Moving Towards the Ultimate - Shekhar Kapur in conversation with Sadhguru

Shekhar Kapur : I just walked into a space where all the brahmacharis are chanting. There’s something special about their chants. It kind of hits you right here. It’s kind of energizing and powerful. So, what is a brahmachari ? I mean, we understand in Hinduism, brahmachari means denial. But you often said it’s not about denial; it’s about gaining something. Tell me about it.



Sadhguru : [Laughs] You know, for example, if somebody wants to climb Mount Everest, he prepares for years; probably for a lifetime. And then he goes into the harshest of the climate, denying himself every pleasure of life; of comfort, of family, of society. He denies himself everything that people normally want to have – all that to climb mountain. But do you really believe he is denying himself, or is he making another possibility, something which you can never imagine, a reality in his life ?So, that is brahmacharya. The word Brahmacharya literally means – Brahman means “the Ultimate”, charya means “path” – you are on the path of the Ultimate. Or in other words, you are somebody who is not willing to settle for small things. Anybody who has created anything worthwhile in his life has naturally denied himself a lot of simple pleasures that other people have. When you are making film, maybe you are not eating well, maybe you are not sleeping well. Sitting with your wife, having dinner with the family – everything you deny yourself, because you want to create something, isn’t it ? Isn’t that true with every man and woman who has created something worthwhile in their lives ? The same with brahmacharya. They are on the path of the Ultimate. Because of that, their attention is not diverted to other things what people think are valuable.

Shekhar Kapur : So, what is the Ultimate ?

Sadhguru : See, if you look around here, there are mud and stones and trees and plants – this is creation. From this soil, this tree is throwing out wonderful, fragrant flowers; from the same soil, a mango tree will throw out mangoes; from the same soil you have come and make movies; [Laughs] from the same soil, I have come, and I’m a Guru. So, there is something here which can make this mud into a tree, into a fruit, into a filmmaker, into a Guru, and into a billion other things. Don’t you want to know what it is ? Don’t you want to experience what it is ? If it was somewhere in heaven, I would not be interested. But, there is something within you which can transform a rice grain or a banana or a piece of bread into a human being. This is the ultimate source of creation.

Shekhar Kapur : Yeah

Sadhguru : Don’t you want to know what it is ? Don’t you want to experience it ? Don’t you want to know the power of it, the beauty of it, the joy of it ? So, brahmacharis are people who have had a taste of that, and now they want all of it. They don’t care whether they eat or not; they don’t care whether they drink, smoke and enjoy other simple physical pleasures that other people are addicted to. They have had a taste of the Ultimate; now they want it all. They won’t settle for anything less.

Shekhar Kapur : Okay. Now, I understand that till you experience it… [ you won’t know ]. Talk about the Ultimate. What is the Ultimate ?

Sadhguru : See, my work as a Guru is just to give you a taste of that Ultimate, so that your life goes into a tizzy, you go crazy, and you want to go for it. You had a taste; now you can’t stop. [Laughs]

Shekhar Kapur : So your work is to drive people mad….?

Sadhguru : Yes. Because if people sleep through their life, in the name of comfort, in the name of security, they are wasting their life. They must go all the way. This is not my desire – it is their desire also. Today you have a desire to fulfil one thing. If that happens, you want the next one and the next one and the next one. If you carefully look at your desiring process, you will see you are not willing to settle for anything limited, isn’t it ? There is something within you which does not like boundaries. There is something within you which is longing for the Ultimate – always. So, this is not my idea; this is not my philosophy that you should seek the Ultimate. You are anyway seeking the Ultimate in unconscious ways. But if you seek in unconscious ways, you will always remain frustrated; and the chances of finding it are remote. It is better to seek what you want in a conscious, focused way. So, brahmacharis are also seeking just what you are seeking; but they are seeking it 100% consciously.

Shekhar Kapur : So, what is the Ultimate ? [Sadhguru laughs] I’m looking for words.

Sadhguru : See, whatever we look at, we can only look at it the way you understand it right now. If I say something which is not in your understanding, I’d be compelling you to believe me or disbelieve me. I don’t want to go into such obscenities. I think it’s obscene to demand that you must believe me. I’ll never do that to anyone. So, right now, what you call as “myself”, you actually gathered over a period of time?

Shekhar Kapur : Yeah.

Sadhguru : In terms of your mind, it is a huge heap of impressions. In terms of your body, it is a heap of food that you have eaten. So, you gathered this. What you gather can be yours; can it ever be you?

Shekhar Kapur : No. Then what is the “you” beyond “yours”?

Sadhguru : So you are existing here without even knowing “what is me”. This “me” is not a simple me. This “me” is the Ultimate. This “me” can make a piece of bread, a banana into a human being. This is not a simple thing. This ame “me” which can make a banana into a human being also created the whole cosmic scape. It is not a different “me.” So, the choice is just this – either you can exist here just as a piece of creation or you can exist as a very Creator himself. That’s the Ultimate, for now. There is more to it, but for now….[Laughs]

How to respond to the suffering in the world

Questioner : As a capitalist society, here in the US and elsewhere, we tend to function out of our economic interests.  For me it is hard to be happy when I know that things that I buy involve exploiting people and that I am living in a society that in some way promotes violence around the world.  How am I supposed to focus on myself only and forget about the suffering of the world ?

Sadhguru : Oh, you are just on the way to becoming a human being! [All laughs]...  because a human does not land here as a human being, he has to become one, he has to evolve.  If a dog, a monkey or a tiger is born, it is already a dog, a monkey, a tiger.  If it eats well, it will become a good tiger.  A tiger is never sitting there, worrying itself out how to become a good tiger, "Will I end up has a house cat?" [All laugh]  There are no such struggles in it.  Food is all it has to take care of.  But you are born as a human.  To become a worthwhile human being you have to do many things.  What is human is so complex and so beautiful, you have to make it.  Your mother just deliver you as a raw material; it's your project to become a humanbeing.  How well you conduct this project is how wonderful a human being you become.  So, you are beginning to become a little sensitive to somebody else's suffering, that's good.  You are on the project. [Laughs] "It must happen, It must happen" something within you should cry.  Otherwise how is it supposed to happen ?

