And you should not forget Rudyard Kipling: what he said has
significance, has meaning. He says East and West shall never meet. There is a fragment of
truth in it, because the meeting seems to be impossible; the ways of their working are so
diametrically opposite.
The West is aggressive, scientific, ready to conquer nature. The East is
non-aggressive, receptive -- ready to be conquered by nature. The West is eager to know.
The East is patient. The West takes every initiative to reach into the mysteries of life
and existence; it tries to unlock the doors. And the East simply waits in profound trust:
"Whenever I am worthy, the truth will be revealed to me."
The West is concentration of the mind: the East is meditation of the mind. The West is
thinking: the East is non-thinking. The West is mind: the East is no-mind. And Kipling
seems to be logically right, that it seems impossible that East and West could ever meet.
And "the East and the West" does not only represent the earth being divided
in two hemispheres: it represents your mind too, your brain too. Your brain is also
divided in two hemispheres just like the earth. Your brain has an East in it and a West in
it. The left-side hemisphere of your brain is the West; it is connected with the right
hand. And the right-side hemisphere of your brain is the East; it is connected with the
left hand.
The West is rightist. The East is leftist. And the processes of both are so
different.... The left hemisphere of your mind calculates, thinks, is logical. All science
is produced by it. And the right hemisphere of your brain is a poet, is a mystic. It
intuits, it feels. It is vague, cloudy, misty. Nothing is clear. Everything is a kind of
chaos, but that chaos has its beauty. There is great poetry in that chaos, there is great
song in that chaos. It is very juicy.
The calculative mind is a desert-like phenomenon. And the non-calculative mind is a
garden. Birds sing there and flowers bloom... it is a totally different world.
Pythagoras was the first man to try the impossible, and he succeeded! In him,
East and West became one. In him, yin and yang became one. In him, male and female became
one. He was an ardhanarishwar -- a total unity of the polar opposites. Shiva and
Shakti together: intellect of the highest caliber and intuition of the deepest caliber.
Pythagoras is a peak, a sunlit peak, and a deep, dark valley too. It is a very rare
combination.
But his whole life's effort was destroyed by the stupid people, by the mediocre masses.
These few verses are the only contribution left. These verses can be written on one
postcard. This is all that is left of that great man's effort, endeavor. And this
too is not written by his own hand; it seems all that he had written was destroyed.
The day Pythagoras died, thousands of his disciples were massacred
and burnt.
Only one disciple escaped the school; his name was Lysis. And he escaped, not to save
his life -- he escaped just to save something of the Master's teachings. These Golden
Verses of Pythagoras were written by Lysis, the only disciple who survived.
The whole school was burnt, and thousands of disciples were simply murdered and
butchered. And all that Pythagoras had accumulated on his journeys -- great treasures,
great scriptures from China, India, Tibet, Egypt, years and years of work -- all was
burnt.
Lysis wrote these few verses. And, as it has been the ancient tradition that a real
disciple knows no other name than his Master's, these verses are not called Lysis'
Verses -- they are called The Golden Verses of Pythagoras. He has not written
his name on them.
This has been happening again and again. It happened with Vyasa in India, a great
Master. In his name there are so many scriptures that it is impossible that one man could
write so many scriptures. It is humanly impossible. Even if one thousand persons wrote
their whole lives continuously, then too so many scriptures could not be written. Then
what happened? They are all authored by Vyasa -- they are not all written by Vyasa but by
his disciples. But the real disciple knows no other name than his Master's. He has
disappeared in the Master, so whatsoever he writes, he writes in the name of the Master.
So many theories have been evolved by linguists, by scholars, by professors -- they think
there have been so many Vyasas, many people of the same name. That is all nonsense. There
has been only one Vyasa. But down the centuries many people loved him so deeply that when
they wrote something, they felt it was the Master writing through them -- they signed the
Master's name because they were only vehicles, just instruments, mediums.
The same happened in Egypt to Hermes: many scriptures, all written by the disciples.
And the same happened with Orpheus in Greece, and the same with Lao Tzu in China and
Confucius in China.
The disciple loses his identity. He becomes utterly one with the Master. But something
of immense value has been destroyed by the stupidity of people.
Pythagoras is the first experiment in creating a synthesis.
Twenty-five centuries have passed since then and nobody else has tried it again. Nobody
else before had done it, and nobody else has done it afterwards either. It needs a mind
which is both -- scientific and mystic. It is a rare phenomenon. It happens once in a
while.
