Osho - Ek Omkar Satnam

Ek Omkar Satnam. . . .

He is one. He is omkar, the supreme truth. He is the creator, beyond fear, beyond rancour. His is the timeless form. Never born, self-creating. He is attained by the guru’s grace there is one reality, truth is only one: Ek Omkar Satnam. And, says Nanak, the name of this one is Omkar. All other names are given by man: Ram, Krishna, Allah. These are all symbols and all created by man. There is only one name that is not given by man and that is Omkar, and ‘Omkar’ means the sound of Aum. Why Omkar? — Because when words are lost and the mind becomes void, when the individual is immersed in the ocean, even then the strain of Omkar remains audible within him. It is not a manmade tune but the melody of existence. Omkar is the very being of existence; therefore, ‘Aum’ has no meaning. ‘Aum’ is not a word but a resonance that is unique, having no source, no creation by anyone. It is the resonance of the being of existence.

It is like a waterfall: you sit beside a waterfall and you hear its song but the sound is created by the water hitting against the rocks. Sit by a river and listen to its sound; it is caused by the river striking against the banks. We need to go deeper to understand things. Science tries to break down the whole of existence. What it first discovered was energy in the form of electricity, and then charged particles like the electron of which all of existence is made. Electricity is only a form of energy. If we ask a scientist what sound is made of, he will say that it is nothing but waves of electricity, waves of energy. So energy is at the root of everything. The sages say the same thing; they are in agreement with the scientists except for a slight difference of language. Sages have come to know that all existence is created out of sound, and sound is only an expression of energy. Existence, sound, energy — all are one. The approach of science is to analyse and break things down, to reach the conclusion.

The sage’s approach is absolutely different: through synthesis they have discovered the indivisibility of the self. The wind rises creating a murmur in the branches of the tree, a collision of air against the leaves. When the musician plays a chord on an instrument, the sound is produced by a blow. All sound is produced by an impact, and an impact requires two — the strings of the instrument and the fingers of the musician. Two are necessary to form any sound. But God’s name is beyond all separateness. His name is the resonance that remains when all dualities have faded and cease to exist. Within this indivisible whole you come across this resonance. When a person reaches the state of samadhi, Omkar resounds within him. He hears it resounding inside him and all around him; all creation seems to be vibrating with it. Nanak says: Omkar alone is God’s name. He refers to the name a great deal. Whenever Nanak speaks of His name — “His name is the path,” or “He who remembers his name attains” — he is referring to Omkar, because Omkar is the only name that is not given to Him by man, but is His very own. None of the names given by man can carry you very far. If they do go some distance towards Him, it is only because of some slight shadow of Omkar within them. The word ‘sat’ needs to be understood. In Sanskrit, there are two words: ‘sat’ means beingness, existence, and ‘satya’ means truth, validity.

There is a great difference between the two, though both contain the same original root. When Nanak says: Ek Omkar Satnam, both ‘sat’ and ‘satya’ are contained in his expression. The name of that supreme existence is as true as a mathematical formula and as real as any work of art; it is as beautiful as a dream and as correct as a scientific formula; it contains the emotions of the heart, and the knowledge and experience of the mind. Where the mind and the heart meet, religiousness begins. If the mind overpowers the heart, science is born. If the heart overpowers the head, the realm of art is entered: poetry, music, song, painting, sculpture. But if head and heart are united, you enter into Omkar.

Abridged from The True Name, courtesy: Osho International Foundation, www.osho.com

Anandmurti Gurumaa - Breathe Away Your Blues

You can harmonise and transcend your mental afflictions and modifications through yogic psychology, writes ANANDMURTI GURUMAA.

Depression is a common complaint among many people today. So, almost every other person tends to be on painkillers, tranquillisers, sedatives or other medication. Body and mind are connected. What bridges them is the breath. Now, when mind is in stress, sorrow, grief or fear, a corresponding effect is seen in the body — it starts to tremble. For example, when one hears the news of a relative’s demise, immediately the breath starts to become shallow and its pace starts to quicken — one is almost breathless with anxiety. Neurons from the spinal cord reach the brain and when fear and trauma occur, the entire body gets shaken up. The trembling in turn affects our breathing, making it erratic. The heart starts pounding and the pulse starts racing. Blood pressure escalates and most likely, a heart attack could ensue.

But there’s hope! This is where yoga comes to our aid, giving us a most simple yet powerful tool and technique to manage body and mind, no matter how challenging the situation. More than 2,500 years ago, Rishi Patanjali, in the Yoga Sutras, delineated how intricately body, mind and breath affect each other and how we can manage, harmonise and ultimately transcend our mental afflictions and modifications.

