Jun 14, 2001 05:28 PM
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Acharya Rajneesh, also known as Osho, has always been a controversial godman. Irrespective of the controversies, it is an incontrovertible fact that he has been one of the greatest thinkers, a guru for millions of followers, and a major influence on the modern thought. The ''spirituality-religion-meditation-self actualization'' circuit cannot ignore Osho. I never met Osho, nor did I ever attend any of his lectures, or visit his Ashram. I started reading his books and listening to his cassettes after his death.
My interest in Osho started after I read one of his joke books in which he explains many serious topics with the help of some hilarious jokes! Osho comes out as a radical,original thinker, one who has a totally new way of looking at things, so unconventional, so rebellious. He was a learned man, well read, a scholar. Many times he sounds like Ayn Rand, many times very different, but always different from the conventional Gurus. Culling from the collective wisdom of all the great scriptures of all the religions, works of great thinkers right from Sankaracharya to Kierkergard,Kant and Betrand Russell, Osho adds his own ideas and interpretations, and comes out with his own unique cocktail of philosophy, a unique view of life that is so persuasive and believable. This book has a nice introductory article by Khushwant Singh, who is clearly impressed with Osho. A cynic like Khushwant being impressed! Especially in view of the fact that it was Khushwant Singh as editor of ''weekly'' who added fuel to the fire of controversy by publishing an irreverant, sensational articles about Rajneesh Ashram Pune.
This book is a collection of short articles, consisting of passages from his discourses, and answers to the questions put by the attendees covering a wide variety of topics, from most profound & serious to the most banal & pedestrian. Osho is equally at ease in answering every type of question. Osho's views are bold, rebellious, at times shocking> He turns the conventional wisdom and traditional definitions upside down! To quote some of his thoughts:
You can deny God, you cant deny life! Life is the aim of everything, it cannot have an aim other than life> Live with such totality that each moment becomes a celebration.
Art of living fully is so simple and obvious that there is no need to learn it. Trees, birds, mountains, rivers, birds, animals, flowers, all know it. Only man, the highest peak of the life form, doesn't know it.
Sex is the most important energy.It can produce a new life, and it can give you also a new life!
Politicians and priests have always been in a conspiracy. They don’t want people to be transformed, become independent, free, intelligent…for the fear that then people can no longer be dominated or exploited.
Nobody is born for another to fulfil your ideas of how he should be. You are the master of your own love, you can give as much as you want, to whom you want- but you cannot demand love from another person. Nobody is your slave.
Marriage is an outdated institution, to live in any institution is bad anyway. Marriage has destroyed almost all possibilities of happiness for millions of men and women.
Aloneness is ultimate, it's very different from loneliness.
Intelligence is not of the mind, it is one of the qualities of your being. Mind is only a vehicle of using it.
TV has taken the humanity back to primitive stage, looking at pictures. There are things that cannot be expressed in pictures. TV kills thinking, kills imagination, contemplation. There are plenty more, too many to list.
For those who have a desire to know more than mere existential life, I recommend this book which is easy to read and easy to understand, especially for those who cannot understand Osho's cassettes because most of them are in Hindi. In view of the fact that modern day Gurus and thinkers like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar etc. too are repeating the same theories as propounded by Rajneesh, it is a fact that Osho's legacy and contribution can never be ignored.
