadhana

Osho views man from the space of no-mind, and therefore you can see the clarity and originality of his statements. Last evening while listening to his talk I was struck by this Osho insight. I want to share it with you. Osho was speaking on Neitzsche's book Thus Spake Zarathustra. You may want to read this talk in Zarathustra: A God that can dance.

Osho says, " Man is an experiment -- an experiment of existence to reach to the heights of consciousness and to reach to the depths of the very sources of life. Man should be understood only in this way. You are not born complete. All other animals are born complete; a dog is born a dog and will die a dog. Man can be born a man and can die as a Gautam Buddha. Between birth and death no other animal evolves, except man.
"Once this is recognized in your heart -- that you are an experiment of existence -- you bestow upon yourself the greatest dignity possible. Then you cannot go on living in a mechanical, robot-like fashion. You have to move -- move towards the stars. You have to progress, and your progress knows no limits."

Courtesy Osho International Foundation/www.osho.com

Sutras to meditate upon

Here are some spicy one liners from Osho that can add salt and pepper to your day ( or night.) Don't just read them, chew and meditate upon them. And then, of course, practice!
Osho said in one of his talks : "But for your contemplation I can give you a few sutras....
... An atomic war will not determine who is right, but who is left.
... A pessimist is someone who is afraid that the optimist is right.
... Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get.
... Say it with flowers, say it with sweets. Say it with kisses, say it with eats. Say it with jewelry, say it with drink. But always be careful not to say it with ink.
... Philosophy is the discovery that you might be worse off than you are.
... If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs... maybe you have not heard the gossip!
... Keep quiet and people will think you to be a great philosopher.
... A reformed politician is one who did not get enough votes.
... A neurotic is a person who worries about things that did not happen in the past, instead of worrying about something that won't happen in the future, like normal people.
... The difference between capitalism and communism: in capitalism, man exploits man; in communism it is vice-versa.
... Women are the kind of problem most men like to wrestle with.
... To have the last word with a woman -- apologize."

Great Pilgrimage from here to here

1-Amrito with Jeffrey Archer in Osho's personal library

2- Jeffrey Archer watches the statue of Buddha. Sadhana and Amrito look on.

Jeffrey Archer visits Osho International Meditation Resort

The news breezed in that Jeffrey Archer, the celebrated writer, is going to visit the Osho International Meditation Resort on May 23rd at 9.30 am. By the wave of excitement generated by this news was enough to prove the author's popularity. And he did come at the appointed time.
Osho's personal physician, Dr. Amrito M D, and I showed Lord Archer around the beautiful premises of the meditation resort. The fact that Lord Archer broke into his busy schedule to see the world- famous campus while he was in Pune itself is enough to suggest a glimmer of interest. His publisher, Landmark Publishing House, who also publish Osho's books arranged his visit en route to Bangalore.
Lord Archer was particularly interested in who had replaced Osho as “the leader.” And when Dr. Amrito explained about the management team and that the decisions are made by consensus, Jeffrey was naturally skeptical. Because he said he is used to the concept of leadership, when it is one leader who tells the team what to do. So naturally he couldn’t understand how the Meditation Resort could continue to thrive without someone taking “Osho’s place.” But when he learnt that here meditation is the base of all activities he saw a possibility of different kind of decision making process.
When Mr Archer entered the book shop where about four hundred Osho titles in English and Hindi are displayed, he exclaimed, visibly impressed, "More books than mine!"
He found the concept of using meditation in daily life intriguing. "Do they use what they learn here when they get back to their awful lives?” asked Jeffrey. To which Amrito replied that this was perhaps the greatest misunderstanding people have of Osho. Osho was never interested in making some escapist Shangri La environment. For Osho, meditation was only relevant if it actually transforms our lives in the midst of our normal busy days.
And when Lord Archer commented that he didn’t know a religion that hadn’t started a war, he was pleasantly surprised to know that Osho had said that he wished his name was never associated with religion. That he describes himself as “irreligious, amoral, and atheistic.” Lord Archer was intrigued by the possibility that something like “meditation” or “consciousness” could happen without the trappings of religion. Hence Osho had dropped the word Ashram nearly twenty years before.
He was equally interested in Osho’s concept of Zorba the Buddha, someone whose feet were firmly on the ground, like Zorba the Greek, but whose hands could touch the stars, like Guatama the Buddha. And was amused that Osho had warned that if you have to chose between the two, always chose Zorba, because at least he might be come Buddha, whereas Buddha will never become a Zorba!
Jeffrey was attracted by the Olympic size swimming pool and the club meditation area of the meditation resort. Evidently, he had missed swimming in his hectic tour in India.
While leaving he remarked, " I am more puzzled than I came here." To which Amrito replied, "That is why it is called a mystery school."

Poetry of the Opposites

Sadhana
The common misconception is that you have to renounce the world to be able to meditate. This is why people go on postponing meditation but Osho has brought a very new insight. He says if you are silent in the jungle you are enjoying a reflected glory. The silence belongs to the jungle, not to you. His message is very practical. He doesn't let you escape.

Osho says: “Live in the market-place and create a Himalaya in the heart. Become silent in the noise. Remain a householder and yet be a sannyasin. That's why I emphasize so much that I don't want my sannyasins to renounce. Nothing has to be renounced. The way of renunciation is the way of the escapist, and the way of renunciation will make you attached to a polar phenomenon. That will not give you freedom. Freedom is in transcendence, and transcendence comes only when you live in the polar opposites simultaneously, together. So be in the world, but don't let the world be in you.
Love, and yet don't be lost in it. Relate, and yet be alone, utterly alone. Know perfectly well that all relationship is a game. Play the game and play it as beautifully as possible and as skilfully as possible. A game is after all a game and has to be played beautifully. And follow all the rules of the game, because a game cannot exist without rules. But remember always that it is just a game. Don't become attached to it. Don't become serious in it. Always allow the sense of humour to remain alive in you. Remain sincere but non-serious. And then, slowly slowly, you will see that the polarities are disappearing. Who is worldly, and who is other-worldly? You are both or neither.
The Secret of Secrets, Vol 1