Life Is Precious

In a situation of intense fear, the quickest, safest, simplest way out is to just sit with spine erect and take a long, deep breath, slowly releasing it through the mouth. This should be done for a short time and then one can return to inhaling and exhaling through the nose.

This is the beauty of yoga psychology. No harmful medicines, no side effects, for the benefits of deep breathing are manifold. Now for those who never do any spiritual practice or meditate, they can easily get depressed, weep at the slightest mishap or come down with panic attacks. Then doctors prescribe sedatives — sleep the pain away! And slowly, the body becomes a toxic waste dump. Is precious life meant to be wasted like this?

Imagine — you have a lovely house, a Ferrari, a beachside bungalow, a flourishing business, a wonderful family and, yet, fear is gnawing away your insides. Another scenario — exam results are out and a disappointed student jumps to his death, simply because he has failed. What are the values we are giving our children? Should every child not be taught how to deal with fear and anxiety? Yoga science should definitely be part of the school syllabus and every child should be taught how to sit with spine erect and breathe correctly — equal inhalation, equal exhalation, slow, steady and deep.

It’s fine that prayers are done in the school assembly but in all honesty, does it help them to deal with and dispel their fear? Our society teaches the child to fear. Taunting parents, threatening teachers, peer pressure and constant comparison make life miserable for children who then resort to bribing teachers, cheating and copying, just for grades and percentages. Thus, we teach children to become dishonest, fearful and deceitful at a very tender age and then wonder why society is going down the drain. When a child is thus punished and tortured, fear remains in the subconscious mind all his life.

Breathe Correctly

When medication as well as stress and depression affect breathing, making it shallow, the ratio of oxygen to carbon-dioxide goes haywire. Correspondingly, enough oxygen does not reach all the organs. Thus when the mind is disturbed, it leads to incorrect breathing, causing disease and ill-health. Unconsciously, unknowingly, one tenses the body and holds the breath in times of perceived stress. This leads to trembling and weakness in the limbs, in fact all over the body.

One has to be actually taught how to breathe correctly! During inhalation, the stomach should expand, protruding a bit due to the movement of the diaphragm whereas during exhalation, the stomach should move inwards. But most people do the opposite and this actually damages health if continued over a long period of time. The solar plexus is where we tend to hold our deepest emotions; therefore, it is important that the breath should flow smooth and easy in this region. Yogic breathing is full lung breathing, involving expansion of the chest as well as the stomach.

Now, if we have cultivated the practice of paying attention to the breath during any activity we perform, breathing starts becoming harmonious. We remain grounded in the present moment. And then, in times of crises, we remember that the breath is the tool which will stabilise both body and mind. So, breathe your depression away.

Osho - Honestly, Don’t Be Nice, Be Truthful

With the help of meditation, you can turn your communication with others into a communion, says OSHO.

We are taught that one has to be nice to one’s sister, to one’s brother. But this often means repressing our emotions, not
being honest with our emotions. Once you start meditating, all those emotions will bubble up and they will bubble up in your sibling also. So, you will have to pass through the period in your childhood that you missed. But there is nothing to be worried about. It is natural, because all that is repressed and inhibited will start being expressed. And as a result, you might lose communication. But, the truth is that it never existed in the first place.

Just being polite is not communication, because if you are repressing something, communication is superficial, just verbal. You are simply making empty gestures.
You can say hello to a person without saying hello. You can smile towards a person without smiling at all. You can talk and be pleasant, as one is expected to be, without being pleasant at all. This whole gesture may be a deep avoidance. Your politeness, your niceness,
your goodness, may be just an armour because you are afraid that if you become
true, the emotions that have been repressed will bubble up. And the other person is also trying to be nice. She is as afraid as you. So, it can appear that there is communication when there is none. If there were any communication, meditation would have made it a communion, something deeper than communication. But if it is not there, meditation
would make you aware of it.So, in effect, it is better because now you are becoming aware of a reality that you have avoided your whole life.

Brothers and sisters only appear to be nice to each other. Otherwise, they are enemies because they are the first competitors. In a house, when the first child is born, he is the whole and sole. Then comes the next child. He starts competing; competition is natural. This
child wants more attention and the first child feels offended by the presence of this child. Jealousies arise. When there are many children in a house, it is bound to be that one child will get more attention than others. There is going to be a hierarchy; that’s how the mind functions. The mother may love one child more, the other a little less. There are pets, because the mother is also human. You cannot expect her to love all absolutely equally; that is not possible. She may pretend. She pretends hard, but children are very perceptive. They can immediately see
that somebody is liked more, somebody is liked less and that this pretension is just bogus.