                                          Let's say half the world is miserable right now - it actually is.  Now if you make yourself also miserable, you are only adding to the problem.  They are miserable for one reason, you are miserable for another reason.  This doesn't solve the problem.  Only if you are joyful, only if you know what it means to live beautifully, you can create this for somebody else too.  How can you make it happen for someone when you don't know yourself what happiness is ?  You will think, "If I dump food there, it will be okay."  It will not be okay.  That's how the world has handled it.  They think if you throw some aid, it is going to be okay.  It is not going to be okay because you yourself don't know what it means to be okay.  So, if you are concerned about life around you, the first thing is you must be concerned about this life [referring to oneself].  If you do not know how to take care of this one [referring to oneself], how will you take care of that one [referring to other] ? Only if you know how to keep this one in the best possible state, you also know how to take care of that one.  Otherwise, just with good intentions, you will cause misery to everybody in the world.  More misery happened to this planet out of good intentions than out of bad intentions.

Questioner : I hear what you are saying but for me to focus on my own inner happiness is almost like a selfish thing to do ...

 Sadhguru : See, when you say "selfish", I want you to understand, the very basis of your existence here is the Self.  Everything is self-ish - put a hyphen.  [Laughs] It's all self-ish.  If you are concerned about the rest of the world, which everybody should be, either you are concerned about them as rest of the world, or you are concerned about them just the way you are concerned about yourself.

                            If you are concerned about that one just as you are concerned about this one, if you go to fix that one without fixing this one, what will that one tell you ?  That one will tell you, "First take care of yourself.  What nonsense are you going to do to me ?"

Questioner : It's hard for me to sit down and focus on yoga or something like that ..........

Sadhguru : That is because you have prejudiced ideas about yoga.

Questioner : If someone is getting slaughtered in Darfur, Africa right now with a machete, it is hard for me to go to the mall, hang out with my friends and enjoy myself.

Sadhguru : Going to the mall is different, doing yoga is different. [All laugh.]  Yoga does not mean that you have to sit and focus on yourself.  Whether you go to the Darfur or to the neighborhood, there are problems everywhere. If you reach out to the problem in the neighborhood or in Darfur, wherever you wish to, wherever you are capable of doing something, in what condition would you like to go there, both physically and mentally ?

                               We are working in Sierra Leone.  Let's say tomorrow morning I'll drop you in Sierra Leone.  I'll give you two years time to make a difference; let me see.  You will get lost in the problem.  I have dropped people there who have spent three, four, five years training themselves to do this.  Now they went there.  Just go and see the kind of difference they have made in three month's time because they know what to do with themselves and what to do with other people.  If you do not invest this time in yourself to enhance your capabilities, if you just go there with great emotion, you will get lost in the problem.  Just good intentions won't do.

                              If you want to make a difference, you need capability.  Otherwise you will sit in your house and crib about everything in the world, and nothing happens.  If you are interested in doing something, the first thing is how to enhance your capabilities, your own ability to deal with life.  Otherwise how are you going to reach out to anybody and do anything ?  In the remotest part of India, at every street corner, if you go and sit in the tea shop, right there revolutions happen; they change the world.  But the moment the tea is over, the revolution is over. [All Laugh]  Haven't you seen tea shop revolutions ? Right there everything is happening - they know how to run the country, they are advising the prime ministers, they can be the batting coaches for Tendulkar [great indian cricketer].  The only thing is they don't know how to make a good tea. [All Laugh]  Everything else they know.  So, just being concerned, just being emotionally charged about a problem is not a solution.  Solutions will come only when we empower ourselves.  If you do not take time to empower yourself there will be just not one Darfur, we will create a thousand Darfurs on this planet.

                              Out of good intentions people have done more horrible things than out of bad intentions.  So if you are concerned about humanity, please empower yourself, so that no matter what kind of situation you are placed in, you are not going to be broken and shattered by the situation, you will do the best you can do.  First empower yourself, is that a crime? That is yoga - a technology to empower yourself.

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   EXPERIENCES OF ISHA MEDITATORS WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE IN SIERRA LEONE

                  "After going there, I realized how advanced India is.  Sierra Leone is in such a bad state.  I had never imagined that even today, people are living in such conditions.  They don't have proper food to eat.  They don't have proper clothes to wear.  Not just for a particular community - the whole country is like that.  There is no proper education.  There is no culture.  There are no role models.  There is nobody to look up to.  It's just so painful to see that.  I could not believe that in today's world, there is a place like that.  While we are living this kind of life, there is another part of the world where people are living in such conditions - such unimaginably pathetic conditions.

                        Just the simple thing that there is somebody caring for them, there is somebody to be with them, not really offering any money or anything, but there is a human being standing next to them as a human being - it meant so much to them.  And it meant so much to us.

                    For all of us, these two month's in Sierra Leone have been one of the greatest experiences, one of the deepest experiences in our lives.

                                                                    Swami Rijuda

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                                          "I have been trying to write something about Africa for the last two months.  Usually words come so easy but now I find a lump in the throat and a tightness in my heart with the very thought of this people and this land.

                                          Africa broke my heart.  I was devastated, shattered, being there.  I had always wanted to work there, but the ideas I had about it were nothing compared to the reality of the whole situation.  My deepest pain is seeing human beings unable to reach their full potential, unable to even have a chance of knowing life deeper than just survival.  And all this was there; a diminished humanity, and the whole situation obscenely exaggerated by the efforts of so many people wanting to do something but incapable of really making a difference, and by those who are still seeking to exploit and exploit and exploit.

