Q> Since Man is confronted again and again with inner dilemmas, what should be the basis for overcoming them? How can we turn this state of inner dilemma into growth? And what should be the main and fundamental factor before us when we are finding a resolution to an inner dilemma?
Osho>
To pass through a state of inner conflict is a real discipline for self growth. To go patiently through a state of inner conflict is real asceticism, and only by facing this dilemma one can transcend it.
One way is to make a hasty decision, a hasty resolution – and man uses many routes to arrive at such a decision. If he catches hold of some scripture, decision, the answer, is immediately there. The scripture will tell him in a very definitive language to do such and such a thing and to have faith in it. But one who arrives at a decision by resorting to the scriptures denies himself the status of being human. He had an opportunity to evolve, but he rejected it. Or one can catch hold of some teacher, some guru. But whoever does so is losing the opportunity to grow. There was a crisis, life left him to go through it alone, unaided – but he saved himself from the inconvenience. He carried on without passing through the crisis. Had the gold gone through the fire it would have emerged shining. But that person never passed through the fire. Instead, he sheltered behind a guru. Naturally, the gold did not purify itself.
Live the dilemma, go through the heat and suffering of it, die and be consumed by it, experience it. Don’t run away from its fire, because what is manifesting as fire will burn away all the dirt, all the rubbish, and the pure gold will remain.
Pass through the dilemma; understand it is human destiny. You will have to go through it; live it. Don’t hurry. Don’t make a hasty decision. Yes, if you pas through it, the decision will come. Pass through it and the trust will emerge by itself – you will not have to get it from somewhere.
A trust brought in from the outside is of no value. The very fact that the trust had to be brought in shows that the mind was not yet ready for it, it has been prematurely brought in. A trust that has to be enforced only means that behind it, there exists same mind full of conflict. This conflict will remain alive beneath the outer layer of this trust. And although this kind of trust may work superficially, it will be of no help at a critical time.
There is a great difference between belief and trust. Belief is that which we impose upon ourselves without resolving the doubt, while trust is the outcome of the doubt falling away. Trust is a destination by journeying through doubt. Beliefs are blind supports that we clutch at out of our fear of doubt.
Hence I would say: live the dilemma, live it with intensity. If you live it mildly, it will take a long time. If you put the gold into slow fire, it can take lifetimes for it to shine to its purity. Live intensely!
Dilemma is the essential way in which man is tested, and from facing this dilemma, his worthiness to attain to godliness is born. So live! Don’t escape; don’t look for consolations. Just realize that this is the destiny: dilemma is your destiny. Fight it; enter into the dilemma with intensity.
What will be the outcome of this? The outcome will be 2 fold. As soon as a person agrees to go completely into his inner conflict, a third point emerges within that person – a third power besides the other two is born in him. As soon as a person agrees to live through his inner conflict, 3 things instead of just 2, start functioning in him. This 3rd force- which takes the decision to live through the dilemma – is outside of it, is uninvolved in it.
The one who discovers this 3rd force within himself also becomes immediately capable of seeing it in the whole universe. You are only looking at the dilemma, without realizing that the one who sees it, the one who knows it, cannot be a part of the dilemma but will always be outside it.
When the 2 are fighting inside you and you become aware of this, you are inevitably separate from the 2 – otherwise how could you be watching them? Had you been associated with either one of the 2, you would have become identified with that 1 and separate from the other.
Inner conflict is there because the 3rd one is also present – watching, saying that a big conflict is taking place in the mind. Sometimes the mind says this and sometimes it says that – but who is the one who is mentioning this conflict?
Enter the conflict and go on recognizing, becoming acquainted with this 3rd one. As you enter into the conflict, gradually you will begin to see this 3rd one, the witness. And the day this witness is seen, conflicts will begin to fade away. The reason why there is conflict is because this 3rd one is not seen. As soon as it is seen, synthesis begins.
This 3rd one is within everyone as well as without, but unless it is first seen inside, it cannot be seen on the outside. Once it is seen inside, then nothing but this 3rd one begins to be seen on the outside as well.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Roots of Violence.
It is worth understanding that the more violent a mind is, the more full of attachment it is.Violence and attachment live together, side by side. A nonviolent mind transcends attachment. In fact, one who wants to become nonviolent has to let go of the very idea of attachment. The very sense of "mine" is violence, because as soon as I say "mine", I have begun to separate myself from that which is not mine. As soon as I address someone as a friend, I have begun to make someone else my enemy. As soon as I draw a line around those who are mine, I have also drawn a line around those who are strangers to me. All violence is an outcome of the boundary created between those who are "mine" and those who are outsiders, not "mine".
