Chapter #19 The Sun Behind The Sun Behind The Sun #19
Discourse Overview
Osho presents Prem Keshava — 'keshava' meaning the long-haired one — as emblem of a loving rebellion against civilization's imposed artificiality. Long hair becomes a metaphor: nature, nonconformity, refusal to be manufactured by society and its orders. He insists obedience has been the root of slavery, war and mechanical living, so love blooms only in a heart that can disobey when conscience demands. True spirituality, he says, is not blind conformity to scriptures or masters but listening to your innermost conscience — Buddha's voice within — and allowing love to be the prayer that reconnects you to life. On rebellion: rebellion is not mindless contrarianism but an inner authority that decides moment to moment, rejecting commands that violate your core being. On obedience: unquestioning obedience is dangerous — historical atrocities reveal obedience's tyranny — one must cultivate awareness rather than follow orders. On Krishna: Krishna as the first 'hippie' symbolizes joyous rebellion, a return to naked nature and celebration of love over civilized pretence. On conscience: your innermost 'yes' is the true scripture; if it contradicts external teachers, it expresses Buddha's living voice and should be trusted. On love: love is not tame or safe but a radical, risky force that opens the heart and serves as the very prayer through which God is known. On religion: authentic religiosity arises from rebellion and love together — a person who dares to be disobedient to false authorities naturally becomes devotional, not by ritual but by heartfelt communion.
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Osho's Commentary
The long-haired one means: one who is simply against all kinds of impositions on man, who does not want to obey, who is in rebellion. Obedience is one of the most unfortunate things that has happened to humanity. It is because of obedience that slavery exists, it is because of obedience that wars exist. It is because of obedience that millions of people go on living mechanically. Adolf Hitler could do so many ugly, anti-human acts, just because germans are obedient, they have a long tradition of obedience; they simply followed. The world needs the disobedient ones now. That does not mean that disobedience becomes your character, no; it simply means one has to decide when to say yes and when to say no. Just because one is ordered one doesn't necessarily have to obey, because the order may be wrong, the man who is ordering may be wrong. The long hair has always stood for the non-authoritarian, and Krishna is one of the most rebellious persons ever. He rebelled against the whole civilisation, because civilisation is a kind of rape on nature. It makes people phony, it drives them into artificialities; it makes them arbitrary, synthetic, plastic. It takes away their innermost qualities and replaces them with outer things, cheap things. It creates a man, manufactures a man; it does not allow man to be his own self. Krishna stands for that, hence he has the name keshwar: 'kesh' means the hair, 'keshwar' means the long-haired one.
And love can exist only in a rebellious heart. With the conformist, love cannot exist, because love is such a dangerous phenomenon. So these two things you have to remember -- that you are the sole authority for your being. Never lean upon crutches, and always decide what you are doing with full awareness... not because it is said in the bible; not because I say, not because it is said by Buddha, because if your innermost conscience says yes, then only is it said by the Buddha; Buddha cannot say something which is against your innermost nature. And if you find sometimes that your inner nature says something contrary to Buddha, then listen to your innermost nature. That is Buddha's voice in you; that is from where the real bible arises. And you will not be really disobeying; you will be obeying in a very profound sense though on the surface you may be disobeying.
So be a rebel and be in love: in love with life, in love with yourself, in love with people, in love with all that is available. That is god! A rebellious person necessarily becomes religious, and a loving person cannot miss god, because love is prayer.