Life has two dimensions, two kinds of facts. There are facts which can only be done after they are known. In them, knowing comes first and doing comes after. And there are facts which can only be known after they are done. In them, doing comes first and knowing follows.
Science is of the first kind; religion of the second.
In science, first you must know; only then can you do. In religion, first you must do; only then can you know. In science, knowledge is primary and action follows; in religion, action is primary and knowledge follows. Science is an outer journey, related to the world outside. Religion is an inner journey, related to the world within.
We are gathered here for the inner journey, where doing comes first and knowing follows. We will meditate and try to understand through that. Therefore I will not explain meditation first; I will have you do it first. And from that doing we will try to grow understanding. In these five days we will do, and try to know.
Take this well to heart: only if you do will you be able to know. And if you think you will first know and then do, you will never be able to do. There are things that simply cannot be known before doing them. Whatever in life is deep, innermost, within—can be known only by doing.
Love, prayer, meditation, the Divine—these you will know only by entering into them. If you try to know them first, not only will you fail to know, in the very process of trying you will lose the energy that could have done and known.
So today, take to heart a first truth: in meditation, doing is knowing. And apart from doing, there is no other knowing.
What will we do? There are four stages of this meditation. I will say a little about them and then we will begin. Whatever questions you have, raise them each day, so that the questions that arise from doing can be resolved.
And remember, do not raise intellectual, logical, speculative questions. Meditation is not philosophy. Meditation is practice, experiment. Entering meditation is entering a laboratory. There is scope there for doing, not for thinking. The way of knowing there is not through argument, but through experience. So I would ask you to raise only those questions that come from your doing—not from your books, not from your scriptures. Then in five days we will be able to move with great speed.
There are four stages, ten minutes each.
The first stage is invitation—an invocation to the Divine energy.
The second stage is catharsis—throwing out whatever rubbish is piled up within; unburdening the mind.
The third stage is inquiry—raising the innermost question, Who am I? Seeking truth, seeking oneself.
And the fourth stage is waiting—awaiting in silence for the result of what we have done in the first three.
In the first stage of invitation, for ten minutes you will do bhastrika, intense breathing, fast breathing. For ten minutes, inhale and exhale as intensely as you can—chaotically, without any pattern—just like a blacksmith’s bellows.
Chaotic because the more chaotic your breathing, the more non-logical it is, the more it helps break the routine pattern of the mind. If you keep breathing as you usually do, there is no way to change your mind. Your breath has to change; only then does the possibility of transformation within arise. Keep your attention on intensity. For ten minutes breathe in and out with such force that you forget everything else—only the breath remains. Put all your energy into the breath.
There will be three results. First, gradually the sense of the body will disappear, and the sense of life-energy, of breath, will remain. This is the first milestone on the inner journey. Second, a current of electricity will begin to run through the whole body. The body will start trembling; waves of electrical vibration will resound throughout. This trembling with energy is essential; without it, there can be no entry within. Only when all our energy awakens can we take the leap.
And third, you have heard the word kundalini; as soon as energy starts running through the body, intense vibrations will begin along the spine. It will feel as if something is rising along the spine, as if something from below has set out on a journey upward.
These three results occur in the first experiment—if you do it. If you don’t, they don’t happen; if you do, they do. Breathe as intensely as you can; put your whole energy into the first ten minutes. Only if the first stage is right will the second be possible; otherwise not.
The second stage is catharsis. As soon as energy awakens and the blows begin to fall on the kundalini, as the sense of the body disappears and the sense of prana remains, as the whole body becomes a flowing current of vibrating electricity, many happenings will begin inside. Do not stop them—cooperate with them. In the second stage, whatever the body wants to do, whatever the mind wants to do, you support it. Do not resist; cooperate.
Four kinds of events generally happen, or their mixtures. Either the body will begin to dance. If it does, put your whole strength into dancing; don’t hold back, don’t stand still. Or the body will want to scream and shout—then scream and shout with full force. Or it will begin to laugh—then laugh with your whole being. Or it will begin to cry—then cry with your whole being. These four are the broad possibilities. Combinations can also happen. Whatever happens, do it totally.