There have been great mystics -- Buddha, Lao Tzu, Zarathustra. And there have been
great scientists -- Newton, Edison, Einstein. But to find a man who is at home with both
worlds, easily at home, is very difficult. Pythagoras is that kind of man -- a class unto
himself. He cannot be categorized by anybody else.
The synthesis that he tried was needed, particularly in his days, as it is needed today
-- because the world is again at the same point. The world moves in a wheel. The Sanskrit
word for "the world" is samsara. Samsara means the wheel. The
wheel is big: one circle is completed in twenty-five centuries. Twenty-five centuries
before Pythagoras, Atlantis committed suicide -- out of man's own scientific growth. But
without wisdom, scientific growth is dangerous. It is putting a sword in the hands of a
child.
Now twenty-five centuries have passed since Pythagoras. Again the world is in a chaos.
Again the wheel has come to the same point -- it always comes to the same point. It takes
twenty-five centuries for this moment to happen. After each twenty-five centuries the
world comes into a state of great chaos.
Man becomes uprooted, starts feeling meaningless. All the values of life disappear. A
great darkness surrounds. Sense of direction is lost. One simply feels accidental. There
seems to be no purpose, no significance. Life seems to be just a by-product of chance. It
seems existence does not care for you. It seems there is no life after death. It seems
whatsoever you do is futile, routine, mechanical. All seems to be pointless.
These times of chaos, disorder, can either be a great curse, as it happened in
Atlantis, or they can prove a quantum leap in human growth. It depends on how we use them.
It is only in such great times of chaos that great stars are born.
Pythagoras was not alone. In Greece, Pythagoras and Heraclitus were born. In India,
Buddha and Mahavira and many others. In China, Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Confucius, Mencius,
Lieh Tzu, and many more. In Iran, Zarathustra. In the brahmin tradition, many great
upanishadic seers. In the world of Judaism, Moses.... All these people, these great
Masters were born at a certain stage in human history -- twenty-five centuries ago.
Now we are again in a great chaos, and man's fate will depend on what we do. Either we
will destroy ourselves like the civilization that destroyed itself in Atlantis -- the
whole world will become a Hiroshima; we will be drowned in our own knowledge; in our own
science we will commit suicide, a collective suicide. A few, a Noah and a few of his
followers, may be saved, or may not be.... Or, there is a possibility that we can take a
quantum leap.
Either man can commit suicide, or man can be reborn. Both doors are open.
If such times can create people like Heraclitus and Lao Tzu and Zarathustra and
Pythagoras and Buddha and Confucius, why can they not create a great humanity? They can.
But we go on missing the opportunity.
The ordinary masses live in such unconsciousness that they can't see even a few steps
ahead. They are blind. And they are the majority! The coming twenty-five years, the last
part of this century, is going to be of immense value. If we can create a great
momentum in the world for meditation, for the inward journey, for tranquillity, for
stillness, for love, for God... if we can create a space in these coming twenty-five years
for God to happen to many many people, humanity will have a new birth, a resurrection. A
new man will be born.
And once you miss these times, then for twenty-five centuries again you will
remain the same. A few people will achieve enlightenment, but it will remain only for a
few people. Here and there, once in a while, a person will become alert and aware and
divine. But the greater part of humanity goes on lagging behind -- in darkness, in utter
darkness, in absolute misery. The greater part of humanity goes on living in hell.
But these moments when chaos spreads and man loses his roots in the past, becomes
unhinged from the past, are great moments. If we can learn something from the past
history, if we can learn something from Pythagoras.... People could not use Pythagoras and
his understanding, they could not use his great synthesis, they could not use the doors
that he had made available. A single individual had done something immense, something
impossible, but it was not used.
I am trying to do exactly the same again.
I feel a very deep spiritual affinity with Pythagoras. I am also bringing you a
synthesis of East and West, of science and religion, of intellect and intuition, of the
male mind and the female mind, of the head and the heart, of the right and the left. I am
also trying in every possible way to create a great harmony, because only that harmony can
save. Only that harmony can give you a new birth.
But there is every possibility that what was done to Pythagoras will be done to me. And
there is every possibility what was done to Pythagoras' followers will be done to my
sannyasins. But still, even knowing that possibility, the effort has to be made again.
Because this is a valuable time. It comes only once in twenty-five centuries when the
wheel can move in a new way, can take a new direction.
You all have to risk, and you have to risk all that you have. And risk it with great
joy! Because what can be more joyous than to give birth to a new man, to become vehicles
for a new man, for a new humanity?