                                        Whether it was War, exploitation, slavery, greed, whatever the reason in the past, for ignoring and misusing an entire continent's plight, I cannot see any reason.  There is no justification for the fact that millions of people have to live in such conditions when the world is splurging in luxury.  Tears flood my eyes as I write this and all I can say is that after being there, I cannot eat as I did before.

                                        Every morsel of food that I put into my mouth reminds me of the six weeks we had there.  Six weeks where, for the first time in my life, I had to think whether I would spend 1 dollar to eat something to sate my hunger or not spend it.  It is not that food was not available, but it was not easily accessible because of the pace of work that was going on.

                                        And that itself made me realize just how much I take for granted.  These people, still dancing,  still celebrating life in spite of all the struggles, all the fight for survival, have made me more human and more willing."

                                                                                        Tina, Isha meditator.

"I am a hindu and I love my muslim brothers"

To move into deeper meanings of life, I will say that I am a nobody and am in love with everybody.  Truly, after watching this movie"My name is Khan", it just struck me that how after the 9/11 episode, people have started aligning the name of terrorism with every muslims of the world.  How just a few insane people have taken to themselves has the "Protectors of Islam" and are waging a cowardice war in the name of "Jihad". 
                                            It's true that life becomes difficult when people start doubting our identity but atleast within ourself we can feel that we are innocent and we cannot let the people decide on how should we live our life.  But the mass lives on people's opinion and hence they can never be at peace with themselves.
                                            This is where Sadhguru comes forth.  I remember him saying that controlling the outside situation may not be in your hands but what happens within yourself is definitely under your control. 
                                            There is one beautiful scene in this movie where Shahrukh Khan goes to the restaurant along with his companions.  Just when he is about to eat, he remembers that It's time to pray and readies himself to go for his namaaz (prayer).  But the companions points out to him that It will look so embarrassing to do namaaz in full public view.  Beautifully, Shahrukh points out that Does the time of his prayer should be decided by the people's opinion or it should be decided by the kind of relationship he has with God.  Which is important ?  It just struck me that how often we may have postponded our "Meditation and Practices", fearing that what people will think of us if we do it in full public view ?  Truly, there are many kinds of situation we face while travelling in the train and how often we postpone our practices because of what people may think about us. There are many lessons to be learned in life.
                                            In this movie, "Shahrukh" suffers from Asperger Syndrome, an Autism like disease.  Though he has limited capabilities but he is gifted with a full blown loving heart.  It again struck me when Sadhguru says that on the outside, we may all be differently capabled but from the inside, we can live our life to peaks.
                              Shahrukh reaches in a village which is struck by a hurricane to save a old woman, where love is the only relationship between them.  Though he keeps saying that he cannot do much to help them but the matter of fact is that he is there to help, in the midst of all the danger.  It is not about what we do but it is always about how we feel within ourself.

 Dvd is available at My Name is Khan

Sharing lighter moments with Osho

Questioner : I AM A POLACK. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE THINK THAT POLACKS DON'T HAVE ANY INTELLIGENCE.




Vedam,

I ALSO WONDER why people think that Polacks don't have intelligence. They have a different kind of intelligence, that is true -- so different, a unique kind of intelligence.  Nobody else in the world has that.

I have heard about the Polack Pope:

He was aboard a plane and the pilot said, "It is unfortunate that out of the four engines one has stopped working, but there is no need to worry. Three engines are more than enough to take us to our destination. The only thing is we will be three hours late."

After fifteen minutes he said, "Sorry to interrupt you again: the second engine has stopped, but no need to worry. Two engines are still more than enough and we will complete our journey, but now we will be six hours late."


And after half an hour he announced again, "Ladies and gentlemen, sorry to announce that the third engine has also failed, but still there is no need to panic. One engine is enough to take us to the destination, but now we will be nine hours late."

And after just five minutes he said, "If you want to say your prayers you can say them, because the last engine has stopped?"

And there was great panic and chaos, but the Polack Pope was sitting silently. The lady sitting by his side was weeping and screaming.  He said "What is the matter? Why are you so worried? At the most we will be twelve hours late!"

This is pure intelligence! It is mathematics, nothing else! Who says Polacks don't have intelligence?
I have read Bertrand Russell's Principia Mathematica -- that's nothing compared to the Pope's mathematics!
There are people who don't understand the Polacks and they go on spreading rumors that they have no intelligence. I am not anti-Polack. I love them, I enjoy them! I can see their intelligence is totally different!

Kyacki's son had been acting a little strange lately, so Kyacki took him to a psychiatrist.
"Tell me, son," questioned the shrink, "how many wheels does an auto have?"
"Four. "
"Very good," said the doctor. "Now what is it a cow has four of that a woman has two?"
"Legs."
"And what does your father have that your mother likes most?"
"Money."
The psychiatrist turned to Kyacki and said, "You don't have to worry about him -- he's smart!"
"He sure is!" said the Polack. "I missed the last two questions myself!"
 
Just a matter of different intelligence! Who says they don't have any intelligence?
Vedam, don't be worried. Enjoy the intelligence that God has given to you!

Banducci, Sullivan and Piwalski, traveling together in Mexico, got drunk and killed a Mexican. All three were sentenced to the electric chair.

First they sat Banducci down and asked him if he had any last words. "I am a dentist," said the Italian, "and I will care for everyone in the village for twenty-five years if you will let me go."
The authorities refused and the executioner proceeded to carry out the sentence. He pulled
the switch and nothing happened.
"By law," said the executioner, "the Italian is a free man, because the electric chair did not work."

Then the Irishman sat down. The same question was asked. "I am a doctor," said Sullivan, "and I would care for the villagers for twenty-five years in exchange for my freedom."
Again the answer was no. The switch was pulled and nothing happened. He went free.

Then Piwalski sat down. He was asked if he had any last words.
"I am a graduate in electrical engineering from Texas A M," said the Polack, "and if you
put that white wire in that hole, and the red wire in that hole..."