In seventy to eighty percent of people it will start by itself. Only do not block it. These seventy–eighty percent are those who, either in some past life or in this one, have at some time worked in the direction of meditation; or those whose longing is aflame, whose aspiration is deep, whose passion is intense—not merely curious about meditation, but eager to risk themselves for it; or those whose willpower is strong; or those who, by any path—by any method of meditation, by any form of prayer, worship, devotion—have begun some spiritual state within. These will enter the second stage immediately.
The twenty–thirty percent who remain will be of three or four kinds. Some will have no determination at all—but determination can be kindled. Some are very afraid of others, fearful of public opinion, timid—worried about what people will say—but the fear of others can be dropped. Some have always been suppressive—never laughed openly, never cried openly, never danced, never shouted; who have never done anything totally, who have lived holding back—but this restraint can be dropped. And some will find that things are stirring within but they cannot gather the courage to cooperate—but courage can be gathered.
Of these thirty percent, if you keep in mind what I’ve said, about twenty percent will slip into the second stage. Five or ten percent will still remain, whose nets are very dense. For them I suggest: if you feel you are among those to whom nothing is happening, then initiate one of the four things yourself. Today you start it; tomorrow it will start on its own. Once the flow is broken, once the spring bursts forth, the stream begins to run. I would like that no one remain stuck in the second stage.
In the third stage, once the crying, screaming, dancing, laughing has reached its peak, you will become utterly light. Three results will follow: weightlessness—as if you have lost weight, as if gravity has lost its hold, as if the earth no longer pulls you down. It will be as if stones have fallen from the mind, the burden has dropped.
Second, you will clearly see that the body and you are absolutely separate. The identity between the two will seem broken. The body will appear to be dancing; you will appear to be watching. The body will be crying; you will be listening. The body will be shouting; you will remain a witness. If the second stage completes, you become the witness.
In the third stage, inquiry, you will ask within—Who am I? But ask Who am I? with such intensity as if your whole life were thrown into the challenge. Do not ask as a schoolchild asks a question. Do not ask with the attitude that if the answer comes, fine; if not, fine. Don’t ask casually. Ask as a child whose mother has died and he is crying, Where is my mother? Ask as one whose house is on fire and he demands, Where is the water? As one who is dying and asks, What is life? Ask with such urgency, such intensity.
So in the third stage ask within—Who am I? Who am I?
Ask in your mother tongue, whatever it is. If it is Marathi, in Marathi; Gujarati, in Gujarati; if you are accustomed to think in English, then in English. Ask in your mother tongue, because anything deep is asked best there; only then can the voice rise from the deepest layers where language first entered. Some will find it helpful to ask out loud; then ask out loud. Some will find it easier to ask within; then ask within. Those who can only understand by reading aloud and not by reading silently should ask aloud; only then will the question penetrate deeply.
This third stage will also have three results. First, as soon as you raise the question, you will realize: I don’t know who I am at all. And remember, your learned answers have no value—whether from the Gita, the Upanishads, the Koran, the Bible, from Buddha or Mahavira. If you don’t know, you don’t know. Information has no value. So as soon as you ask intensely, you will feel utterly ignorant—I do not know who I am. This is auspicious. The awareness of ignorance is the first step to the temple of wisdom.
Second, it will start becoming clear: I am not the body; I am not the mind. You will not think this—you will see it. It will begin to be seen that I am not the body, not the mind, not the thoughts. In the second result, you discover what you are not. In the first, you discover that you do not know who you are. In the third, there begins a direct realization of who you are.
But wait. Do not supply a substitute from your side—do not say, I am the soul, I am Brahman. Kindly do not give this to the mind. Let it come. You keep asking; let it arise from within. At some moment the happening occurs and the answer comes. Then the answer does not come in words; it comes as experience.
Note the difference. If the answer comes in words, it is your memory speaking. If it comes as experience, it has arisen from within. And the experiential answer is utterly different. There will be no words; all words will be lost. Yet you will know who you are. There will be no thought, no formula—not aham brahmasmi, not I am pure awareness, not I am the soul. No words at all. There will be wordless silence, and the experience of who I am. Await that experience.
The fourth stage is waiting, awaiting. Now you have nothing to do.
Some will be standing—remain standing. Some will have fallen—remain fallen. Some will be sitting—remain sitting. For ten minutes, surrender everything at the unknown feet of the Divine and simply be. Do nothing.
