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The World of OSHO
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Osho is a mystic who brings the timeless wisdom of the East to bear on the urgent questions facing men and women today. He speaks of the search for harmony and wholeness that lies at the core of all religious and spiritual traditions, illuminating the essence of Christianity, Hassidism, Buddhism, Sufism, Tantra, Tao, Yoga, and Zen.
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Osho's
vision is a new man. After his enlightenment in 1953, the evolution
of that new man became his whole work. In 1963 he left the academic
world he had taught philosophy at the University of Jabalpur and
began speaking to tens of thousands across India. He then focused
intensely on developing practical tools for man's transformation.
Modern man, he said, is so burdened with traditions of the past
and anxieties of modern-day living, that he must go through a
deep cleansing process before he can begin to discover the thought-free
relaxed state of meditation.
Most
of us live out our lives in the world of time, in memories of
the past and anticipation of the future. Only rarely do we touch
the timeless dimension of the present - in moments of sudden
beauty or sudden danger, in meeting with a lover or with the surprise
of the unexpected. Very few people step out of the world of time
and mind, its ambitions and competitiveness, and begin to live
in the world of the timeless. And of those who do, only a few
have attempted to share their experience. Lao Tzu, Gautam Buddha,
Bodhidharma...or more recently, George Gurdjieff, Raman Maharshi,
J. Krishnamurti - they are thought by their contemporaries to
be eccentrics or madmen; after their death they are called "philosophers."
And in time they become legends - not flesh-and-blood human beings,
but perhaps mythological representations of our collective wish
to grow beyond the smallness and trivia, the meaninglessness of
our everyday lives.
Osho
is one who has discovered the door to living His life in the timeless
dimension of the present - He has called Himself a "true existentialist"
- and He has devoted His life to provoking others to seek this
same door, to step out of the world of past and future and discover
for themselves the world of eternity. Osho was born in Kuchwada,
Madhya Pradesh, India, on December 1 l, 1931. From His earliest
childhood, His was a rebellious and independent spirit, insisting
on experiencing the truth for Himself rather than acquiring knowledge
and beliefs given by others After His enlightenment at the age
of twenty-one, Osho completed His academic studies and spent several
years teaching philosophy at the University of Jabalpur. Meanwhile,
He traveled throughout India giving talks, challenging orthodox
religious leaders in public debate, questioning traditional beliefs,
and meeting people from all walks of life. He read extensively,
everything He could find to broaden His understanding of the belief
systems and psychology of contemporary man.
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Osho blesses Vimalkirti, a sannyasin who has left his body
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By the late 1960s Osho had begun to develop
His unique dynamic meditation techniques. Modern man, He said,
is so burdened with the outmoded traditions of the past and
the anxieties of modern-day living that he must go through a
deep cleansing process before he can hope to discover the thought-less,
relaxed state of meditation. In the early 1970s, the first Westerners
began to hear of Osho.
In 1974, a commune was established around him in Poona, India,
and a trickle of visitors from the West soon became a flood.
Today this commune attracts international visitors to its meditation,
therapy, bodywork and creative programs.
In the course of
his work, Osho speaks on virtually every aspect of the development
of human consciousness. His talks cover a staggering range —
from the meaning of life and death to the struggles of power
and politics, — from the challenges of love and creativity to
the significance of science and education.
He
has distilled the essence of what is significant to the spiritual
quest of contemporary man, based not on intellectual understanding
but tested against His own existential experience. He belongs
to no tradition - 'I am the beginning of a totally new religious
consciousness,' He says. "Please don't connect me with the past
- it is not even worth remembering"
His talks to disciples and seekers from all over the world have
been published in more than six hundred volumes, and translated
into over thirty languages. And He says, My message is not a
doctrine, not a philosophy. My message is a certain alchemy,
a science of transformation, so only those who are willing to
die as they are and be born again into something so new that
they cannot even imagine it right now... only those few courageous
people will be ready to listen, because listening is going to
be risky. "Listening, you have taken the first step towards
being reborn So it is not a philosophy that you can just make
an overcoat of and go bragging about. It is not a doctrine where
you can find consolation for harassing questions. No, my message
is not some verbal communication. It is far more risky. It is
nothing less than death and rebirth."
Osho
left His body on January 19, 1990, as a result of poisoning
by US government agents while held incognito in custody on
technical immigration violations in 1985. His commune in India
continues to be the largest spiritual growth center in the
world attracting thousands of international visitors.
Osho Meditation Centers exist in many countries of
the world, where one can participate in meditations, therapy,
bodywork and creative programs, or just experience being in
a buddhafield.
Osho belongs
to no tradition. He says, "My message is not a doctrine,
not a philosophy. My message is a certain alchemy, a science
of transformation.
"Osho is an enlightened master
who is trying with all means to help today´s humanity
through a difficult phase in the development of consciousness"
The Dalai Lama
, at Bodh Gaya, India
"The most fundamental religious truth is that man is asleep - not physically, but metaphysically; not apparently, but deep down. Man lives in a deep slumber. He works, he moves, he thinks, he imagines, he dreams, but the sleep continues as a basic substratum to his life. Rare are the moment when you feel really awake, very rare; they can be counted on the fingers.
"Man lives like a robot: mechanically efficient, but with no awareness. Hence the whole problem! There are so many problems man has to face, but they are all by-products of his sleep.
"So the first thing to be understood is what this sleep consists of - because Zen is an effort to become alert and awake. All religion is nothing but that: an effort to become more conscious, an effort to become more aware, an effort to bring more alertness, more attentiveness to your life."
I would like you all to be deeply, intensely, passionately in life, with one condition only: alertness, watchfulness, witnessing. And I know the difficulty arises, because you will be living with millions of sleepy people. And sleep is contagious, just as awareness is. Awareness, too, is contagious - hence the significance of being with a master.
The master cannot give you the truth. Nobody can give the truth to anybody else; it is untransferable. Then what is the function of a master? Then what is the use of searching for a master? Then why be a disciple at all? Still there is a reason, and the reason is that awareness is as contagious as sleepiness.
Osho Photos
Video | Tom Robbins speaks about Osho
Osho´s books and meditations are available from
www.oshoviha USA
www.oshopublicaties NL
www.oshoverlag.de DE
www.oshoba.it IT
www.almasta.ch CH , FR
www.oshogulaab ES
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