And who says that Polacks don't have intelligence?! Just sheer nonsense! They have intelligence -- in fact, only they have intelligence!

Time is running out. Are we doing enough to enhance our creativity ? Osho talks on creativity

Right now the whole world is in a chaos: the painter is making shoes, the man who was meant to make shoes is painting. Naturally, if you see the painting it looks crazy – it is no wonder! Everybody is somewhere where he is not supposed to be. It is such a mess!

I am reminded of a great surgeon. He was the greatest surgeon in his country, very much respected, a Nobel prize winner – and he was retiring. He was almost seventy-five, but still no young man was capable of doing such artful surgical work as he was capable of. Even at the age of seventy-five, his fingers were not trembling. He was a brain surgeon. In your small skull there are seven million nerves – you can think how small they will be – and when somebody is operating on the brain to remove some nerves, the danger is he may cut other nerves which are so close together, so the hand has not to shake at all.

At the age of seventy-five he was still a perfect surgeon, and all the doctors and the surgeons had given him a party because he was retiring. They were dancing, singing, but he was sitting in a corner, sad, with tears in his eyes. One of his old friends came by and he said, ”What is the matter? Everybody is so happy and you are looking so sad – I even see tears in your eyes.”

He said, ”Yes, there is a reason. In the first place I wanted to become a dancer, I never wanted to become a surgeon. My parents forced me. Although I became the most famous surgeon, it was not my heart’s desire. I would have been far happier just with a guitar on the street as a beggar – a singer, a dancer. ”All this fame has meant nothing to me. All these awards have meant nothing to me. Each award has only reminded me of one thing, that I am losing my life and I am not where I am supposed to be.
And now my whole life is finished. These tears are... I am crying because... why could I not rebel against my parents, and just do whatever I wanted to do?”

The world is so miserable. Ninety percent of its misery and anguish comes from the fact that everybody is doing somebody else’s work. Naturally he is not happy; he cannot put his whole soul into it.

So the parents should not decide where their children are going, in what direction. It should be decided by psychoanalysts, psychologists, teachers who have watched those children for four years during their basic education. The children should be given tests so everything is clear, where they will feel a fulfillment.
Now parents decide for a better job; their reasons for deciding are different. They are not deciding for the child and his potential, they are deciding for financial reasons, for respectability. If he becomes a great engineer or a surgeon he will have a good life, a comfortable life; he will have a respectable life. Their intention is not bad, but the path to hell is paved with good intentions. The question is not their good intention, the question is what is hidden in the child that needs a flowering.

And that is possible now. We can find out what is hidden in a child and let him move in that direction. Perhaps he may not have a very comfortable life, but he will have very contented life – and what is comfort in comparison to contentment?
Perhaps he may not become world famous, but who cares? How many people know him does not make any difference. But dancing or singing or painting, he will have a fulfillment, a flowering.
His life will be juicy.
His aura will be of joy.
This whole world can be a paradise; we just have to put everybody in his own place. Right now everybody is in the wrong place: nobody is happy, nobody is blissful, nobody is contented. And the whole responsibility is on how we start bringing up children.

Facing the God and the Guru, whom should I bow first ?

Is there any possibility for a nonserious meditator ? Osho answers

                                        There is only possibility of enlightenment if you are a nonserious meditator because seriousness is sickness, seriousness is not health.  Seriousness is a tense state of mind, it is sadness it is not overflowing joy.  Yes, the old traditions will tell you, "Be Serious".  I cannot say that to you.  Why be serious?  The birds singing in the morning are not serious.  The stars in the night are not serious.  The flowers in their different colours are not serious.  Except man, have you anything else in existence which is serious.
                                        Who has made man serious ?  It is your old traditons which have created the idea that life is not a rejoicing, that life is not playfullness; that life has to be serious, only then you can enter the paradise, only then can you meet God.  But I want to tell you, even God will not give you an audience if you reach there with serious face, long face.  You have to go there like an innocent child,playful, joyous.  You have to learn something of the sense of humor.  All your religion are lacking in that dimension-  a sense of humor.  They are all serious. 
                                        In my village, as happens all over the East every year Ramleela was played - the life of Rama.

                 The man who used to play the role of Ravana, the enemy of Rama who steals Rama's wife, was a great wrestler.  He was the champion of the whole district, and the next year he was going to stand for the championship of the whole state.  We used to take bath in the river almost simultaneously in the morning, so we became friends.  I told him,"Every year you become Ravana, every year you are being deceived.  Just the moment you are going to break shiva's bow so that you can get married to Sita, the daughter of Janaka, a messenger comes running in and informs you that your capital of Srilanka is on fire.  So you have to go, rush back to your country.  And meanwhile, Rama manages to break the bow and marry the girl.  Don't you get bored every year with the same thing ?"
                                        He said, "But this is how the story goes."
                           I said, "The story is in our hands if you listen to my suggestion.  You must have seen that most of the people are fast asleep because they have seen the sam thing year after year, generation after generation -make it a little juicy".
                                  He said, "What do you mean?"
                                  I said,"This time you do one thing I say."
                                  And he did it!
                                  When the messenger came with the message:"Your capital, the golden Srilanka, is on fire,you have to get there soon," he said,"You shut up, idiot" - he spoke in English!.
                                  That's what I had told him! The people who were asleep woke up: "Who is speaking in English in Ramleela?"
                                 And Ravana said, "You go away.I don't care.  You have deceived me every year. This time I am am going to marry Sita."

                                 And he went and broke the bow of Shiva to pieces, and threw it into the mountains - it was just a bamboo bow. And he asked Janaka,"Bring......where is your daughter? My jumbo-jet is waiting!"

                                       It was so hilarious. Even after forty years, whenever I meet somebody from my village, they remember that Ramleela. They said,"Nothing like that has ever happened."


The manager had to drop the curtains. And the man was a great wrestler, and atleast twelve people had to carry him out.

That day Ramleela could not be played. And next day they had to change Ravana; they found another person.