The real depth of meditation will come in the fourth stage. The first three are only preparation, the jumping boards. The fourth is meditation. I say this so you keep it in mind.
Two more points. This experiment is to be done standing—standing only. We will all stand at a distance from each other. Do the experiment with eyes closed. For forty minutes, do not open your eyes, so that the world is forgotten and only you remain. And follow exactly as I suggest.
Then whatever questions you have, we will talk tonight and again tomorrow morning.
One more thing. The evening meditation is completely different. Do not think that because you did the morning one there is no need to come at night. The morning experiment is entirely different from the evening experiment. So those who were present in the morning, if they also come at night, it will be very beneficial, very auspicious.
And a last thing: do not postpone in the mind. The mind says, Let’s watch today, we’ll do it tomorrow. Let me just see what others do—tomorrow I’ll do it.
Tomorrow is not certain.
Just two days ago, sister Babi came to me. She wanted to take sannyas. She said, I will think about it. I asked, How long will thinking take? Is tomorrow certain? She said, No, but I will think soon. Still, I want to wait till my next birthday. When my next birthday comes, I will take it. I asked, Is it certain that the next birthday will come?
Just now, at the door, I learned she met with a motor accident while coming here to meditate. She is close to death.
Tomorrow is not certain. Not even the next moment is certain. Life is like a line drawn on water—now it is, now it is not. So do not postpone, even by mistake.
There is a very old Chinese saying: If you want to do a good deed, do it now; a bad deed, you can even do tomorrow.
But we do just the opposite. For a bad deed, we do it now; for a good one, we think of tomorrow. In anger, no one says, I’ll be angry tomorrow—on my next birthday. But in meditation, one says, I’ll do it tomorrow. For sannyas, one thinks, I will take it next year. What about murder? Murder is done now. We do the bad now and leave the good for tomorrow. So if life, at the end, finally totals up as mostly bad, there is no surprise.
Now let us stand for the experiment. Spread out, far apart. The more space, the easier it will be. No talking. Spread out and stand. And do not wait for others—step out yourself. No one else ever steps out; you step out. Move away, because when people dance and jump, you might get hurt; someone might bump into you and disturb everything. Move away.
Spread out. The experiment begins standing. If someone is very old, ill, or deeply troubled by a heart condition, they may do it sitting. Otherwise, everyone should stand. But whoever wants to sit, please sit outside. If you sit inside, someone may fall on you. If you wish to sit, sit outside. Do not sit inside.
Good. Close your eyes. Keep them closed for forty minutes. Not a single person should open their eyes. Close your eyes. And make a resolve that for forty minutes, whatever happens…
Breathe intensely. For ten minutes now, start breathing hard. Put in your full energy. Begin. Eyes remain closed. Start intense breathing—enter the first stage. Harder, harder, harder… See that no one stands idle. Standing idle is useless. Without the experiment, nothing happens. Harder… Keep attention on yourself—do not just stand there. Intense breathing… intense… Like a bellows—like a blacksmith’s bellows—breathe in hard, breathe out hard. If the body trembles, let it tremble… if it starts dancing, let it dance… if it wants to jump, let it jump… you keep breathing. If the body sways, let it sway… you keep breathing…
Harder, harder… Drop all worries, all concerns. You are alone. Harder… See that no one lags behind; otherwise you will not be able to enter the second stage. Harder… Forget your clothes; forget managing them. Just breathe.
Very good. Very good. Half of you are doing it properly; half are just standing. Do not stand—go deep into the experiment. Harder… harder… harder… Whatever is happening to the body, let it happen with joy. Leave it in the hands of the Divine and let the body do what it does. You keep breathing. Strike—only the blows of breathing will awaken kundalini; otherwise it will not awaken. Strike… strike… strike… strike with the breath… the kundalini will begin to awaken within…
If a sound comes out, do not worry. If a scream comes, do not worry. Keep striking. Harder… harder… harder… harder… harder… harder… Do not hold back—strike with the breath; strike with force…
Five minutes remain. Then we will enter the second stage. Strike… strike… Let nothing remain but breath… Let everything drop—only breath remains… Exhaust yourself completely—only breath remains… breath… breath… in-out, in-out. Only breath remains… only breath remains…
Very good. About sixty percent are in the right place. Forty percent are behind…
Only breath remains… Four minutes left… Move forward… take the plunge… let only breath remain. Harder… harder… only a little time remains. Three minutes… Let breath alone remain, everything else be forgotten.