Then an inner conflict, fight, ambition arises.
Each child is different. Somebody is very talented, somebody is not. Somebody is physically more beautiful than the other. So, more problems arise. But, we are taught to be nice, never to be true. If children are taught to be true, they will fight it out and let differences drop. They will be angry, they will fight and say hard things to each other and then they will
be done with it, because children get rid of things very easily. They are very simple, but they are not allowed that simplicity. They are prohibited from being angry with each other: “She is your sister, he is your brother. How can you be angry?” 

Those angers, jealousies and a thousand and one wounds go on collecting. Later in your life, if you come across something like meditation, then they will all bubble up. So, this is a great opportunity. It looks difficult, but if you can face it, something of tremendous value will happen to you. Once you are at ease with your sister, something like a block will drop from your chest. That will help you to be more communicative with others. 

A Rose Is a Rose Is a Rose, courtesy: Osho International.

Osho - Go On, Risk It.

Jump into the unknown, for clinging to the known is like clinging to a corpse, says OSHO.

Clinging to the known is clinging to a corpse. It does not need courage to drop the clinging. In fact, it needs courage to go on clinging to a corpse. You just have to see....That which is familiar to you, which you have lived — what has it given? Where have you reached? Are you not still empty? Is there not immense discontent, a deep frustration and meaninglessness? Somehow you go on managing, hiding the truth and creating lies to remain engaged, involved. This is the question: to see with clarity that everything that you know is of the past, it is already gone. It is part of a graveyard. Do you want to be in a grave, or do you want to be alive? And this is not only the question today; it will be the same question tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow. It will be the same question at your last breath. Whatever you know, accumulate — information, knowledge, and experience — the moment you have explored them you are finished with them. Now carrying those empty words, that dead load, is crushing your life, burdening your life, preventing you from entering into a living, rejoicing being — which is awaiting you each moment. The man of understanding dies every moment to the past and is reborn again to the future. His present is always a transformation, a rebirth, a resurrection. It is not a question of courage at all that is the first thing to be understood.

It is a question of clarity, of being clear about what is what. And secondly, whenever there is really a question of courage, nobody can give it to you. It is not something that can be presented as a gift. It is something that you are born with, you just have not allowed it to grow, and you have not allowed it to assert itself, because the whole society is against it. Society does not want lions; it wants a crowd of sheep. Then it is easy to enslave people, exploit people, and do whatever you want to do with them. They don’t have a soul; they are almost robots. You order, and they will obey. They are not free individuals. No society wants you to be courageous. Every society wants you to be a coward, but nobody says it so sincerely; they have found beautiful words instead. They will not say, “Be cowardly,”because that will look offensive to the person and he will start thinking, “Why should I be cowardly?” — And a coward is not something respectable. No, they say, “Be cautious. Think twice before you leap. Remember your tradition, your religion is thousands of years old; it has wisdom. You are a newcomer; you cannot afford to disbelieve in it. There is no comparison. You have just come in, and your religion has been there for ten thousand years, accumulating more and more experience, knowledge. It is a Himalayan phenomenon. You are a small pebble. You cannot fight with tradition — that is fighting against yourself, it is self-destructive. You can only submit to tradition; that is wise, intelligent. To be with the crowd, you are protected, you are secure; you are assured that you will not go astray.”

In so many ways you will be told a simple thing: Just be a coward; it pays to be cowardly. It is dangerous to be courageous, because it is going to bring you in conflict with all the vested interests — and you are a small human being. You cannot fight with the whole world. Everybody has courage, it is not a quality to be practiced; it is something that is part of your life, your very breathing. It is just that the society has created so many barriers against your natural growth that you have started thinking from where to get courage? From where to get intelligence? From where to get truth? You have to go nowhere. You contain in the seed form everything that you want to be. Realising this and seeing the other side....The people who live with the crowd — what is their gain? They lose everything. In fact, they don’t live at all; they only die. From their birth, they start dying, and go on dying till the last breath. Their whole life is a long series of deaths. Just look at the whole crowd of people. You can be with them, but the same is going to be your fate. It is so simple if you see it: the only way to live life is to live on your own. It is an individual phenomenon, it is independence, it is freedom. It is a constant unburdening of all that is dead, so that life can go on growing and is not crushed under the weight of the dead.

Abridged from Beyond Psychology, courtesy: Osho International Foundation, www.osho.com

Anandmurti Gurumaa - Physical Desire Demystified

Rise above sexual desires with spiritual practice and wisdom, says ANANDMURTI GURUMAA.