By the river, Ravana met me. He said,"You disturbed my whole thing."

I said,"But did you see the people clapping, enjoying, laughing? For years you have been playing the part and nobody has clapped, nobody has laughed. It was worth it!"



Religion needs a religious quality. A few qualities are missing. One of the most important is sense of humor.



They stopped me meeting their actors. They made it clear to every actor that if anybody listened to me or met me, he would not be allowed to act. But they forgot to tell one man who was not an actor.....

He was a carpenter. He used to come to do some work in my house also. So I said to him,"I cannot approach the actors this year. Last year was enough! Although I did no harm to anybody - everybody loved it, the whole city appreciated it. But now they are guarding every actor and they don't allow me close to anybody. But you are not an actor. Your function is some other work. But you can help me."

He said,"Whatever I can do, I will do, because last year was really great. Can I be of some help?"

I said,"Certainly."

And he did it......

In the war, Lakshmana, Rama's younger brother, get's wounded by a poisonous arrow. It is fatal. The physicians say that unless a certain herbal plant from the mountain Arunachal is brought, he cannot be saved, by the morning he will be dead. He is lying down on the stage unconcious. Rama is crying.

Hanuman, his most devoted follower, says, "Don't be worried. I will go immediately to Arunachal, find the herb, bring it before the morning. I just want some indications from the physician how to find it, how it looks. There may be so many herbs on the Arunachal, and the time is short, soon it is night."

The physician said,"There is no difficulty. That special herb has a unique quality. In the night it radiates and is full of light so you can see it. So anywhere you see a luminous herb you can bring it."

Hanuman goes to Sri Arunachal, but he is puzzled because the whole of Arunachal is full of luminous herbs. It is not the only herb that has that special quality. There are many other herbs which have the same quality of being luminous in the night.

Now the poor Hanuman - he is just a monkey - is at a loss what to do. So he decides to take the whole mountain, and put the mountain there in front of the physician to find the herb.

The carpenter was on top of the roof. He had to pull the rope on which Hanuman comes with a cardboard mountain with lighted candles. And I had told him,"Stop exactly in the middle. Let him hang there, with the mountain and everything!"

And he managed it.

The manager rushed out. The whole crowd was agog with excitement at what was happening. And Hanuman was perspiring, because he was hanging on the ropes with the mountain also in the other hand. Something had got stuck on the wheel on which the rope was going to be rolled. The manager rushed up. He asked the carpenter.... and the carpenter said,"I don't know what has gone wrong. The rope has got stuck somewhere."

In a hurry, finding nothing, the manager cut the ropes, and Hanuman with his mountain fell on the stage. And naturally he was angry. But the thousands of people were immensely happy. That made him even more angry.

Rama continued repeating the lines he had been told to say. He said,"Hanuman, my devoted friend...."

And Hanuman said,"To hell with your friends! Perhaps I have fractures."

Rama went on saying,"My brother is dying."

Hanuman said,"He can die any moment. What I want to know is, who cut the rope? I will kill him."

Again the curtain had to be dropped, The Ramleela postponed. And the manager and the people who were organising all approached my father saying,"Your son is destroying everything. He's making a mockery of our religion."

I said,"I'm not making a mockery of your religion. I'm simply giving it a little sense of humor."

I would like people to laugh. What is the point of repeating an old story every year? Then everybody is asleep because they know the story, they know every word of it. It is absolutely pointless.

My approach is to create a world where laughter is good, is healthy, is supported not condemned. I would like our temples to be full of laughter, singing, dancing. I would like our churches to be full of music. I would like all our religious places to be playful.

How strange it is that you continously go on saying that the world is God's leela, and you never understand the meaning of the word "leela". Leela means playfullness. If God is playful, then who are your saints not to be playful? If the whole of existence is divine play, then our lives should also be a part of it, a divine play.

So don't be worried about meditating nonseriously; in fact, that is the right way to meditate. Meditate playfully, nonseriously, because whenever you meditate seriously, you become tense. Meditation needs relaxation. Meditation needs a joyful heart. It is not work, it is play.

Living Gracefully with life situations - Osho

I am reminded of Abraham Lincoln….

I love this anecdote so much! It was his first address in the Senate as president. He was a poor man’s
son, his father was a shoemaker – in India he would have been an untouchable. Even in America people were very annoyed, irritated, angry that a shoemaker’s son had become the president; the aristocrats, the rich, the super-rich naturally were angry. There was great tension on the first day when he addressed them. As he stood up, one aristocrat also stood up and said, “Mr President, before you start speaking, I would like you to remember that your father used to make shoes for
my family. Right now I am using the shoes made by your father, so don’t forget that. Just becoming president does not mean anything. Don’t forget that you are a shoemaker’s son.”

There was absolute silence, pin-drop silence. Everybody felt that Abraham Lincoln would feel embarrassed, but instead of feeling embarrassed, he made the whole Senate feel embarrassed.He said, “It is good, I am immensely thankful to you that you reminded me about my father” — and tears came to his eyes. And he said, “How can I forget him? I know that he was a perfect shoemaker and I can never be that perfect a president. I cannot defeat the old man.  It is a question of perfection.  I know my father and I want to ask you, do you have any complaint against my father's shoes ?  Then I can come and repair them, because I have learned from my father the art of making shoes."

“You are still wearing shoes he has made — many of you must be wearing them. If they do not fit you,
if they are pinching, if you are feeling uncomfortable, don’t be worried. Although my father is dead, he made me learn the art enough to mend your shoes. I cannot replace him; he was a perfect master. I am just an amateur, but I can mend your shoes and I will always remember to try at least to become as good a president as he was a shoemaker. I cannot hope to be better than him — that is
impossible, because I know him.”

Sharing some moments with Osho

I am reminded............

It happened in Bombay that a Hindu saint who used to come there always had a big following. He was delivering his morning talk, and a very rich lady was sitting in front of him with her small child who suddenly said, "Mummy, I want to go to the bathroom".