It is going to be painful as every birth is painful. But the pain can be welcomed if
you understand what is going to happen through it. If you can see the child coming out of
it, then the pain is no more pain -- just as the mother can accept the pain of the child's
birth. The pain is irrelevant: her heart is dancing with joy -- she is going to give birth
to life, she is being creative. She is making this world more alive; a new child is being
born through her. God has used her as a vehicle; her womb has proved fertile. She is
happy, in great joy. She rejoices, although the pain is there on the periphery. But when
this great joy is there, the pain simply functions as a background and makes the joy even
more loud. Remember....
My sannyasins can become an energy womb, an energy field. A great synthesis is
happening here. East and West are meeting here. And if we can make this impossible thing
happen, man will live in a totally different way in the future. He will not need to live
in the same old hell. Man can live in love, in peace. Man can live in great friendliness.
Man can live a life which is nothing but a celebration. Man can make this earth divine.
Yes: this very earth can become the paradise and this very body the Buddha.
The sutras, they are few.
Pythagoras' sutras are divided into three parts; they are known as the three famous P's
of Pythagoras: preparation, purification, perfection.
Preparation means getting ready, into a receptive mood, becoming available, opening up.
Preparation means creating a thirst, a longing for truth. Preparation means, not only
curious, not only intellectually interested in what truth is, but committed to the search.
Not just as a speculator standing outside but as a participant.
Preparation is the introductory part -- to create a great thirst in you. Whenever you
come close to a Master, the first thing that he is going to give you is a fiery thirst. A
great longing he will give to you; he will sow the seeds of great longing. In fact, he
will make you very discontented.
You may have come to him in search of contentment, you may have come to him to be
consoled, but he will make you aflame, afire, with a new desire that you have not even
dreamt about, of which you have never been aware. Maybe it was lurking there somewhere in
the dark nooks and corners of your being, or hiding in some recesses underground -- he
will bring it forth into light, he will provoke it into a great fire. He will pour all his
energy into you, to make you so thirsty, so discontented, that you start the search and
you become ready to risk all; that you forget all about other desires, that you pour all
your desires into one stream, that your only desire, day and night, becomes truth -- or
God, or Nirvana. Those are just names for the same phenomenon.
Preparation means the disciple is being awakened -- awakened to the truth that we are
existing in darkness and light has to be searched for and sought, awakened to the fact
that we have been wasting our lives, that this is not the right way to live. Unless one
starts moving towards God, life remains empty, impotent. The disciple has to be shocked,
shaken, out of his dreams -- dreams of money and power politics and prestige -- and he has
to be given a new dream, the ultimate dream, in which all dreams will be consumed.
The ultimate dream is to know truth, to know that which is, to know that from which we
come, to know that source and to know that goal to which we are going.
Then the second part is purification. When the desire has arisen then you have to be
purified, because to reach the ultimate truth you will have to drop much unnecessary
weight, much luggage that you have always carried. You have carried it because you have
been thinking it is very valuable. Your system has to be purified of all the toxic things
that you have absorbed on the way. And we have been drinking poison, many kinds of poison.
One is a Hindu. Another is a Mohammedan, another is a Christian -- these are all poisons,
prejudices. They keep you tethered to the society, to the conditionings of the society.
Purification means one has to drop all conditionings, all ideologies, all prejudices,
all concepts, all philosophies...all that you have been taught by others. One has to
become a clean slate -- a tabula rasa -- one has to become utterly clean. Only when
you are utterly clean, when nothing is written on you, can God write something. Only when
you are utterly silent and all words given by the society have disappeared can God speak
to you. Truth can whisper its mysteries into your ears only when you are absolutely empty
-- emptiness is purity.
Purification is a purgative part. Man has to drop many things. In fact, truth is not
far away -- you have just accumulated many things around yourself. You have grown many
layers around yourself, many personalities around yourself, many masks you are wearing.
Hence you cannot see your original face. All those masks have to be dropped. You have to
become authentic, truly as you are, utterly naked as you are.
Purification means: Stop hiding! Stop lying! Stop being phony!
And third is perfection. When you have stopped being phony, when you have dropped all
the poisons that you had gathered on the way, when the dust is cleaned off the mirror,
then perfection starts happening of its own accord.
Perfection is the unitive part -- Unio Mystica.
First the desire, intense desire, a total desire... because only if you are totally
desirous of truth then you will be ready to go through the pains of purification.
If the desire is lukewarm you will not be ready to go through the pains of purification.
It is painful to be purified! It is like taking pus out of your body -- it hurts.
Although it is good in the long run -- if the pus is out, the poison is out and you will
heal soon -- but it hurts. To take the pus out is painful. But to leave it inside is to
help it to grow; it will spread all over your body.