It is often surprising that we are often only able to see into the depths of our minds during moments of crisis. We do not see the depths in ordinary moments. It is only during extraordinary moments that what is hidden in the deepest part of us begins to manifest.
A death occurs in the neighborhood, but it does not touch people's hearts. People simply say," The poor man died." We are unable to brush it away like this when it occurs in our own homes. Thus it affects us, because when a death occurs in our homes, when one of "our own" dies, we also die, a part of ourselves dies. We had an investment in this person who has died, we used to get something from this person's life. This person was occupying a certain corner of our hearts.
So when a wife dies it is not just the wife who dies. Something in the husband dies too. The truth is that the husband came into being when the wife came into being. Before that there was not a husband or a wife. When a son dies, something in the mother also dies - because the woman only became a mother at the birth of her son. With the birth of a child , the mother is also born, and at the death of a child, the mother also dies. We are connected with the one we call ours. When he or she dies, we also die.
Our "I" is nothing but a sum total of what we call "our own people." What we call "I" is the name for all the accumulations of "mine". If all those who are "mine" are to leave, then I will be no more, then I cannot remain. This "I" of mine is attached partly to my father, partly to my mother, partly to my son, partly to my friend...to all of these people.
What is even more surprising is that this "I" is not only attached to those whom we call our own, but it is also attached to those whom we consider outsiders or "not-mine". Although this attachment is outside our circle, nonetheless it is there. Hence, when my enemy dies, I also die a little,since I will not be exactly the same as I was while my enemy was alive. Even my enemy has been contributing somthing to my life. He was my enemy. He may have been an enemy but he was my enemy. My "I" was related to him too: without him I will be incomplete.
Whatsoever we accumulate is less for ourselves than it is for those whom we call "our very own." The house that we build is less for ourselves than it is for those "very own" - for those "very one" who will live in it, for those "very own" who will admire and praise it - and also for those "very own" and "others" who will become full of envy and burn with jealousy. Even if the most beautiful mansion on the Earth is mine but none of "my very own people" are around to see it - either as friends or as enemies - I will suddenly find that the mansion is worth less than a hut. This is because the mansion is only a facade: in reality it is simply a means to impress " our very own" and those who are not our very own. If no one is around, whom will I impress?
The clothes you wear are intended to dazzle others' eyes than to cover your own body. Everything becomes meaningless when you are all alone. You ascend throne less for any pleasure that you may get from ascending - no one has ever attained any bliss from merely sitting on a throne- rather than for the sake of all the charisma that your are able to generate amongst "your very own" and "others" by being on it. You may remain sitting on the throne, but if all the people around it disappear, you will suddenly find that sitting on it has become ludicrous. You will get down from it and perhaps never sit on it again.
Victory is never desired for the sake of victory.THe real interest in victory is because of the ego-fulfillment that it brings to one amongst "one's very own" as well as amongst strangers or those who are not one's very own. "I may gain the whole empire, but what is the point?" It will have no meaning at all.
"Mine-ness" is nothing but violence. It is a deeper violence; it is not seen. The moment I call someone "mine", possession has begun. Possessiveness is a form of violence. The husband calls his wife "mine"; possession has begun. The wife calls her husband "mine"; possession has begun. But whenever we become a person's owner, right there and then we damn that person's soul. We have just killed that person; we have destroyed that person the moment the moment we claim ownership over him or her.
In fact, by owning a person we are treating them not as an individual but as an object. Then a wife becomes "mine" in the same way that a house is mine. Naturally, wherever there is a realtionship of "mine", love is not the outcome. What manifests is only conflict.
This is why in this world as long as a husband and wife or a father and son keep claiming their ownership over each other, only conflict can happen between them - never friendship. The assertion of such ownership is the cause of the friendship's destruction. Such an assertion of ownership puts everything awry; everything becomes violent.
Whenever there is an asertion of ownership, only hatred is created; and where there hatred, violence is bound to follow. That is why all our relationships have become relationships of violence. Our families have come to be nothing but relationships of violence.
If someone is talking in terms of "I" and in favour of nonviolence, then know that his nonviolence is phony - because the flower of nonviolence never blossoms in the soil of "I" and "mine". A life of nonviolence never evolves from the basis of "mine"
- "War & Peace" by Osho.