Everybody laughed because the talk was about Vedanta the ultimate god, and suddenly that boy brings the bathroom in.

The mother tried to push him, "Sit down".

He said,"I cannot! I want to piss."

Everybody was laughing, and the saint felt embarresed. But the woman was very rich so he could not say anything to her. And he was a guest in the same woman's house, he had been there for many years. But after the meeting he called the woman separately and told her,"You should teach your child some etiquette. In a spiritual meeting he talked about bathroom and pissing, and that created such a disurbance that all my seriousness was lost and people must have forgotten all the great things that I was saying. That boy is a real devil. Either you should not bring him with you or you should teach him something."

The women said,"He insists on coming. And he is my only child and I cannot leave him crying and weeping at home. I will not be able to sit listening to you peacefully because I will remember that he will be weeping and crying."

Then the saint said,"I suggest a simple thing to you. You just tell him that if you want to go to the bathroom, you need not say that you want to piss, you can simply teach him to change the word "piss". Instead of saying 'pissing', say 'singing': "Mom, I want to sing". Nobody will know what is going on; it will be a code language. And this is not difficult. Make it clear: 'If you learn this, only then will I take you with me; otherwise no.'

The boy agreed. He said,"There is no problem for me. Whenever I feel, I will say that I want to sing. You have to understand, don't forget!"

After one year the saint came back. He was staying in the same lady's house and just in the evening the lady said,"I am in a trouble. One of my sisters is seriously sick and I have to go to see her. I may not be able to come back in the night. The child is alone. It will be a great kindness if you let him sleep with you in the bed because he has never slept alone."

The saint said,"There is no problem".

The women left.

In the middle of the night the child shook the saint and said,"I want to sing".

The saint said,"Are you mad? Is this the time for singing? In the middle of the night, disturbing all the neighbours....? Shut up and go to sleep."

The boy remained silent for a few minutes. He said,"It is difficult to shut up. You have to allow me to sing - it is coming."

The saint said,"What nonsense. The whole day I have been teaching people and in the night you won't let me sleep, and your mother has left you in my care. I tell you, go to sleep. If you want to sing, sing in the morning!".

He said,"I can't wait that long. You don't understand. I have to sing now."

So the saint said,"It seems you won't listen, so okay, sing but sing very quietly. Just come close to my ear; sing in a whisper.....nobody hears."

The boy said,"I warn you." He said, "Don't tell me later on. It seems that you don't know what singing means."

The saint said,"You think you know more than me? You just sing whatever you want to. Be finished and go to bed!".

Half asleep, the saint suddenly jumped when the boy started "singing" in his ear......... He said,"My God! This you call singing!"

He said,"It is your teaching.......You told my mother.......Otherwise I was always telling the truth. You made me a hypocrite, now suffer."

And the saint said,"This is someting. Could you not tell me what singing means?"

He said,"That was the whole point - to hide the things that means. I thought that you have given the suggestion so you must know."

When you sit in a Sathsang,.....don't worry about what's happening to somebody; be absolutely with me

Seeker: During the past few days, in certain processes conducted at the sathsangs, you asked us to focus between the eyebrow. Certain experiences seemed to happen to some people. I don't know what happened and why. I don't know what my problem is. I don't understand why I am unable to experience anything. Please explain.
.
Sadhguru: You should keep the focus between your eyebrows. (Laughter).

Seeker : Yes, I understand that. Still I could not experience anything.

Sadhguru : (Laughs) I thought you kept it on somebody else's eyebrows. (Laughter). Now sathsang means a communion with truth. You don't know what truth is; so how to commune with it, isn't it ? People have been talking about it; the scriptures have been screaming about it; but you do not know what truth is. So right now, when you sit with a Guru, he is the nearest thing to truth that you know. That also you are not sure of. See, as far as you are concerned, you are not sure whether he is in truth or not. All you can see is he seems to be at least on a higher level of existence than you are. That's a reality, let's admit it. You don't know whether he is in truth or not. He may be, he may not be; but you have no way of knowing it, isn't it? The only thing you can recognize is he seems to be much clearer than you about everything. He seems to be atleast one step higher than wherever you think you are. So that's why you look up to him.

Right now, let's say we are expecting a flood. You are sitting here in depression, and you cannot see what's coming. Somebody sitting on that pole up there, every five minutes you would ask him, "Where is it? What is happening?" Isn't it? He may not be seeing the whole world, but he is sitting in a more elevated place than you are. He may be on top of the world; that you do not know. You have no way of knowing. So let's go with reality. Let's not go with hallucination; let's not go with belief systems. Let's not simply believe something because those beliefs will crash somewhere. Only reality will sustain itself.

That's the reason why you are sitting with a guru. You don't know whether you will get to the end of the world or beyond the world. But atleast you want to get there where he is, to the next peak. So when you sit in the sathsang, sit totally with me. Don't worry about what's happening to somebody; be absolutely with me. Somebody screams, somebody yells, somebody does whatever nonsense they want; that's not your business. Your business is just to be with me. But you are too concerned about what's happening around you. Nothing will ever happen to you, because you have no focus.

See, there are different kinds of materials in the world. Now, if I strike a match and keep it here, maybe John's shawl will catch fire so much more easily than his T-shirt, yes? Definitely more easily than the marble on which you are sitting; definitely much more easily than the steel pole that is standing there. Isn't it so? So the question is not whether the shawl is better than the marble, or the steel; that's not the point. This catches fire so much more easily; that's all it is. So you don't worry who is catching fire, who is not catching fire; your business is just to be totally there, for the purpose you are there.

You've heard of Dronacharya, that man who took away somebody's thumb? He is supposed to be the ultimate guru in archery, or any kind of arms, for that matter. These 105 brothers are his disciples. You know, the hundred Kauravas and the five Pandavas. Out of these 105, Arjuna became his favourite disciple to whom he revealed most. Arjuna became the greatest archer. Why this is so is not because Dronacharya played favourites, but simply because nobody else had the quality to receive.