What is this body? What is physical attraction? If there was no skin covering this skeleton made of bones and muscles, there would be nothing more revolting, more repulsive than this body. The past impressions in the mind, that have come along since the previous animalistic lives, are responsible for the presence of carnal desires and physical attraction. Hence, whenever a sexual urge arises in your mind, at that very moment you should remember this wisdom, bring this dispassion and question the mind — the body you are lusting after, what is that body? Moreover, look at your own body and ask: what is this body? A boy said to his friend, “These days I get so many dreams of girls. I feel very ashamed in telling you any further.” His friend said,” If you like girls, what is the problem in that? You are young, handsome and earning a good salary. Your body is secreting sex hormones, so why should you feel guilty?” The boy felt reassured. His friend asked them,” Do you really like girls?” The boy replied, “Yes, but no one wants to be friends with me. I tried to befriend a girl, but she spurned my advances and it broke my heart.” His friend said,“Well,you should have something to attract a girl towards you. Then, let alone one, there will be a queue of girls after you.” The boy asked, “What should I do?” The friend said,” Come tomorrow morning and I will teach you yogasanas.” The boy wants to lure a girl and his friend is asking him to do yogasana. This is a modern school of learning how to attract a girl. The boy, who normally never got up before eight o’- clock, now got up at four in the morning and went to learn the asanas. He asked his friend, what would be the benefit of learning asanas?

The friend replied that there are numerous advantages, like asanas will give you a good physique, and by regularly doing asanas and pranayama, you will become energetic and your complexion will improve. Now, the boy was convinced and he started the practice with full enthusiasm. In this way, within two months the boy could do the asanas well. His body became flexible, all the toxins got released and his body was becoming healthier. And by doing pranayama, his mind was becoming healthier.

After five months, the boy said to his friend, “Ever since I have been doing asanas and pranayama, my mind has become peaceful and I no longer get sexual thoughts or dreams of girls.… All the hankering in my mind has gone away and I feel very light.” His friend replied,” Well, this is the whole point of doing this practice. The mind becomes peaceful and the attraction for the world disappears. And even if such an unattached person was to get married, then despite being in a sexual relationship, his mind will stay peaceful and he will remain unattached. Such a person will no longer be a slave to his body….” Earlier, this boy was running after girls and now there was no such attraction in his mind. You run after the world and the world eludes you.

No amount of slavery to your body is going to give you any lasting happiness. I reiterate that sex is not bad, but as per the customary traditions of ashram life, if you are desirous of having sex then you must lead a householder’s life. Don’t hesitate in doing so. On the other hand, if you want to rise above sexual desires without leading a married life, then there are only two ways to achieve this: spiritual practice and use of your wisdom, discriminative power. When one conscientiously follows yama, niyama and then masters yogasanas, the body gets purified. And when such an individual with a purified body does pranayama, his self-belief and mental strength increases. Mind becomes peaceful and the attraction for the world disappears.

Anandmurti Gurumaa - You Don’t Have To Be An Ascetic

There’s nothing wrong in opting to lead life as a householder, says  ANANDMURTI GURUMAA

Sexual desire emanating from kamavasana previous impressions in the mind, is energy and as is true for all energies, one can harness it beneficially or abuse it. Men and women who are desirous of fulfilling their sexual desires get married to have firsthand experience of sex. But the question arises: Do couples who have had a sexual relationship for 40-50 years, ever get the feeling that they have had enough of it, and do they rise above the need for sexual gratification?

They don’t. This is because for them sex is nothing but a medium of getting a release…. Now, if one perpetually indulges in this irresponsibly, without using one’s wisdom, then all that will happen is depletion of energy. Whenever certain hormonal changes occur in the body, they naturally lead to arising of sexual urges on either seeing or imagining an attractive man or woman. And whenever someone is sexually aroused, such a person will either suffer in trying to control it or will seek release.

If you keep getting sexually aroused, it reflects that for several, previous lifetimes, you have lived in excessive sexual indulgence, and all that has left such a deep impression on your mind that none of the words of wisdom have any effect on you. Thus you are unable to have any temperance on your urges. So, you need to honestly look at yourself and contemplate on this.

An easy solution for such individuals is to lead a householder’s life… otherwise, it will be akin to punishment because by trying to suppress the urges, they are not going to disappear, rather they will emerge in new and strange ways. So, if you want to lead a householder’s life with awareness and prudence, then know that sex can be used in three ways: for pleasure, procreation, and for spiritual evolution according to the path of tantra. But to use it for spiritual evolution, as per the tantra tradition, is possible only when you have an equally understanding and virtuous spouse, and not otherwise.