It is often surprising that we are often only able to see into the depths of our minds during moments of crisis. We do not see the depths in ordinary moments. It is only during extraordinary moments that what is hidden in the deepest part of us begins to manifest.
A death occurs in the neighborhood, but it does not touch people's hearts. People simply say," The poor man died." We are unable to brush it away like this when it occurs in our own homes. Thus it affects us, because when a death occurs in our homes, when one of "our own" dies, we also die, a part of ourselves dies. We had an investment in this person who has died, we used to get something from this person's life. This person was occupying a certain corner of our hearts.
So when a wife dies it is not just the wife who dies. Something in the husband dies too. The truth is that the husband came into being when the wife came into being. Before that there was not a husband or a wife. When a son dies, something in the mother also dies - because the woman only became a mother at the birth of her son. With the birth of a child , the mother is also born, and at the death of a child, the mother also dies. We are connected with the one we call ours. When he or she dies, we also die.
Our "I" is nothing but a sum total of what we call "our own people." What we call "I" is the name for all the accumulations of "mine". If all those who are "mine" are to leave, then I will be no more, then I cannot remain. This "I" of mine is attached partly to my father, partly to my mother, partly to my son, partly to my friend...to all of these people.
What is even more surprising is that this "I" is not only attached to those whom we call our own, but it is also attached to those whom we consider outsiders or "not-mine". Although this attachment is outside our circle, nonetheless it is there. Hence, when my enemy dies, I also die a little,since I will not be exactly the same as I was while my enemy was alive. Even my enemy has been contributing somthing to my life. He was my enemy. He may have been an enemy but he was my enemy. My "I" was related to him too: without him I will be incomplete.
Whatsoever we accumulate is less for ourselves than it is for those whom we call "our very own." The house that we build is less for ourselves than it is for those "very own" - for those "very one" who will live in it, for those "very own" who will admire and praise it - and also for those "very own" and "others" who will become full of envy and burn with jealousy. Even if the most beautiful mansion on the Earth is mine but none of "my very own people" are around to see it - either as friends or as enemies - I will suddenly find that the mansion is worth less than a hut. This is because the mansion is only a facade: in reality it is simply a means to impress " our very own" and those who are not our very own. If no one is around, whom will I impress?
The clothes you wear are intended to dazzle others' eyes than to cover your own body. Everything becomes meaningless when you are all alone. You ascend throne less for any pleasure that you may get from ascending - no one has ever attained any bliss from merely sitting on a throne- rather than for the sake of all the charisma that your are able to generate amongst "your very own" and "others" by being on it. You may remain sitting on the throne, but if all the people around it disappear, you will suddenly find that sitting on it has become ludicrous. You will get down from it and perhaps never sit on it again.
Victory is never desired for the sake of victory.THe real interest in victory is because of the ego-fulfillment that it brings to one amongst "one's very own" as well as amongst strangers or those who are not one's very own. "I may gain the whole empire, but what is the point?" It will have no meaning at all.
"Mine-ness" is nothing but violence. It is a deeper violence; it is not seen. The moment I call someone "mine", possession has begun. Possessiveness is a form of violence. The husband calls his wife "mine"; possession has begun. The wife calls her husband "mine"; possession has begun. But whenever we become a person's owner, right there and then we damn that person's soul. We have just killed that person; we have destroyed that person the moment the moment we claim ownership over him or her.
In fact, by owning a person we are treating them not as an individual but as an object. Then a wife becomes "mine" in the same way that a house is mine. Naturally, wherever there is a realtionship of "mine", love is not the outcome. What manifests is only conflict.
This is why in this world as long as a husband and wife or a father and son keep claiming their ownership over each other, only conflict can happen between them - never friendship. The assertion of such ownership is the cause of the friendship's destruction. Such an assertion of ownership puts everything awry; everything becomes violent.
Whenever there is an asertion of ownership, only hatred is created; and where there hatred, violence is bound to follow. That is why all our relationships have become relationships of violence. Our families have come to be nothing but relationships of violence.
If someone is talking in terms of "I" and in favour of nonviolence, then know that his nonviolence is phony - because the flower of nonviolence never blossoms in the soil of "I" and "mine". A life of nonviolence never evolves from the basis of "mine"
- "War & Peace" by Osho.
Friday, March 19, 2010
State of No-thought.
Osho sez -
"Thinking shows the futility of everything: even of life, of love, of the family, of wealth, of the world, of war. But if one goes on thinking, then in the end, this thinking shows the futility of thinking itself. And it is at this point that the person enters the state of no-thought. Then, in this state of no-thought everything becomes possible for the person - in exactly the same way as it is for a thoughtless person. But the very quality of this person and his actions is different. He is like a small child.
