Osho Ecstasy: The Forgotten Language # 4 THE FORGOTTEN LANGUAGE OF ECSTASY Question 5

30  APRILE 2016

 

Osho,

I have heard, a man in an orange robe entered the Vrindavan juice bar, barged up to the front of the line, and demanded tea and cake. He paid with a hundred-rupee note and complained about the cost and the long lineup. After choosing the biggest piece of cake and the biggest cup, he took over an old lady’s seat and proceeded to gobble the food. A bystander, puzzled by his behavior, asked the meaning of it.

“Why,” he explained,” Osho said that only a crystallized ego can be dropped.”

There is more possibility to misunderstand me than to understand me. And in misunderstanding, you will find much solace, much consolation.

Just the other day, Mulla Nasruddin came to me, and he said, “Enough is enough - I cannot trust you anymore.”

I said, “What happened, Nasruddin? You have been such a longtime obedient disciple to me.”

He said, “Now it is too much! Just the other day I was at the racetrack. Somebody’s change had fallen, so I was picking it up, and there comes a blind, or mad, or drunk guy, and he saddles me as if I were a horse.”

So I said, “Why didn’t you stand up to him?”

Nasruddin said, “But you have said to accept everything, so I said, ‘Osho says, “Accept totally,” so I will accept it and I try to see now what happens’ - and the madman jumped on me.”

I was intrigued. I said, “Then what did you do?”

He said, “What could I do? I had to run - and I came third in the race! Now this is too much! I cannot trust you anymore!”

There is every possibility to misunderstand me and there is every possibility to find rationalizations. This is how the mind goes on being foolish, the mind goes on playing around, fooling around. It always finds ways to protect itself. If I say drop the ego, you say okay, and you try to drop it; and then the ego becomes your humbleness and you start moving around with your nose up, looking at everybody as if everybody is condemned to hell. And you have that look of “holier than thou” and “I am the most humble man around here.” If I say the ego has to become big, only then it bursts, then you say, “Okay. That’s what we have been always trying. Now you are also supporting it - so far so good.”

When are you going to understand me? When you listen to me, always remember, your mind is there to corrupt it. Unless you are very, very watchful, your mind will pollute it. And mind is so cunning, it can always find a way out. And it is so clever, it can always make rationalizations look like reasons.

Osho  Ecstasy: The Forgotten Language

Osho Presenza consapevole

30 APRILE2016

 

Accadde in una notte di luna piena. Era mezzanotte ed ero circondato da amici su una barca, in mezzo a un lago. Tutt’intorno le montagne erano immerse nel chiarore lunare, l’insieme era incredibilmente bello: sembrava di essere in una città dei sogni.

Il barcaiolo smise di remare e noi ci immobilizzammo in mezzo a quel lago.

Purtroppo i miei amici non erano presenti. Mi avevano portato con sé, ma non riuscivo a capire se si erano attardati da qualche parte, oppure erano andati in avanscoperta! Sebbene fossero intorno a me, ero solo su quel lago; infatti, tutti gli altri erano persi nelle loro cose, di cui non sapevo nulla. Le loro chiacchiere si riferivano a qualcosa del passato, che non era presente, lì con noi; oppure a qualcosa del futuro, che anch’esso non era presente. In ogni caso, la loro consapevolezza non era lì con loro: nessuno era presente di fronte a quello splendido lago e a quella notte stupenda, era come se il presente per loro non esistesse.

Poi, all’improvviso, uno di loro chiese: “Dio esiste?”. Cosa avrei mai potuto rispondere? Ci pensai, perché mi chiedevo come quelle persone, che non avevano alcun rapporto con la vitalità del momento presente, potessero avere un qualsiasi rapporto con Dio. La vita in sé è divina! La realizzazione della vita è realizzazione dell’essenza divina.

Per cui dissi loro: “Amici, questo è forse un lago? Questa è la luna? Questa è una notte? Non siamo forse noi tutti presenti su questo lago in questa splendida notte di luna piena?”.