One can only be ready to go through purification if the desire is so total that one is
ready even to die for it if that is needed. And it is a kind of death -- because the
personality that you have always thought you are will have to die. You will have to drop
all that you are identified with. And that has been your ego. You will have to
surrender all that you have been claiming up to now and bragging up to now; all that has
been precious to you has to be dropped as utter rubbish. It IS painful. It feels as if you
are losing your kingdom and you are becoming a beggar.
Unless the desire is total you will not be ready to do it. And when purification has
happened, when you have dropped all that is non-essential, then the essential perfects
itself. You need not become perfect! You have only to create the space in which perfection
grows, happens. Perfection is a happening.
The first sutra -- preparation:
Render to the immortal gods the consecrated cult; guard then thy faith.
Lord Bacon, a great scientific mind, has written in his famous book, Novum Organum,
that Pythagoras was a great fanatic. Now, this is utter nonsense. Bacon's book is really
great; except for this one statement, the book is of immense value.
It is said that there are three great books in the world. First is Aristotle's Organum
-- "organum" means principle. The second is Bacon's Novum Organum -- new
principle. And third is Ouspensky's Tertium Organum -- the third principle. And
they are really great books, incomparable.
But it is very surprising how Bacon concluded that Pythagoras was a fanatic -- because
Pythagoras was just the opposite, the absolute opposite of a fanatic. If he had
been a fanatic he would not have entered into all kinds of esoteric, occult schools. If he
had been a fanatic he would not have been so open to learn from every possible source. In
fact, fanaticism has never been part of the Greek mind.
The philosophic mind cannot be fanatic, cannot be dogmatic. That is a prerequisite of
philosophy, that you have to be open, that you have to inquire, that you have to doubt,
that you have to question, and that you have to remain available to truth in whatsoever
form it comes. That you are not to decide beforehand; you have not to fall into
that kind of attitude which has already concluded without knowing. You are not to be a
victim of the fallacy of "aprioriism" -- that you have already accepted from the
very beginning without inquiring, without knowing, without experiencing.
I have tried hard to see why Bacon should call Pythagoras a fanatic. Fanaticism came
out of the Judaic mind; it was never part of the Hindu mind or the Chinese mind or the
Greek mind. It came out of the Jews. And it spread to Christians and Mohammedans because
both are offshoots of Judaism.
The idea that "We are the chosen people of God" is dangerous. It creates
fanaticism. The idea that "We have the truth, and nobody else" is dangerous;
that "There is only one God and no other Gods" is dangerous -- because that one
God is going to be my God. And then what will happen to your God? Then you are
wrong, then you are a sinner. Then you have to be persuaded, converted. If you allow
easily, okay; otherwise you have to be forced and coerced so that you can drop the wrong
God.
Pythagoras lived in so many countries, with so many different visions of life, with so
many philosophical standpoints, with so many religions -- he could not be a fanatic. It
seems Bacon knew nothing about Pythagoras.
The first sutra says:
Render to the immortal gods...
He does not use the word "God" but "Gods" -- that is significant.
That is the state of a non-fanatic mind. "Gods" -- why plural? Why not
"God"? Because the moment you say "God" you are falling into that
dangerous trap...then what will happen to other peoples' Gods?
Pythagoras is not a monotheist; he does not believe in one God. He says: All the
peoples of the world and all their approaches are true. And he knows it, because he
has followed many many paths; almost all existent paths Pythagoras followed many many
paths; almost all existent paths Pythagoras followed. And he always reached the same peak.
There are many paths by which to reach the peak. The mountain has many paths, but they
all reach the same peak. You can go from the south or from the north or from the east or
from the west... you can follow a very rocky track, or you can follow a very different
track. There are many alternatives.
Pythagoras knows truth is one, but he does not say it. Truth is one un-said.
Once you say it, then please don't use the singular; then it is better to use the plural.
The Vedas say: Truth is one, but wise people have described it in many ways.
Render to the immortal gods the consecrated cult...
He had lived with many people, worshippers of different Gods. He says to his disciples:
When you go to the temple, worship the God of the temple, and worship the way people are
worshipping there. Respect the people who are worshipping and praying. And when you go to
the mosque, worship the way people are worshipping there. And when you go to the church or
the synagogue, worship the way people are worshipping there.
This is my approach too. All prayers are good. All prayers reach to him, and all paths
ultimately end in him. There is no need to create any antagonism. To my sannyasins this is
my message: If you want a silent, isolated place, a temple or a church or a mosque, then
whichever is close by, enter there. All temples and all churches and all mosques are
yours. Claim that "Whichever place is dedicated to God is ours. Jerusalem and Kaaba
and Kailash and Girnar -- all are ours." I give you all the temples of the world as
yours and all the scriptures of the world as yours.