Practice of tantra is not a medium for satiating the desires of a lustful person! It is only for those who have successfully mastered the four limbs of yoga — yama, niyama, asana and pranayama — and in addition, strictly adhere to the other limbs of yoga.

When one conscientiously follows yama, niyama and then masters yogasanas, the glands begin to function optimally and the body gets purified. And when such an individual with a purified body does pranayama, his self-belief and mental strength increases. If such a person with increased self-belief and mental strength leads a married life with an equally sensible and understanding partner, then even sex becomes a spiritual practice….

Animals are more sensible, as their sexual behaviour is as per the law of nature. When their mating period is over, they live like celibates. But the human mind is not tied down to nature’s law. A man can think about sex or take part in it whenever he wants. But the point to note is that if there is freedom, there is bondage too. Use your wisdom to understand your sexual energy. Ask yourself: the momentary pleasure obtained through sexual gratification, will it be binding or will it help in my liberation? Question your mind using your discriminative wisdom, for sex is nothing more than a momentary pleasure.

If someone says that he feels aroused only on seeing a particular woman and not all women — well, this is nothing but a delusion. The truth is, either sexual desire exists or it doesn’t! Saying that one gets aroused by a specific woman is in a way accusing the woman of being responsible for arousing sexual thoughts in the man — this is an irresponsible statement.

Osho - Being Friends

If you know the art of being friendly, you can share with as many people as possible, with as many animals as possible, with as many trees as possible, says Osho.

Gautama Buddha emphasises friendship very much. To translate his word for friendship — Maitri — is a little difficult because it has the quality of friendliness more than friendship. Friendship becomes a relationship, fixed; friendliness is more flowing, more fluid. Friendship is a relationship; friendliness is a state of your being. You are simply friendly; to whom, that is not the point. If you are standing by the side of a tree you are friendly to the tree, or if you are sitting on the rock, you are friendly to the rock. To human beings, to animals, to birds, you are simply friendly. It is not something static; it is a flow, changing moment to moment.

The Buddha says: To have friends in need is sweet.

Friendliness is one of the most significant qualities for the seeker to develop; In the Buddha’s vision, it is higher than so-called love. Your so-called love is tethered to your biology; friendliness is freedom from biology. The ordinary so-called love is the same in human beings as it is in animals, as it is in the trees.

Friendship is a higher phenomenon. It is pure love; it has nothing to do with your biology. Ordinary love — can be explained through biology, but friendship cannot be explained. It is a mystery. Friendship is like fragrance; it helps you to transcend your animality.

The Buddha praises friendship, friendliness, very highly. He has even chosen that when he comes back again, his name will be Maitreya — the friend. He must have loved the word very much. I don’t think he will come again or anybody ever comes again. God never makes the same mistake again, remember! Once is more than enough, twice will be too much. But he must have loved the word so much that he says, “Next time, if I am at all going to come, my name is going to be Maitreya, the friend.” The word contains his whole philosophy.

He says: ‘To have friends... is sweet.’ Why is it sweet? Because with friends, your relationship is not physiological, it is not even psychological; it is a spiritual communion. With friends you can sit in silence. When you are with your lover, you can’t sit in silence; silence looks awkward. The woman will think, ‘Why are you silent? Are you angry or something?’ And if she is silent, you will think something is wrong — she is sulking. Silence becomes heavy, a burden; it has to be removed. So people go on talking, whether it is needed or not.

You can share your happiness only with friends. Sharing is possible only when two hearts are open to each other; only in deep trust can you be open to the other. In fear you are closed, in doubt you are closed. You are on guard. You are afraid the other may be some danger to you, the other may do some harm. You are not vulnerable when you are in fear. Only with friends you can be vulnerable, open, available. Then sharing is possible. And sharing is one of the greatest spiritual qualities.

The miracle is that the more you share your bliss, the more you have it. The more you share, the more it comes to you. The more you share, the more you become aware of an inexhaustible source within yourself.

Happiness is great in itself, but to share it makes it immensely rich. If you are miserly about your happiness, you will kill it. To hoard your happiness is to destroy it; to spread it far and wide is to help it grow. If you know the art of being friendly, you can share with as many people as possible, with as many animals as possible, with as many trees as possible. You can go on sharing every moment of your life because you are always with someone. You can share it with the sun, with the moon, with the stars.

Distances don’t matter. You can share your bliss with a friend who is far away. In that moment of sharing, space disappears, time disappears. There is no time gap, no space gap. You are suddenly together. You can even share with friends who are no longer alive. In deep communion, they become available to you, nonphysically.

Excerpted from Dhammapada: The Way of the Buddha, Courtesy Osho International Foundation, www.osho.com