Ovviamente, tutti loro trasalirono e dissero: “Sì. Come potrebbero esserci dubbi in proposito?”.

Al che continuai: “Rispetto a me non ho dubbi, ma sono convinto che voi non siate qui presenti. Per favore, ripensateci. La persona che è presente solo dal punto di vista fisico può avere soltanto un’idea dell’esistenza materiale di questo mondo, invece chi è presente con tutta la sua consapevolezza può sperimentare l’essenza divina quieora! Il divino è presente, ma solo per coloro che sono attenti e presenti al suo cospetto; solo per coloro che stanno davvero vivendo”.

E subito mi ricordai di un episodio che mi misi a narrare...

Alcune persone si erano riunite nella sala d’attesa di una azienda, una di loro doveva essere scelta per un posto di operatore telegrafico. Tutti i candidati erano impegnati a chiacchierare tra di loro di inezie; a un certo punto, dall’apparecchio telegrafico posto in un angolo della sala vennero dei ticchettii, ma tutti erano così coinvolti nelle loro chiacchiere a voce talmente alta da non sentire quei deboli segnali: nessuno ci badò!

Solo un giovane, seduto discosto da quella massa di gente, da solo in un angolo, si alzò prontamente ed entrò in quell’ufficio. Nessuno del gruppo si accorse che si era alzato ed era entrato; se ne resero conto solo quando, con un sorriso, ne uscì con in mano la lettera d’assunzione.

Ovviamente, l’intero gruppo ammutolì e, furiosi, tutti chiesero a quel giovane: “Ragazzo, come sei riuscito a entrare prima di tutti gli altri? Tutti noi siamo arrivati prima di te, tu eri l’ultimo della fila! Com’è possibile che il posto ti sia stato assegnato, senza che nessuno di noi sia stato valutato? Cos’è questa prepotenza? Perché questa ingiustizia?”.

Al che il giovane scoppiò a ridere e disse: “Amici, perché date la colpa a me di tutto questo? Chiunque di voi avrebbe potuto ottenere questo posto, e probabilmente io avrei dovuto aspettare che voi tutti foste esaminati, prima di essere preso in considerazione. Non avete sentito il messaggio che il telegrafo stava trasmettendo?”.

All’unisono urlarono: “Quale messaggio? Che tipo di messaggio?”.

Al che il giovane disse loro: “Non eravate consapevoli dei segnali in arrivo? I suoni tramessi dicevano con chiarezza: ‘Ho bisogno di una persona che sia sempre attenta e presente. La lettera di assunzione è qui pronta per chi sente questo messaggio ed entra in ufficio prima degli altri’!”.

Anche i messaggi inviati dal divino piovono continuamente su di noi, ogni giorno. La natura è il linguaggio con cui quei segnali sono trasmessi. La persona che è silenziosa e attenta, che resta sempre presente e allerta, pronta a cogliere quei segnali, sicuramente verrà invitata a entrare.

Osho Crea il tuo destino

Osho Ecstasy: The Forgotten Language # 4 Question 4

29APRILE 2016

 

Osho,

There was a little polar bear who asked his mother, “Was my daddy also a polar bear?” “Of course your daddy was a polar bear.”

“But,” goes on the little one after a while, “Mommy, just tell me, was my grandfather also a polar bear?”

“Yes, he was also a polar bear.”

Time goes by and the little one keeps asking his mother, “But what about my great-grandfather? Was he a polar bear as well?”

 “Yes, he was. But why are you asking?”

“Because I am freezing.”

I was told my father was a polar bear, I was told my grandfather was a polar bear, I was told my great-grandfather was a polar bear; but I am freezing. How can I change this, Osho?

I happen to know your father, and I happen to know your grandfather, and I happen to know your great-grandfather too; and they were also freezing. And their mothers told the same story to them - that your father was a polar bear and your grandfather was a polar bear and your great-grandfather was a polar bear.