Pythagoras is saying to his disciples: Wherever you are, watch the people, respect
their prayer, respect their God, respect their vision. It may be only one aspect, but it
is an aspect of God himself. It may be only one face -- God has many faces -- but all the
manifestations are his. In one way he descends in Krishna, in another he descends in
Christ, in still another he descends into Moses. All prophets are his, all messengers are
his.
Render to the immortal gods the consecrated cult...
And whatsoever you believe, don't just believe it -- consecrate it, make it holy by
living. Let it not remain just an intellectual belief in the head: it has to become
existential. Then it is consecrated, then you have made it holy and sacred.
Beliefs, if they are only thoughts, are useless. Unless they become your very blood,
bones and marrow, unless you live them...if you feel something is true, live it!
because that will be the only proof that you feel it is true. There is no other proof.
Only your life is a proof of your belief.
But that does not mean you should impose a belief upon yourself. That does not mean you
should force a belief and a character upon yourself. That will not be making it sacred:
that will be hypocrisy. And how can hypocrisy be sacred? Live it, not from the without
towards the within, but just the opposite: from the within towards the without. First
experience a truth....
For example: I say meditate. Now, you can make it just a belief -- that it is good to
meditate, that meditation contains great truths, that you can now argue with others about
the beauties, about the mysteries of meditation. You have never meditated yourself, and
you don't have time enough because of the arguments and the thinking about and reading
about meditation... and you have completely forgotten that meditation has to be tasted,
not to be argued.
Or, you can impose, violently, some meditative posture upon yourself. You can sit
silently like a Buddha -- although there is no buddhahood inside, no silence, no purity,
no innocence. The inner talk continues, but on the surface you can sit like a stone
statue. This is hypocrisy: you are simply pretending. This is not the way to consecrate.
This is not the way to make something sacred.
You have to really go into meditation, not to pretend. And whenever you live a
truth, the truth becomes consecrated.
Render to the immortal gods the consecrated cult...
And whatsoever you have known, offer it to God, go on offering it to God -- whatsoever
you have known. Whatsoever experience has happened to you, of truth, of beauty, of love,
go on offering it to God, go on offering in deep gratitude.
Guard then thy faith:
But don't tell it to people. Guard it. Offer it to the God, but don't talk about it,
otherwise you will be in danger. The masses are foolish. They cannot understand. It is
beyond them. Guard! Keep it secret deep down in your heart. Open your heart to the Gods.
Open your heart to your Master, or open your heart to the friends who are following the
same path, the fellow-travelers, the fellow-seekers. But don't open your heart in the
marketplace -- you will be misunderstood.
And the misunderstanding will create disturbance for you, it will distract your search,
it will disrupt your energies. It will create turmoil in you. Truths can be communicated
only to people who have some understanding.
Guard then thy faith:
And whatsoever trust has arisen in you, whatsoever faith is born in you, keep it
secret. It has to become a seed in your heart. If you just throw the seed on the ground it
will not grow into a tree, because it is open. It has to go deep into the womb of the
earth, into the darkness of the earth. There it will disappear, dissolve, and a tree will
be born.
Whatsoever trust has arisen in you, let it become a seed in your heart, let it
disappear into the soil of the heart. There it will grow into a big tree. Yes, one day it
will happen that you will not be able to contain it any more, but then what can you do? As
long as you can contain, contain it. As long as you can keep it a secret, keep it a
secret. Just like the child in the mother's womb remains secret for nine months, but one
day the mother cannot contain it.... The child has grown. Now the child is ready to be
born, then it is perfectly okay.
Why is Pythagoras saying it? Why in the first sutra? For a certain reason: because
whenever you have a little glimpse of truth, the mind tends to talk about it. And in that
very talking you lose it. It is like an abortion. Let it remain for nine months a secret,
a mystery, known only to yourself, or your beloved, or a few friends, but not to the
public. It is a private phenomenon.
Yes, one day it is going to become public. One day you will not be able to contain it
any more. It will have become so big, bigger than you, that it will have to overflow. When
it starts overflowing, it is another matter. You become a Master then. But till that
moment arrives, be very guarded, be very watchful. Don't talk about your inner experiences
to each and everybody. Keep alert, because truth is very difficult to get hold of and it
is very easy to lose track of. Trust is very difficult to be born in, and very easy to
dissipate.
Revere the memory of the illustrious heroes, of spirits, demi-gods....