One day they were in a class. They lived in an ashram along with Dronacharya. He was saying something about archery. For practical laboratory work, he took them outside. (Laughs) He had set up a toy parrot on the topmost branch of the tree. He took them out and one by one he told them, "There's a little spot on the neck of the parrot. Aim at that spot and shoot." When they drew their bow, they waited till he said shoot. He kept them waiting for a few minutes. Most people cannot keep their focus on one place for more than a few seconds. Have you noticed this with yourself ? So he let them wait for a few minutes with their bows drawn.. It's a stenous thing, physically, holding it and being focused. Then he asked them, "What do you see?" Then they went about describing all the leaves on the tree, the fruits, the flowers, the bird, and even the sky. When Arjuna's turn came, he focused and drew his bow.

Dronacharya asked, "What do you see?"

Arjuna said, 'Just one spot on the neck of the parrot. That's all I see.'

This man gets somewhere. People without focus, if they get anywhere, it's only accidentaly, isn't it? Not because of themselves; inspite of themselves, people get somewhere because so many forces in the existence take them on. But this man will get somewhere because of himself.

So when you are in a sathsang, that's how you must be. You don't worry about what's happening with the rest of the world. You simply be where you have to be, focused on what you have to be. Then what has to happen will happen. What happen to somebody need not happen to you; but what has to happen to you will definitely happen; nobody can deny it to you. But you are so concerned about what's happening to somebody else that time goes waste; life goes waste.

Twilight - Bikram Ghosh and Niladri Kumar - Beautiful music

Sprouts for Optimum Nutrition

Sprouts are considered as wonder foods. They rank as the freshest and most nutritious of all vegetables available to human diet. By a process of natural transmutation, sprouted food aquires vastly improved digestibility and nutritional qualities when compared to non-sprouted embryo from which it derives.
Sprout foods have been part of the diet of many ancient races for thousand of years. Even to this day, the chinese retain their fame for delicious mung bean sprouts. Sprouts provide all essential vitamins and minerals. They should form a vital component of our diet. Sprouting requires no constant care but only an occasional sprinkling of water.
All edible grains, seeds and legumes can be sprouted. Generally the following are used to be sprouted :-
1. Grains :- Wheat, maize, ragi, bajra and barley

2. Seeds :- Alfalfa seeds, radish seeds, fenugreek seeds, carrot seeds, coriander seeds, pumpkin seeds, and musk-melon seeds.

3. Legumes :- Mung, Bengal gram, groundnut and peas.

Alfalfa, as the name in Arabic signifies, is the king of all sprouts. Grown as a plant, its roots are known to burrow as much as 12 metres into the subsoil to bring up the valuable trace minerals of which manganese is especially important to health and digestion; it is vital component of human insulin. Apart from minerals, alfalfa is also rich source of vitamins A, B, C, E and K and amino acids. Sesame seeds are another good source of nourishment. They contain all the essential amino acids in their 20 percent protein content and higher concentration of calcium than does milk. They are high in Lecithin, unsaturated fats, vitamin E and Vitamin B complex, besides other live nutrients.

How to sprout

As a first step good variety of seeds should be used for sprouting. It should be ensured that the seeds, legumes or grains are of the sproutable type. Soyabean do not sprout well since they often become sour. Wheat has to be grown in soil. It is advisable to use seeds which are not chemicaly treated as this slows down the germination rate. The seeds should be washed thorougly and then soaked overnight in a jar of pure water. The jar should be covered with cheesecloth or wire screening. The duration of soaking depends upon the size of the seed. Small seeds are soaked for five hours and beans and grains for 10 to 12 hours.

On the following morning, the seeds should be rinsed and the water drained off. Not more than one-fourth of the jar should be filled with the seeds for sprouting. Soaking makes the seeds, grains or legumes fatty, pulpy and full of water. They will expand about eight times their original size. The jar should be kept at a place which is neither exposed to chill nor hot winds. It should also be ensured that the mouth of the jar is not completely covered so as to allow air in. The seeds should be rinsed and water drained off three times every day till they are ready to eat.

The seeds will germinate and become sprouts in two to three days from commencement of soaking, depending on temprature and humidity. Care should always be taken to ensure that sprouts do not lie in water. They should be kept well drained to prevent souring. To retain their nutrional value, they should be placed in a refrigerator, if they cannot be consumed immediately.

Soaking for a longer period than required makes the seeds rot or ferment. The main factors for germination are water, air, heat and darkness. There may be poor germination or no germination at all if any of these factors are not present such as insufficient water, or too much water, lack of sufficient heat, lack of fresh air, either too cold or too hot surrounding and too much light.

Benefits

In the process of sprouting, the vitamins, minerals and protein increase substantially with corresponding decrease in calories and carbohydrates content. The comparision of nutritional value of sprouted mung beans over dried beans shows the following results :-

• Energy content-calories -----Decrease 15 percent
• Total carbohydrate content----- Decrease 9 percent
• Protein availability------ Increase 30 percent
• Calcium content------ Increase 34 percent
• Potassium content----- Increase 80 percent
• Sodium content----- Increase 690 percent
• Iron content----- Increase 40 percent
• Phosphorous content----- Increase 56 percent
• Vitamin A content----- Increase 285 percent
• Vitamin B1 content----- Increase 208 percent
• Vitamin B2----- Increase 515 %
• Vitamin B3----- Increase 256 %
• Vitamin C content-------- An infinite increase

The increase in protein availability is of great significance. The resultant protein is the most easily digestable of all protein available in foods. Sprouts are an extremely inexpensive method of obtaining concentration of vitamin, minerals and enzymes.

It should however be ensured that seeds and dried beans are purchased from a store where they are fresh, unsprayed and packaged as food. Seeds that are packaged for planting purposes may contain mercury compounds or other toxic chemicals.
Wish you all a wonderful health.