If you are freezing, you are freezing; these stories won’t help. This simply proves that even polar bears freeze. Look at the reality and don’t move into traditions and don’t go into the past. If you are freezing, you are freezing. And this is not a consolation at all - that you are a polar bear.

These consolations have been given to humanity. When you are dying, you are dying. Somebody comes and says, “Don’t be afraid; the soul is immortal.” Now, you are dying.

I have heard about a Jew who fell down on a road and was dying; it was a heart attack. A crowd gathered, and they looked for some religious people, some religious person, some priest, because the man was dying. A Catholic priest came forward, not knowing who the person was. He went close to the dying man and said, “Do you believe? Do you declare that you believe in the Trinity - God the Father, the Holy Ghost and the Son Jesus Christ?”

The dying Jew opened his eyes and he said, “I am dying, and he is talking in riddles. Now what am I to do with this trinity? I am dying. What nonsense are you talking about?”

A man is dying and you console him by telling him that the soul is immortal. These consolations are of no help. Somebody is in misery and you tell him, “Don’t be miserable. It is just psychological.” How does it help? You make him even more miserable! These theories are not of much help. They have been invented to console, to deceive.

If you are freezing, you are freezing. Rather than asking whether your father was a polar bear, do some exercise. Jump, jog, or do Dynamic Meditation, and you won’t freeze, I promise you. Forget all about your father and grandfather and great-grandfather. Just listen to your reality. If you are freezing, then do something. And something can always be done. But this is no way; you are on a wrong track. You can go on asking and asking, and of course your poor mother goes on consoling you.

The question is beautiful, very meaningful, has tremendous import. This is how humanity is suffering. Listen to suffering; look into the problem and don’t try to find any solutions outside the problem. Look directly into the problem and you will always find the solution there. Look into the question; don’t ask for the answer.

For example, you can go on asking, “Who am I?” You can go to the Christian and he will say, “You are a son of God, and God loves you very much.” And you will be puzzled, because how can God love you?

A priest told Mulla Nasruddin, “God loves you very much.”

Mulla Nasruddin said, “How can he love me? He does not even know me.”

And the priest said, “That’s why he can love you! We know you! We cannot love you - it is too difficult.”

Or you go to the Hindus and ask, and they say, “You are God himself.” Not the son of God, you are God himself. But still you have your headache and your migraine and you are very puzzled at how God can have a migraine.and it doesn’t solve the problem.

If you want to ask, “Who am I?” don’t go to anybody. Sit silently and ask deeper into your own being. Let the question resound - not verbally, existentially. Let the question be there like an arrow piercing your heart: “Who am I?” And go with the question.

And don’t be in a hurry to answer it, because if you answer it, that answer will have come from somebody else - some priest, some politician, some tradition. Don’t answer from your memory, because your memory is all borrowed. Your memory is just like a computer, very dead! Your memory has nothing to do with knowing. It has been fed into you.

So when you ask, “Who am I?” and your memory says, “You are a great soul,” watch out. Don’t fall into the trap. Just discard all this rubbish; it is all rot. Just go on asking, “Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?” and one day you will see, the question too has disappeared. There is only a thirst left - “Who am I?” Not the question, really, but a thirst - your whole being throbbing with the thirst - “Who am I?”

And one day you will see you are not even there, there is only thirst. And in that intense, passionate state of your being, suddenly you will realize something has exploded. Suddenly you have come face to face with yourself and you know who you are.

There is no way to ask your father, “Who am I?” He does not know himself who he is. There is no way to ask your grandfather or great-grandfather. Don’t ask! Don’t ask your mother, don’t ask society, don’t ask culture, don’t ask civilization. Ask your own innermost core. If you really want to come to know the answer, go inward. And from that inward experience, change happens.

You ask, “How can I change this?” You cannot change it. First you have to face your reality, and that very encounter will change you.