Energy is awakening—do not block it. Strike, and let it awaken. Electricity will run through the body; vibrations will begin; the kundalini will start to rise. Strike. Do not miss even a moment… strike… strike… strike…
Breath… breath… harder… harder… harder… harder… harder… harder… Two minutes left. When I say, One, two, three—put in your entire energy.
Harder… One! Put in your full energy. Two! Put in your full energy. Three! Put in your full energy. Just one minute—give it everything. Then we will enter the second stage. Only if you come to full intensity will the second begin. Give it your all. For one minute, total. Let only breath remain.
Very good. Further… further… harder… harder… harder… harder…
Now enough—enter the second stage. For ten minutes, let the body do whatever it wants. If it wants to cry, cry. If it wants to shout, shout. If it wants to dance, dance. If it wants to laugh, laugh. Whatever happens, let it happen. Cooperate with the body. Laugh, dance, cry, shout—let whatever is happening happen intensely. Dance, dance, dance—sway, jump…
Laugh, dance, cry—let it all happen intensely. Harder… harder… harder… Put in your whole strength… Leap, jump, dance—whatever is happening, let it happen. Harder… harder… do not lag behind. If laughter comes, laugh hard… If dancing, dance hard… If jumping, jump hard… If shouting, shout hard… If crying, cry hard. Energy is awakening—let it work. Whatever is happening, let it happen intensely.
Very good. A few are lagging behind. Do it harder… harder… Seven minutes remain… Give it your all… Tire the body out—put in your whole strength… Let the energy awaken. Shout, dance, jump, cry, laugh—harder…
Very good. Move further. Then we will enter the third stage. The energy must be fully awakened. Awaken it; the kundalini will begin to be felt rising within. Dance, jump, shout. Harder—whatever is happening. If crying, cry hard… If laughing, laugh hard… If dancing, dance hard. Put in your whole strength. Do not waste time. Do not stand idle.
Five minutes left. Come to full intensity. Whatever is happening—harder, harder, harder… Dance, jump, laugh, cry. Harder, harder, harder, harder, harder, harder. Four minutes left… harder, harder, harder, harder, harder… Let go—the body is separate; let it do whatever it is doing. Let go—let it happen intensely. The body is separate; let it do whatever it is doing intensely. Harder, harder… Three minutes left. Give it your all. Harder, harder… Dance, shout, laugh, cry—whatever is happening, do it intensely. The entire burden of the mind will drop. The body will become utterly light. Do it intensely. Let all the diseases of the mind fall—let them fall. Come into full momentum… Now two minutes remain… When I say, One, two, three—be utterly mad.
One! Become utterly mad—let go. Two! Be utterly mad. Let go—shout, dance, cry. Three! Become utterly mad. For one minute, forget everything. Just one minute—let go totally. Then we will enter the third stage. Let go—be utterly mad… shout, dance, laugh, cry. The energy has awakened—let it work completely… dance, dance, dance… shout, shout…
Now enter the third stage. Ask within—Who am I? Keep dancing, keep swaying, and ask inside—Who am I? For ten minutes, put your whole life into asking—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?…
Ask, ask—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Keep dancing, keep swaying, keep asking—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Ask, ask, ask—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Fix it like a single tune, a single note—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Ask, ask. If you must ask loudly, ask loudly; if within, ask within. Dance, sway, and ask. Seven minutes remain… ask, ask—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?…
Very good. Very good. Ask. Six minutes remain. Then we will rest. Exhaust yourself completely. The more you tire, the deeper you will fall into rest. Ask. Dance, jump. Ask—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Ask. Deeper, deeper…
Five minutes remain… Give it your all… Dance, dance, jump. Ask—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Ask in joy—Who am I? Dance. Ask—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Put in your strength, your strength. Four minutes remain… Give it your all… Who am I? Who am I? Three minutes remain… Give it your all… Dance, jump, shout. Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Then we will enter the fourth stage. Put in your power. When I say, One, two, three—raise a storm.