Always find a Living Master - Osho

Blogger's Remark

I found this article of Osho, a living truth of his selfless being. He wished everyone the best of their life, once he is no more. I will always stay indebted to this man, which I was unfortunate to see him alive. But I can feel his presence. Thank you, Osho, for coming in my life. Now, the words of Osho, Source : "The Sword and the Lotus" :-

You can see light, but how can you explain it to a blind man ? There seems to be no way. Whatever you say about light, will not be light. Whatever you say about light, will not be meaningful to the blind man.

Hence always remember, truth cannot be said, it can be shown. It is a finger pointing to the moon. All words are just fingers pointing to the moon, but don't accept the fingers as the moon. The moment you start clinging to the fingers - thats where doctrines, cults, creeds, dogmas, are born - then you have missed the whole point. The fingers were not the point; the point was the moon.

That's why I say, don't get lost in words, don't get lost in doctrines. Rather find a living master whose very being is a finger pointing to the moon. In his presence maybe something transpires in you. Not in his words, but perhaps in his silence. Not in theories, but perhaps in his eyes. There you may find a certain inspiration, a glimpse, a door opening into the mysteries of life.

Books cannot do that; only a living master can. And this is the misery, that people go on carrying dead books, dead words. Perhaps those words were once alive when the master who had spoken them, was there.

When I speak to you, do you think it is only the words that reach to you ? No, my tone, my emphasis on certain words, my silence between two words, my gestures of the hands, my eyes - which I forget completely to blink ! My doctors are after me to continue to blink - but I forget! When I am really speaking to you, then it is not only my words, but my whole being that is involved in it. It is a total expression.... and one never knows what will reach to your heart.

You can write these words. They will be the same - but yet not the same, because the living reality behind them will be missing . My emphasis has always been - while I'm alive do not bother about what I say. Don't listen to what I say, listen to what I am! And when I am gone, just say a goodbye to me. Don't cling to the memories, don't cling to that which is no more. Find another living master - the earth is never empty.

Existence is very compassionate. I don't want you to cling to me. That is one of the faults all the old religions have commited, and I don't want you to do it. Now the pope is not enlightened. Now your eight shankaracharyas have nothing to do with the original shankaracharya; they are not enlightened people. You are unneccesarily wasting your time and their time.

Search and you will always find, because the earth is not barren, it always produces. Whoever is thirsty will always find the well somewhere.

Rather than getting lost into words, use your time in finding a charishmatic personality, a living mystery, a man who has become a legend while he is alive. And when he is gone, be grateful for those moments that you lived with him, but don't get stuck there. Find out, and now it will be easier for you to find out because you have tasted one mystic, you know the taste, you know the vibe. You will be easily pulled towards the direction where you will find another awakened being. Only bodies differ, the expereince of the awakening is the same. So I don't want anybody to remember me, even when I am gone. If you have really loved me, I would like you to find someone of the same quality, so that your love goes on growing, your being goes on maturing, so that one day you are also in a state where you can help thirsty people to quench their thirst.

Can we judge the ways of the Enlightened Master ? Osho talks about Paramahamsa Ramakrishna

Ramakrishna Paramhansa Interest in food

It is said about Ramkrishna that he was much too interested in food; in fact obsessed. That is very unlikely. Even his wife, Sharada, used to feel very embarrassed; because he was such a great saint, only with one flaw – and the flaw was that he was much too interested in food. He was interested so much that while he was giving satsang to his disciples, just in the middle he will say, ”Wait, I am coming,” and he will go to look into the kitchen, what is being cooked. He will just go there and ask, ”What is being prepared today?” and then will come back and start his satsang again.

His closest disciples became worried. They said, ”This doesn’t look good, Paramhansa. And everything is so perfectly beautiful – never has there walked such a beautiful and perfect man – but this small thing, why can’t you drop it?” He will laugh and will not say anything.

One day his wife Sharada insisted too much. He said, ”Okay, if you insist, I will tell. My prarabdha is finished; and I am just clinging with this food. If I drop that I am gone.” The wife could not believe this. It is very difficult for wives to believe in their own husbands – even if the husband is a Paramhansa it makes no difference. The wife must have thought that he is befooling, or he is trying to rationalize. Seeing that, Ramkrishna said, ”Look, I can see that you are not trusting me, but you will know. The day I am going to die, just three days before that day, three days before my death, I will not look at the food. You will bring my thali in, and I will start looking in another direction; then you can know that only three days more am I to be here.”

That too was not believed; they forgot about it. Then, just three days before Ramkrishna died, he was resting, Sharada brought his thali, his food: he turned over, started looking at the other side. Suddenly the wife realized, remembered. The thali fell from her hands, she started crying.

Ramkrishna said, ”Don’t cry now. Now my work is finished; I need not cling.” And exactly after three days he died.

He was clinging in compassion, just trying to create a bondage with one chain. The imprisonment is gone; the prison has disappeared. Out of compassion he was trying to cling, to linger a little longer on this shore, to help those who had gathered around him. But it is difficult to understand a Paramhansa. It is difficult to understand a man who has become a siddha, a Buddha, one who has emptied all his sanchita, all accumulated karmas. It is very difficult. He has no gravitation, so Ramkrishna was clinging to a rock.

The rock has gravitation. He was clinging to a rock so that he could linger on this earth a little longer. When you have samyama, a consciousness fully alert, you can see how much karma is left. It is exactly like when a physician comes and he sees and touches the pulse of a dying man, and he says, ”Not more than two, three hours.” What is he saying? By long experience he has come to know how the pulse beats when a person is going to die. Exactly that way, a man who is alert knows how much prarabdha is left – how much pulse – and he knows when he has to go.

Source: from book "Yoga: The Alpha and the Omega, Vol 8" by Osho

What does it mean to go beyond oneself - Sadhguru talks about the Roadside Rickshawman