A reporter was trying to get a human-interest story out of an old, old man at a state-supported home for the aged.

“Pop,” asked the brash reporter, “how would you feel if you suddenly got a letter telling you that a forgotten relative had left you five million dollars?”

“Son,” came the answer slowly, “I would still be ninety-four years old.”

Do you get it? The old man is saying, “I am ninety-four years old. Even if I get five million dollars, what am I supposed to do with it? I will still be ninety-four years old.”

What Buddha says, what Mahavira says, what Christ says, is of no help to you. You are freezing - you are still ninety-four years old. Even if the whole knowledge of the world is poured into your head, it is not going to help: you are still freezing, you are still ninety-four years old. Unless some experience arises in you, some vital experience that transforms your being and you become young again, alive again, nothing is of any value.

So don’t ask others. That is the first lesson to be learned. Ask yourself. And then too remember - because others have put answers there already, so those answers will be coming - avoid those answers. The question is yours, so nobody else’s answer can be of any help. The question is yours; the answer has to be yours too.

Buddha has drunk and he is satisfied. Jesus has drunk and he is ecstatic. I have drunk, but how is that going to help your thirst? You will have to drink yourself.

It happened:

A great Sufi mystic was asked by an emperor to come to his court and pray for them. The mystic came, but he refused to pray. He said, “It is impossible. How can I pray for you?” Said the mystic, “There are a few things one has to do oneself. For example, if you want to make love to a woman, you have to make it yourself. I cannot do it for you on your behalf. Or if you have to blow your nose, you have to blow it yourself. I cannot blow my nose on your behalf; that won’t be of any help. And so it is with prayer. How can I pray for you? You pray. I can only pray for myself.”

And he closed his eyes and moved into great prayer.

That’s what I can do. For me the problem has disappeared, but it has not disappeared through anybody else’s answer. I have not asked anybody. In fact, the whole effort has been to drop all the answers that others have given - very generously.

People go on giving you advice. Very generous they are in their advice! They may not be generous in anything else, but in advice they are very generous, great people. Whether you ask or not they go on giving advice. Advice is the only thing that is given so much and that is never taken. Nobody takes it.

I have heard about two bums sitting under a tree, and one was saying, “I landed into this state because I never listened to anybody’s advice.”

And the other said, “Brother, I landed here because I followed everybody’s advice.”

The journey has to be your own.

You are freezing, I know. You are miserable, I know. Life is hard, I know. And I have no consolation for you. And I don’t believe in consoling you, because all consolation becomes a postponement. 

The mother says to the child bear, “Yes, your father was a polar bear,” and for a little while he tries not to freeze because polar bears are not supposed to freeze. But it doesn’t help. Again he asks, “Mother, was my grandfather also a polar bear?” He is trying to know, “Was there something in my heritage that had gone wrong; that’s why I am freezing?” And the mother says, “Yes, your grandfather was also a polar bear.” Again he tries to postpone freezing, but you cannot postpone it. You can delay a little; but again it is there.

Reality cannot be avoided. Theorizations are of no help at all. Forget theories and listen to the fact. You are miserable? Then misery has to be looked into. You are angry? That anger has to be looked into. You feel sexual? Then forget what others say about it; just look into it yourself. It is your life, and you have to live it. Don’t borrow. Never be secondhand. God loves people who are firsthand. He has never been known to love carbon copies. Just be firsthand, be original, be unique, be individual, be yourself, and look into your problems.

And I can say only one thing to you: that in your problem, there is hidden the solution. The problem is just a seed. If you go into it deeply, the solution will sprout out of it. Your ignorance is the seed. If you go deep into it, knowledge will flower out of it. Your shivering, your freezing, is the problem. Go into it, and warmth will arise out of it.

In fact all is given to you - question and answer both, the problem and the solution both, ignorance and knowledge both. Just, you have to look inward.

Osho Ecstasy: The Forgotten Language