Who am I? Who am I? One! Put in your full strength—raise a storm; let the whole mind ask. Dance, jump. Two! Three! For one minute, total power—then we will rest. Exhaust yourself—jump, leap, dance, shout. Who am I? Who am I?… Drop all inhibitions. Ask intensely. Dance, jump. Forget others. Ask—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?… For one minute, come into full momentum; put in your whole energy…
Very good! Go further, go further. Then we will enter the fourth stage. Harder, harder, harder… pour all your energy in…
Now stop. For ten minutes, leave everything. Now drop everything. For ten minutes, do nothing. Do not ask, do not breathe intensely, do not dance, do not sway. If you are standing, remain standing. If you have fallen, remain fallen. If you are sitting, remain sitting. For ten minutes, disappear. Fall at the feet of the Divine and be lost—as if you are not; as if you have vanished; as if you have died. Everything has fallen silent. Everything is quiet. Everything is empty. The storm has passed. A deep silence remains behind. For ten minutes, wait. Lie at his unknown feet—the feet of the Divine. Wait. As if you have disappeared; as if you have died; as if you have ended; as if you are no more. The wave has dissolved; only the ocean remains.
Only light remains—light everywhere. Infinite light remains all around. Light fills the within. In every pore, light begins to be felt—only a cluster of light remains. Only light remains. In every pore, streams of bliss begin to flow. In every heartbeat, bliss begins to shower. Only bliss remains, only bliss remains.
Experience it, experience it—only bliss remains. Only light remains. Infinite light, infinite bliss; we are lost in it like a drop. Remember, remember, remember—recognize, remember—only light, only bliss remains. Lost like a drop.
Only light—on every side a rain of light. Only bliss—within, streams of bliss are flowing. Be filled with bliss, filled with light, filled with nectar. Only light remains, only bliss remains.
Recognize, remember—this is your true nature. Recognize, remember. Lying at the feet of the Divine, all restlessness lost. Only peace remains.
Only bliss. Only radiance. Nectar is showering into the life-breath—remember, recognize, recognize, recognize—remember. Like a drop, lost in the Divine. No restlessness, no pain, no tension—everything dissolved. Only bliss remains. Every pore thrilled with bliss. Every heartbeat filled with bliss. Only light remains, only bliss remains.
Now fold your hands and offer thanks to the Divine. Fold your hands; bow your head at his unknown feet. For two minutes—hands folded, head bowed—remain at his feet. Offer your thanks. The Lord’s grace is boundless. The Lord’s grace is boundless. The Lord’s grace is boundless. The Lord’s grace is boundless. The Lord’s grace is boundless. The Lord’s grace is boundless.
Now release your hands. Slowly open your eyes and sit in your place. If the eyes do not open, place both hands over them. If you cannot manage to sit where you are, take two or four deep breaths and then sit. Those who have fallen, also take two or four deep breaths and then sit in your place.
Let me say two things, then we will take leave.
Slowly, sit in your places. Those who have fallen, take two or four deep breaths and sit. Those who are standing and cannot manage to sit, also take two or four deep breaths, then sit. Do not hurry. Take a few deep breaths, then gently sit. If you cannot get up, do not worry—take two or four deep breaths, then sit. If you cannot rise, do not worry—take two or four deep breaths, then gently stand and sit. Take a few deep breaths, rise and sit. Whoever is lying down, take a few deep breaths. Those standing, also take a few deep breaths, then rise and sit in your place.
Let me say two or three things. About fifty percent have done the experiment honestly. Think for yourself whether you have done it honestly or not. If not, try again tomorrow.
Some five or ten stood with their eyes open. Do not waste your time; do not come. From tomorrow, anyone who stands inside with eyes open will have to be asked to leave. With eyes open in the midst, you disturb the entire psychic atmosphere here. You harm others too. Not only that—you harm yourself as well. You certainly harm yourself by what you are missing, but there are other kinds of harm too. So for your own sake, better not come. In the midst, no one should stand with eyes open. When so many people’s mental illnesses begin to fall away, and if you are just standing empty, you become a pit—various vibrations will enter you, and you will have to repent. So stand only with eyes closed; and if you cannot meditate, better wait outside. Stay inside only if you will meditate; otherwise do not.
When so many people undertake this experiment, when so many people’s body electricity is awakened, when so many begin to be affected at the level of kundalini, waves of that energy spread all around. If you are standing empty, you will fall into needless trouble. Do not stand empty in the midst. Stand only if you will meditate; otherwise do not. And come only if you will meditate; otherwise do not.