When someone attains to saintliness in old age, he again becomes like a child. However, the similarity between saintliness and the child exists only on the surface. A sage's eyes become as innocent as those of a child, but in a child everything is dormant, has to yet to manifest. Hence, a child is like a volcano: it has not exploded yet, but that is the only difference. His innocence is superficial: underneath everything is getting ready to explode. The seeds are germinating inside him; they are sprouting. Sex, anger and enmity - everything will surface in time. Right now, everything is being prepared. A child is a time bomb; it will take some time and then it will explode.
But a sage has gone beyond all this. All those seeds that were supposed to sprout within him have done so, and having proved futile have been dropped. Now nothing remains inside: his eyes have again become innocent; everything has again become pure."
"Thinking shows the futility of everything: even of life, of love, of the family, of wealth, of the world, of war. But if one goes on thinking, then in the end, this thinking shows the futility of thinking itself. And it is at this point that the person enters the state of no-thought. Then, in this state of no-thought everything becomes possible for the person - in exactly the same way as it is for a thoughtless person. But the very quality of this person and his actions is different. He is like a small child.
When someone attains to saintliness in old age, he again becomes like a child. However, the similarity between saintliness and the child exists only on the surface. A sage's eyes become as innocent as those of a child, but in a child everything is dormant, has to yet to manifest. Hence, a child is like a volcano: it has not exploded yet, but that is the only difference. His innocence is superficial: underneath everything is getting ready to explode. The seeds are germinating inside him; they are sprouting. Sex, anger and enmity - everything will surface in time. Right now, everything is being prepared. A child is a time bomb; it will take some time and then it will explode.
But a sage has gone beyond all this. All those seeds that were supposed to sprout within him have done so, and having proved futile have been dropped. Now nothing remains inside: his eyes have again become innocent; everything has again become pure."
Saturday, March 13, 2010
The dogs of war!
Ignorance combined with the lower-emotions releases a demon into the minds of the masses which celebrates the dance of the primeval instincts fuelled by hatred & vengeance! Mob-mentality...deprived of common sense is so overwhelming that even the normal intelligent human starts participating in the festival of blood...pity that the majority of the masses exist at this level and await the triggering of events...
E.g. chinese rulers wiping out entire dynasties of the ruler of a lost kingdom, Nazis, colonial natives, slavery, the dark ages (burning the witches at stake)...WWs......etc
V hav come a long way frm utter barbarism to refined mercy killings...but the darkness still flickers within...waiting to be fuelled & unleashed...
The 'flicker' is extinguished by a few, living the higher emotions(compassion, mercy & love)...the only exit from 'Chaos Inc.'
So, tell me, hw many of these 'destructive few' can be moved up towards Compassion, Mercy & Love? Prob, u wudnt have the energy/patience to push anyone up, except one....urself!
E.g. chinese rulers wiping out entire dynasties of the ruler of a lost kingdom, Nazis, colonial natives, slavery, the dark ages (burning the witches at stake)...WWs......etc
V hav come a long way frm utter barbarism to refined mercy killings...but the darkness still flickers within...waiting to be fuelled & unleashed...
The 'flicker' is extinguished by a few, living the higher emotions(compassion, mercy & love)...the only exit from 'Chaos Inc.'
So, tell me, hw many of these 'destructive few' can be moved up towards Compassion, Mercy & Love? Prob, u wudnt have the energy/patience to push anyone up, except one....urself!
Journey of a lifetime
Whether u were a 10, 20 or 35 year old, u look back and see that the life lived is a bunch of intermittent memories and that too short lived. At the end of one's life, one wud have the same feeling...that life passed by rather quickly.
Since the journey does not stop with a lifetime, a crisis will pass by giving a new lease to the journey. At the soul-level, the individual shud bear happiness and pain with equanimity...as the sufferings/happiness at the physical level do not last forever. Knowing this, one should be indifferent to the momentary happenings and absorb the experiences only. It would further help if the dependants of the individual understand this fact and also see it as it is, in a detached manner...that it is a passing phase and it needs to be endured.