First:
Render to the immortal gods the consecrated cult. Guard then the faith:
Second sutra: Remember all those who have attained before you, cherish their memory --
that will help you on the way. There will be many moments when suspicion will arise,
doubts will arise; there will be long long dark nights of the soul when you will feel
utterly lost, when you will start thinking of going back and being just the ordinary
person you had been before. In those moments revere the memory of the buddhas revere the
memory of all those great heroes who have attained to truth.
In Pythagoras' language, the hero means one who has become enlightened, who has
attained the truth. The only heroic deed in life is to become realized. All else is very
ordinary.
You can become very famous -- it is very easy. You can have political power -- it does
not need much intelligence. You can earn money -- you have only to be a little cunning and
calculative. These are not great things.
The only great thing that makes a life great and sublime is to know truth, is to know
God, is to be truth, is to be God. But the journey is very alone.
Revere the memory of the illustrious heroes...
...Of Buddha, of Lao Tzu, of Krishna, of Christ, of Moses, of Mohammed, of Mahavira.
Remember! That's why I am talking on so many Masters: so you can remember that you
are not alone on the path. Many have succeeded before you. You will also succeed. If so
many have succeeded, why not you? Many have preceded you and reached. You are not moving
alone; many are ahead of you. It is a long procession of truth-seekers. You are
part of a great chain. You may be a small drop, but you are part of a great river -- the
river of uddhas, of all the enlightened people of the world.
That's why I am talking about so many enlightened people: to give you courage, to give
you confidence; to give you the sense that you are in a great chain, part of a golden
chain, and you are not moving alone. There is no need to be afraid. You cannot be lost!
Revere the memory of the illustrious heroes, of spirits, demi-gods.…
One who attains to God becomes a demi-god, becomes a God himself. One who has known him
has become him. Cherish the memory, remind yourself. And find out with whom you feel
affinity. Do you feel affinity with Moses? Do you feel affinity with Zarathustra? If you
feel some affinity, then the best way is to ponder over the sayings of Zarathustra or
Moses -- meditate, think of their lives, create a climate around yourself. Because if you
feel affinity with somebody, that means you are of the same type.
And it is not a question of your accidental birth. You may be born a Mohammedan and you
may not feel any affinity with Mohammed. There is no necessity. Birth is accidental. You
may be born a Hindu and you may not feel any affinity with Krishna, or you may even
feel a certain antagonism. You may not be the type!
So don't be too much identified with your birth. Roam around. Have a little more
freedom. Look around. Whichever flower attracts you, follow that. Whichever fragrance
calls you, follow that fragrance. So you may be a Hindu by birth, but if you feel that the
Koran simply rings bells in your heart, then the Koran is your scripture. Forget all about
Hinduism! Then Mohammed is your man -- forget all about Krishna!
You may be born a Mohammedan, but if seeing the statue of Buddha something immediately
settles in you, becomes serene, calm and cool; just the same of Buddha and you feel great
love arising in you for this unknown mysterious person…. Then forget all about
Mohammedanism and the Koran and Mohammed Then create the climate of Buddha around you,
because that will be helpful, that will nourish you, that will strengthen you.
The second part: purification. This was preparation: respect all the Gods of the world,
all the temples, all the sacred places; respect all the scriptures. This is your respect
for other human beings. And remember with great love all those who have preceded you on
the path and have reached.
This will prepare a climate in you. And this will create a great desire in you, this
will become a longing. And you will be gripped by the longing, you will be possessed by
the longing. If Buddha has touched your heart, a great longing is bound to arise: How to
become a Buddha? If Christ has been felt at the deepest core of your being, then it is
bound to happen that you will start working, searching: How to become a Christ? How to
attain to Christ-consciousness? Once the desire is there, then purification is possible.
The second part: purification.
Be a good son, just brother; spouse tender, and good father.
You will be surprised by this sutra, but it is of immense value:
Be a good son, just brother; spouse tender, and good father.
You will think, "What has it to do with spirituality?" It has much to do with
spirituality. You have to create a peaceful surrounding -- only then can you fall into
meditation. You have to create an atmosphere, an energy field -- only then can you go
inwards.
In Gurdjieff's school in Fontainebleau it was written on the gate: "If you have
not settled your accounts with your father, go back." First settle your accounts with
your father, then come. Unless you respect your father, there is no possibility of your
growing. Strange! Why? What has it to do with the search?
And from another corner there is psychoanalysis which says: "Settle your accounts
with your mother." Unless that is settled, you will never feel settled. You will
remain tense. The whole of psychoanalytic work is how to close accounts between you and
your mother -- gracefully, lovingly.
Pythagoras seems to be the first to say it exactly, simply: Be a good son…. What
does it mean to be a good son? Does it mean to be a slave, utterly obedient? If you are a
slave, you are not a good son. If you are utterly obedient, you are a hypocrite. Then what
does it mean to be a good son?
If you ask people they will say, "A good son means: do whatsoever your father
says." It is not that simple -- because you can do it from the outside and you can
resist it from the inside. That's what children have to do! They are helpless. Whatsoever
the parents say, they have to do it, willingly, unwillingly, reluctantly -- they
have to do it. That creates a split in them. They become two. They start becoming false,
phony.
So one way that is ordinarily thought: just be obedient to the father and you are a
good son. That is not the meaning of Pythagoras. Then does he mean rebel against the
father? Go against him? Do just the opposite of whatsoever he says? Be a hippie or yippie
or something? If he says have short hair then have long hair? If he says, "Take a
bath every day," then forget all about taking a bath for years? If he says,
"Cleanliness is next to God," then be dirty and claim that dirtiness is next to
God? No, that is not the meaning of being a good son either.
In fact, the second thing has happened in the world because the first has persisted too
long. Too much enforced obedience has created a reaction. Then who is a good son?
A good son is one who is alert, understanding, respectful; who listens to the father
because the father knows much -- he has lived, he has experienced life, he has more
experience. He listens to the father. He tries to understand the father. He is open. He is
not in a hurry either to obey or to disobey.
A good son is one who is ready to listen, to understand, to learn. And then if you feel
that you agree with the father, do it. If you feel you don't agree with the father, then
say it. There is no question of reaction. Just make it plain that you don't agree. You
will do it, but it will be done with forced effort. It will make you phony. If the father
wants, you will do it, but it will make you phony, it will make you split, schizophrenic.
It will divide you.
A good communion is needed between the father and the son, because the father
represents the past and the son represents the future. A bridge is needed. And it cannot
be one-sided, so it is not only for the son to be a good son: the final thing is to be a
good father too. He is creating a family atmosphere in which meditation can grow easily.
A good son is one who is alert, ready to obey the father when he feels he is right,
ready to say to the father, "I am not willing to do it -- it will be false, it will
be phony." And ready to go with the father if he cannot decide on his own, because
there may be things which you cannot feel either right or wrong. Then follow the father;
he knows better.
And the father simply represents the past. The father simply represents all
father figures, all those who are older than you. The father is simply a symbol of all
those who have lived more than you, experienced more than you -- the teachers, the elders.
A great respect is needed -- respect for their life, respect for their experience.
There is no need to become a slave, and there is no need to react against them.
Understanding is needed -- neither obedience nor reaction. And if obedience comes out of
understanding, it is beautiful. And if sometimes rebellion comes out of understanding, it
is beautiful. But it has to come out of understanding, not out of reaction.
There are people who will not do a certain thing because their father says to do it.
How can they do it? Just because the father is saying it, they cannot do it -- they
will do the opposite. Their egos are in conflict. And there are people who know that it is
wrong, but they will do it because the father says to do it. Both are wrong.
The good son is one who listens to the father, to all father-figures, tries to
understand with great respect, with openness, with no conclusions. And then whatever
decision arises in his being, to follow or not to follow, he goes with it. It is neither
reaction nor obedience: it is simply acting out of understanding.
Be a just brother.... With all those who are of your age, be just, don't
be unfair. Don't exploit, because if you exploit you create a tension around yourself.
Create friendship around yourself, because growth will be easier in a friendly atmosphere.
...Spouse tender.... With your wife, with your husband, be tender, be
soft, because love has the other side of hate in it, and unless you understand what it
means to be tender, soft, loving, there is every possibility love will bring great hate in
you.
People love the same person, and the same person they hate. And that hate destroys all
love, poisons all possibilities of love. And love is a great phenomenon. The person who
has missed love will never know what prayer is, will never be able to pray. It is only
love's experience that prepares you to pray.
Be a spouse tender...love the woman or the man with great tenderness,
grace. That has disappeared from the world. People's relationships have become very
ungraceful. They have lost the whole language of tenderness -- their love life is so full
of hate and anger and rage.
That may be one of the reasons why God has become dead in this century. Love has
disappeared: prayer cannot arise. Love is the flower, prayer is the fragrance. If the
flower is not there, then there cannot be any fragrance.
...And good father. And in your own turn, the circle is complete -- be a
good father. What does it mean to be a good father? Don't enforce anything on your child.
Give your love, give your understanding, but always make it clear that the choice is the
child's. If he wants to follow it he can follow, but he is following his choice. If
he wants not to follow, he is free not to follow -- again he is following his choice. Make
everything clear to the child. You love him, so give your experience to him but don't
enforce it, don't command. Let him understand. Let understanding be the only law, and let
him follow his understanding.