Fifty percent stood today to no purpose. Think again before coming tomorrow evening. Come only if you intend to do. There is no need to make a crowd here. Let the few who want to work, do their work. Kindly do not obstruct them.
Those who did the experiment today and had any experiences—if you have anything to ask, you may give it in writing. If there is something personal you cannot ask here, you may come to me tomorrow between 2:30 and 3:30 and ask. If there is something you do not wish to say before all, ask separately. If there is something you wish to ask in front of everyone, write it down.
Among the fifty percent who exerted themselves, many have had results. The evening experiment is entirely different. It may be that the morning experiment does not suit someone, but the evening one may suit them. There are one hundred and twelve methods of meditation. Sometimes a given person may not be suited to a given method. Therefore in the morning and evening we will work with two different methods—the evening on a different one.
Those for whom the morning method worked may still receive further support from the evening method. Those for whom it did not, the evening method may work. Therefore, those who practiced in the morning should also practice in the evening.
Osho's Commentary
Life has two dimensions, two kinds of facts. There are facts which can only be done after they are known. In them, knowing comes first and doing comes after. And there are facts which can only be known after they are done. In them, doing comes first and knowing follows.
Science is of the first kind; religion of the second.
In science, first you must know; only then can you do. In religion, first you must do; only then can you know. In science, knowledge is primary and action follows; in religion, action is primary and knowledge follows. Science is an outer journey, related to the world outside. Religion is an inner journey, related to the world within.
We are gathered here for the inner journey, where doing comes first and knowing follows. We will meditate and try to understand through that. Therefore I will not explain meditation first; I will have you do it first. And from that doing we will try to grow understanding. In these five days we will do, and try to know.
Take this well to heart: only if you do will you be able to know. And if you think you will first know and then do, you will never be able to do. There are things that simply cannot be known before doing them. Whatever in life is deep, innermost, within—can be known only by doing.
Love, prayer, meditation, the Divine—these you will know only by entering into them. If you try to know them first, not only will you fail to know, in the very process of trying you will lose the energy that could have done and known.
So today, take to heart a first truth: in meditation, doing is knowing. And apart from doing, there is no other knowing.
What will we do? There are four stages of this meditation. I will say a little about them and then we will begin. Whatever questions you have, raise them each day, so that the questions that arise from doing can be resolved.
And remember, do not raise intellectual, logical, speculative questions. Meditation is not philosophy. Meditation is practice, experiment. Entering meditation is entering a laboratory. There is scope there for doing, not for thinking. The way of knowing there is not through argument, but through experience. So I would ask you to raise only those questions that come from your doing—not from your books, not from your scriptures. Then in five days we will be able to move with great speed.
There are four stages, ten minutes each.
The first stage is invitation—an invocation to the Divine energy.
The second stage is catharsis—throwing out whatever rubbish is piled up within; unburdening the mind.
The third stage is inquiry—raising the innermost question, Who am I? Seeking truth, seeking oneself.
And the fourth stage is waiting—awaiting in silence for the result of what we have done in the first three.
In the first stage of invitation, for ten minutes you will do bhastrika, intense breathing, fast breathing. For ten minutes, inhale and exhale as intensely as you can—chaotically, without any pattern—just like a blacksmith’s bellows.
Chaotic because the more chaotic your breathing, the more non-logical it is, the more it helps break the routine pattern of the mind. If you keep breathing as you usually do, there is no way to change your mind. Your breath has to change; only then does the possibility of transformation within arise. Keep your attention on intensity. For ten minutes breathe in and out with such force that you forget everything else—only the breath remains. Put all your energy into the breath.
There will be three results. First, gradually the sense of the body will disappear, and the sense of life-energy, of breath, will remain. This is the first milestone on the inner journey. Second, a current of electricity will begin to run through the whole body. The body will start trembling; waves of electrical vibration will resound throughout. This trembling with energy is essential; without it, there can be no entry within. Only when all our energy awakens can we take the leap.
And third, you have heard the word kundalini; as soon as energy starts running through the body, intense vibrations will begin along the spine. It will feel as if something is rising along the spine, as if something from below has set out on a journey upward.
These three results occur in the first experiment—if you do it. If you don’t, they don’t happen; if you do, they do. