Upanishads, Discourses on the Mandukya Upanishad, These discourses are based on the sutras of the Mandukya and Isa Upanishads. Philosophia Ultima Chapter 8: Simply Get Out by the Door, Question 2

The second question

Question 2

OSHO:

IN YOUR EARLY YEARS YOU WERE ALONE ON YOUR PATH AND REVOLTING AGAINST BELONGING TO ANY FAMILY, GROUP, COMMUNITY, RELIGION, SOCIETY OR COUNTRY. NOW YOU HAVE FOUND, AND YOU RELAX IN YOUR BEING.

AROUND YOU A COMMUNITY IS CREATED, AND WITH IT THE SEEDS OF ESTABLISHMENT.

NOW, I WANT TO BE CLOSE TO YOU AND TO THE SOURCE, BUT I AM REVOLTING AGAINST BEING PART OF THESE INTENSE MASSES, GROUPS (SLEEPING) AND GROUP-LEADERS (HALF-SLEEPING). I HEAR YOUR VOICE SAYING, "THIS IS A COMMUNITY OF INDIVIDUALS BUT..."

HERE I AM AGAIN, SITTING NEAR THE RIVER, HEARING THE BIRDS' SONGS, SEEING THEM FLYING AND PLAYING, AND MEDITATION HAPPENS TO ME.

NOW, THE PART IN ME WHICH IS REVOLTING IS ASKING IF I KNOW DEEPLY IN MY HEART THAT NATURE IS THE RIGHT SPACE FOR MY GROWTH, FOR MY THERAPY AND FOR MY MEDITATION.

WHY SHOULD I AGAIN FALL INTO THE GROUPS?

IF I KNOW THE BULLSHIT THAT IS RUNNING IN MY MIND, WHY SHOULD I LOOK FOR MEDITATION IN INTENSE PLACES? AND THERE IS NO URGE IN ME TO LISTEN TO THE 'HALF-MIRROR'.

Veet Adam

THE FIRST THING: I never asked anybody ANY question. The moment you ask a question you are getting into a community -- you are getting into communion! I never asked anybody.

And you are wrong when you say:

YOU WERE REVOLTING AGAINST BELONGING TO ANY FAMILY...

If you want to revolt against a family, group, community, religion, establishment, first you have to BELONG to it. I never belonged! I never became a part of any group, of any society, of any establishment, so the question of revolting does not arise.

One woman was asking another, "Do you believe in the liberation of women?"

She said, "Yes, I do."

The other looked puzzled and said, "Then why are you getting married?"

She said, "But before I can be liberated I have to be trapped! Otherwise how can I be liberated?"

Liberation needs imprisonment. I never revolted because there was nobody to revolt against. I simply never belonged.

YOU are revolting... that means that you belong. Don't belong! Why are you creating unnecessary trouble? -- first getting married and then making efforts to be liberated! Simply be liberated.

Just the other day I was reading the definition of a bachelor: A bachelor is a person who has not committed the same mistake even once. So be a bachelor! Who is preventing you? We prevent people from coming in, but we never prevent people from going out.

If somebody wants to go out we help him in every possible way! We have created barriers for people to come in -- we give them every opportunity to escape -- but if they want to get trapped, what can be done? They are free, and we cannot hinder them forever. And if WE hinder them they will get trapped somewhere else. If they are DETERMINED to become prisoners they will become prisoners somewhere or other. Then this is the best place to become a prisoner, because the gates are open and you are always pushed and helped to get away as quickly as possible! In other places they don't hinder you from getting in, but they hinder you from getting out.

WHO IS telling you to be here? But you are understanding in your own way.

You say:

IN YOUR EARLY YEARS YOU WERE ALONE ON YOUR PATH...

Not only in early years: I have always been alone on my path. Even today I am absolutely alone. Your being here does not make any difference -- my aloneness remains untouched -- because aloneness is so intrinsic. Nobody can enter into your aloneness. You can be in the crowd and absolutely alone, but you may be alone and not alone at all. You can sit in a cave in the Himalayas and still think of the crowd, of the girlfriend and the boyfriend and the marketplace and what is going on there....

I was traveling in the Himalayas and I visited many people who lived in caves for years -- thirty years, forty years. When I visited them the first thing they asked was, "Any news about the world? What is going on there?" Still waiting for news! Then what is wrong with reading a newspaper? If that is the first question -- "Tell us something about the world, what is going on there?" -- then their minds are there in the world.

You CAN be alone, but that aloneness may not be true aloneness. It may be only loneliness, and you may be thinking and fantasizing about all kinds of things.

Aloneness comes out of awareness; it has nothing to do with where you are in the outside world but where you are in the INSIDE world. You have been misunderstanding me.

You say:

... AND YOU REVOLTED AGAINST BELONGING TO ANY FAMILY,

GROUP, COMMUNITY, RELIGION, SOCIETY OR COUNTRY.

I don't take that much trouble. I see the point and simply get out of it -- there is no question of revolting! Have you seen a snake slipping out of the old skin? Do you think it revolts against it? It simply slips out! When I saw the stupidity of ANYTHING, I immediately slipped out of it; there was no question of revolting.

Revolt means fighting and fighting means remaining there. And with whomsoever you fight you become very intimate, or vice versa: if you are very intimate you will start fighting. So now they say about couples that they are intimate enemies. Either become intimate and you will fight, or fight and you will become intimate.

You see something is wrong -- you see this is the wall and not the door: do you revolt against the wall? Do you shout, do you protest, do you do something against the wall? You simply get out by the door! Whenever I saw any wall I never in the whole of my life fought against it. It is stupid! The wall will not be harmed, you will be harmed.

But you are understanding according to yourself...

A gay guy was passing a church when he had an overwhelming impulse to go inside and listen to the sermon. He was deeply moved by it and enjoyed it so much that, when the time came for the collection plate to be passed around, he pulled out a five-hundred-dollar bill and placed it on the plate.

The preacher was ecstatic when he saw the money, and launched into a heartfelt talk about the virtues of generosity. "Such a fine example of Christian charity!" he declared with great emotion. "The man who offered this money may choose any hymn he wants."

The gay guy stood up excitedly and started to gesticulate wildly. "I'll take him!" -- pointing to a handsome young man in the pew. "And him... and him!"

You are not listening to me! I am saying something else! You are hearing something totally different, diametrically opposite to it.

I am a simple man. I am not in any way interested in fighting any stupid fight. I simply see the point and I get out of it. Only understanding is needed and all that is wrong falls away from you; it is not a question of revolt.

And you say:

NOW YOU HAVE FOUND, AND YOU RELAX IN YOUR BEING.

It is not that I have FOUND and that's why I relax in my being -- I relaxed in my being, that's why I have found! You are just putting things upside-down!

AROUND YOU A COMMUNITY IS CREATED

AND WITH IT THE SEEDS OF ESTABLISHMENT.

That's true! Whenever there is communion there will be a community. It cannot be avoided -- and there is no need to avoid it. I invite it! I have invited you all. I have called you all to be with me, to share the joy that I have found, to share the truth. But there is no establishment.

Establishment happens only when the Master is dead. Establishment is when the community no longer has any center, only a circumference. A DEAD community is what an establishment is. I know that whenever a community is born, sooner or later there will be an establishment, but that does not mean that the community has to be prevented from being born. That will be like killing a child because if the child survives then sooner or later he will have to die -- so better kill him now. Why let him live just to die? Everybody knows that everybody is going to die; that does not mean that every child has to be killed. When death comes it is perfectly okay.

The only thing to be remembered is that when the Master is dead, the community should start dispersing; it should start seeking and searching for new Masters. Either the Master will leave many Masters behind him, alive, enlightened... then the community can still remain a community, it will not become an establishment. If one enlightened person is there then the community is still a community; it does not matter who the enlightened person is.

And I can assure you that I am going to leave many more enlightened people in my commune than has ever been done before. Jesus could not leave a single enlightened person...

The scene is the Last Supper. In a humble room lit by just one candle sits Jesus, surrounded by his twelve disciples. A soft golden glow fills the room...

Words are unnecessary in the warm silence.

Jesus gently speaks to Peter on his right hand, "Would you like the last egg, Peter?"

"No, my Lord, you have it!" murmured Peter.

Jesus then asks Luke, "Would you like the last egg, Luke?"

"No, my Lord, you have it!" Luke replies.

Jesus asks Steven, "Would you like the last egg, Steven?"

Steven replies, "No, my Lord, you have it!"

And so Jesus asks every one of his closest disciples. They all refuse, leaving the last egg for him.

As he reaches to pierce the egg with his fork, a gust of wind blows out the candle. There is a muffled shriek. When the candle is relit, Jesus is looking at his hand -- with twelve forks sticking from it.

These twelve fools became twelve apostles! Hence, the moment Jesus died the religion disappeared -- it became a cult! It became an establishment. And now the ultimate fall has happened: the Polack Pope. Now it cannot fall any more. One thing is good about it -- it cannot fall any more. This is the last! Now Christianity has reached the seventh hell, there is no lower to go than that.

I know that whenever there is a commune there is danger of an establishment. Krishnamurti is trying to avoid that danger by killing the baby -- so that there is no death later on. But what is the point? Death will be right now; later on... the baby can live for at least a few years, maybe a hundred years or maybe more.

Buddha said, "My commune will live for five hundred years." Before he used to say, "My commune will live for five thousand years," but the day he allowed women into his commune he said, "Now I cannot say five thousand years, only five hundred years!" And he was right -- right in the sense that, according to him, the way he founded his discipline, there was no place for women. And he was getting old; now it was impossible to change the whole structure.

MY commune can live five thousand years or more, because I have started it with women! Now, who can destroy it? I have my own ways! Nobody can destroy it -- I have taken every care. I have handed over the commune to women... there IS a danger, but five thousand years is a long time. Veet Adam, by that time you can become enlightened! Don't be afraid of the seeds -- seeds are there, but they will not sprout for at least five thousand years. And I am going to leave many enlightened people behind me -- they are getting ready.