Now you can understand: the father has to be just a helper. The father has not to mould
the child in a certain pattern that he wants; he has not to use the child for his own
ambitions. He has to love the child, make him strong, make him more alert, so that he can
search out his own ways in life. Make him more and more independent.
The good father does not cripple the child, does not force the child to depend on him.
And if there is a good father, naturally the son will be good, because he will not be
forced into any slavery and he will not have to react either.
And if you have been a good son, in your own turn one day you will become a father and
you will be a good father.
This is the family atmosphere, the space in which we live. This space has to be of
intimacy, of love, of grace. Only then will meditation be easier and spiritual growth
enhanced.
Choose for thy friend, the friend of virtue; yield to his gentle counsels, profit
by his life, and for a trifling grievance never leave him.…
Friendship has also disappeared from the world. What you call friendship has nothing to
do with the ancient idea of friendship. Your friendship is just accidental. You work in
the same office, so you have become friendly. Or you study in the same college, so you
become friendly. This is not real friendship.
Pythagoras says: Choose for thy friend . You cannot choose your father,
you cannot choose your mother, you cannot choose your family -- but you can choose your
friend. You can choose your woman, you can choose your man -- that too is an extension of
friendship.
Choose for thy friend, the friend of virtue….
...One who has some grace, who has some flowering, who has some quality around him, who
has an energy field of virtue. By "virtue" is not meant the righteous, no. Not
the holier-than-thou, no. By "virtue" is meant one in whose company you suddenly
start feeling a tremendous well-being; in whose company, in whose vibe, something starts
dancing in you; whose presence helps you to soar high.
Choose a friend, and then ultimately you will be able to choose a Master -- because the
Master is the ultimate friend. If you cannot choose friends you will not be able to choose
the Master either. Choose good friends, and then one day you will be able to choose the
ultimate friend.
Yield to his gentle counsels, profit by his life….
And when you choose a friend, listen to his counsels. He will not enforce them -- they
will be gentle whisperings. He will not be very loud. He will not argue, he will not
command -- he will only suggest, he will only hint, he will only indicate. And that is the
case with the ultimate friend, the Master.
Buddha says: buddhas only point the way. They don't make it very loud because they
don't want to be violent. They don't want to drag you according to themselves; they have
no desire to dominate you. They simply express whatsoever they have known and understood
-- now it is up to you to follow or not to follow.
And learn from his life, be profited by his life -- not only his words, but see the way
the friend lives. See his actual life and watch it. This is the only way to learn in life.
People are scriptures -- you have to learn how to read the language. People are
great secrets, each person is carrying a great secret. If you know how to listen to it you
will be tremendously benefited.
And for a trifling grievance never leave him;
if thou canst at least: for a most rigid law binds power to necessity.
Pythagoras says there are two laws: one is of necessity, the other is of power. The law
of necessity applies to people who are unconscious. People who live mechanically, they
live out of necessity. There is another law higher than necessity: the law of power. The
more conscious you become, the more you go out of necessity, you transcend necessity, you
start living out of power, out of abundant power. Then your life is not of necessity.
For example: a person speaks out of necessity because he cannot resist the temptation
to speak. Buddhas also speak, but with no necessity: it is out of power, out of abundant
power They are silent; there is no temptation, no obsession to speak. They can remain
silent for ever. But still they speak. If they speak, they speak out of power.
You love out of necessity. Buddhas also love -- they love out of...so much energy is
there that it has to be shared. So much power is happening, it has to be given. You live
out of necessity, they live out of power.
Buddhas are the greatest luxury in existence.
These two laws are rooted in one primordial law. They are part of one law, two aspects
of one law. In China that law is called tao, in India that law is called dhamma,
in Greece that law is called logos, Jews have called it torah. It is the
same law.
The whole existence is based in one law, but that law has two aspects. One aspect for
those who are unconscious -- they live like slaves, robots. And another aspect of freedom,
of power, of immense joy -- that aspect happens only when you are awakened, enlightened.
And to have these two laws harmoniously adjusted in your life is the basic message of
Pythagoras.
When these two laws are in harmony, you are in harmony. When these two laws are in
harmony, then your body follows the law of necessity and your soul follows the law of
power. Then your mind follows the law of necessity, and your heart follows the law of
power. Then you are a meeting of the sky and the earth, body and soul, the visible and the
invisible. And that's what Buddhahood is, that's what enlightenment is.
Osho, Philosophia Perennis, Volume 1, Number 1