Contrary to the way u let a child walk knowing that the child might hurt itself, u hav to hand-hold the elders through pain & discomfort as long as they need ur support (again in a detached way, accepting the fact it is only going to get worse). The battle is as long as you r fighting against the inevitable, not accepting the truth. The moment u accept the ultimate truth, u r at peace with urself and ur surroundings and u can support the people who need ur help, in a very detached and unpainful way. At the end of the journey, u shud look back to see that u supported somebody well enough to give them liberation and ... a new lease of life / opportunity. As long as u r attached to the individual, u r not allowing the individual to start a new journey (u r the hindrance) and y wud u want to be that?
If u really love somebody, u let them go...to start a new journey. Knowing this, u give the individual reasons to look fwd beyond the darkness...at the end, wat is left is the love and cherishing moments.
Currently, dont see it as a battle. Accept it as a fact and then do what needs to be done to make the remaining moments more cherishable and carry it out as a duty...
thatz my opinion and hw I wud deal with it. At the end of the chapter, I wud be happy that the loved one has started a new journey somewhere...
Since the journey does not stop with a lifetime, a crisis will pass by giving a new lease to the journey. At the soul-level, the individual shud bear happiness and pain with equanimity...as the sufferings/happiness at the physical level do not last forever. Knowing this, one should be indifferent to the momentary happenings and absorb the experiences only. It would further help if the dependants of the individual understand this fact and also see it as it is, in a detached manner...that it is a passing phase and it needs to be endured.
Contrary to the way u let a child walk knowing that the child might hurt itself, u hav to hand-hold the elders through pain & discomfort as long as they need ur support (again in a detached way, accepting the fact it is only going to get worse). The battle is as long as you r fighting against the inevitable, not accepting the truth. The moment u accept the ultimate truth, u r at peace with urself and ur surroundings and u can support the people who need ur help, in a very detached and unpainful way. At the end of the journey, u shud look back to see that u supported somebody well enough to give them liberation and ... a new lease of life / opportunity. As long as u r attached to the individual, u r not allowing the individual to start a new journey (u r the hindrance) and y wud u want to be that?
If u really love somebody, u let them go...to start a new journey. Knowing this, u give the individual reasons to look fwd beyond the darkness...at the end, wat is left is the love and cherishing moments.
Currently, dont see it as a battle. Accept it as a fact and then do what needs to be done to make the remaining moments more cherishable and carry it out as a duty...
thatz my opinion and hw I wud deal with it. At the end of the chapter, I wud be happy that the loved one has started a new journey somewhere...
Battleground Invitation!
A human has only 2 options ~
<1>Control over self & <2>The freedom to choose...an option...
Everyday battles/wars wage on...they come with either
A. an "optional" tag,
B. "expiry" tag,
C. "no-retreat" tag.
A battle is not fought for 2 reasons-
1. Peace &
2. Fear of defeat.
<1>Control over self & <2>The freedom to choose...an option...
Everyday battles/wars wage on...they come with either
A. an "optional" tag,
B. "expiry" tag,
C. "no-retreat" tag.
- B4 u start the battle, ensure that u know the outcome (without the end in sight, it wud be better 2 be self-defensive...dont kill the 'enemy' yet...u cud be making a regretful mistake). ...
- Once u r sure of the outcome, Then do an internal chk whether u really want the end-result to happen.
- If it's a big "YES"(refer to case C above), gather all ur resources, strategise and b4 drawing the sword, offer "Truce"...if it is not accepted, go all out for the kill...the next blow cud end the battle!
- If it is a sure 'NO' (refer to case A above), just walk away from battle...it aint worth fighting...this might involve a self-sacrifice...but it's worth it...after all, losing an unwanted battle doesn't make u weaker or a coward...in fact, u wil emerge stronger & wiser! All this as long as u believe in that "NO"...
- If it is a 'MAYBE' (refer to case B above), hang on there...give a blow, take a blow...weather it out...know that it's got an expiry date! (If it doesn't end, then case C is applicable...u knw wat to do ...Wake Up!!!)
A battle is not fought for 2 reasons-
1. Peace &
2. Fear of defeat.
- If it is '1', it is a worthy virtue to pursue.
- If it is '2', it is not the defeat that you shud b worried about; it is the'fear' that u shud be scared about, bcos... it will kill u anyways!At the beginning of a battle, there are 2 rivals - 'Right' & 'Wrong'! At the end of the battle, there is only 1 entity left - the "Right" or the "Wrong"...whoever survives is ultimately right! The point is that u hav 2 fight the battle bcos u think u r right...if u think u r not, then it is better to align with the rival. [There is no intermediate stage. If u think, there is,then it is all excess baggage and u need to shed it...else u will be defeated by ur own 'illusions'...]
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