A woman visited the psychiatrist for the first time. He invited her into his office and asked her to make herself comfortable on the couch. Seeing that she was hesitating and seemed to be bashful, he said, "Go ahead and lie back and get comfortable. This is the way I have all my patients talk to me. This is an important part of your treatment."

The women did as she was told. She carefully smoothed her dress around her knees and then reclined and began to relax.

"Now," the doctor said, "let's begin at the beginning. How did your troubles begin?"

"Exactly like this!" she said.

I know, exactly like this trouble begins, but it will take at least five thousand years to come into power. By that time only stupid people will not be enlightened -- very stupid people! And, Adam, I don't think you are THAT stupid!

And you say:

NOW, I WANT TO BE CLOSE TO YOU AND TO THE SOURCE...

But that is the seed of the commune! All these people want to be close to the source, that's why the commune is needed. Everybody wants to be close, but then some discipline has to be managed, otherwise there will simply be chaos.

And you say:

... BUT I AM REVOLTING AGAINST BEING PART OF THESE INTENSE MASSES, GROUPS (SLEEPING) AND GROUPLEADERS (HALF-SLEEPING).

Don't participate in them! Who is telling you? It is up to you.

And you say:

I HEAR YOUR VOICE SAYING,

"THIS IS A COMMUNITY OF INDIVIDUALS, BUT..."

I never use buts and ifs! It must be your own voice -- beware of it!

A man was playing roulette and was down to his last chip. As he stood undecided about what to do with it, he heard a wee voice whisper in his ear, "Play 32!"

So, figuring he probably would lose it anyway, he played 32 -- and won.

The little voice then whispered, "Put it all on 8!"

He did, and he won again.

"Now let it all ride on 19," the little voice said.

The player followed the advice of the little voice and won a third time.

"Here we go for the last time," the little voice said, "and your fortune! Put all of it on 3."

The man did as he was told. As the little white ball snuggled down in the 15 slot, the man heard the little voice say, "Aw, shucks! that's the way it goes."

It is your OWN voice you are hearing! One thing is absolutely certain: I have not been speaking to you. That much I can say with absolute certainty, that I have no direct line with you yet -- because you are half-hearted. I can speak directly only to those who are TOTALLY here. You are not yet totally here, hence this question has arisen.

You say:

HERE I AM AGAIN, SITTING NEAR THE RIVER, HEARING THE BIRDS' SONGS,

SEEING THEM FLYING AND PLAYING, AND MEDITATION HAPPENS TO ME.

So far so good! Let it happen more and more!

NOW, THE PART IN ME WHICH IS REVOLTING.

Now still something is there which is revolting -- and meditation is happening by the river? What kind of meditation is this~ Suddenly the birds are no more flying and playing, and again the revolt?

NOW, THE PART IN ME WHICH IS REVOLTING IS ASKING IF I KNOW DEEPLY IN MY HEART THAT NATURE IS THE RIGHT SPACE FOR MY GROWTH, FOR MY THERAPY AND FOR MY MEDITATION.

It is all your mind -- that meditation too, those birds flying and playing. That is just mind and nothing else!

WHY SHOULD I AGAIN FALL INTO THE GROUPS?

But who is telling you? -- aw, shucks! -- who is telling you? You are telling me:

... IF I KNOW THE BULLSHIT THAT IS RUNNING IN MY MIND,

WHY SHOULD I LOOK FOR MEDITATION IN INTENSE PLACES?

You have come to know that bullshit only because of these groups, and that little bit of thought about meditation is happening only because of this community. Otherwise there are many fools sitting by the river, and no birds are flying and no birds are playing and nothing is happening.

AND THERE IS NO URGE IN ME TO LISTEN TO THE 'HALF-MIRROR'.

If there is no urge, perfectly good! But there seems to be some urge in you. And it is better to have a half-mirror than to have nothing -- at least some vague idea of your original face, some reflection, even in the half-mirror. It is better to have a dim old half-mirror than just a wall. Unless you have found your own mirror it is better to use others' mirrors -- there is nothing wrong in it.

But you are unnecessarily getting into troubles. You seem to be, Adam, very new here...

A white Brazilian arrived in South Africa and wanted to go to the theater. The price was five dollars for the stalls and ten dollars for the balcony. It was strange -- never had he seen stalls cheaper than the balcony.

The ticket-man said, "I can see that you are new here. In this place the whites go to the balcony and the blacks go to the stalls."

"Okay," said the Brazilian, "give me a ticket for the balcony.

Half an hour after the performance had begun he needed to piss, so he asked the guy next to him where the toilet was.

"I can see that you are not from these parts," stated the man, "because there is no toilet. We just piss over the railing onto the blacks' heads!"

When he was almost finished pissing, a black guy from the stalls shouted up to him, "Hey, man, I can see that you are not from here. In this place the whites don't aim at only one person, they piss all over the stalls!"

Adam, you are just new here! Be here a little bit more and all these nonsense thoughts will disappear. Use the half-mirror till you have found the mirror of your own meditation. It can be found -- every device is available here to help you to find it. Don't miss this opportunity -- it can be missed....

Upanishads

PHILOSOPHIA ULTIMA

Chapter-8

Simply Get Out by the Door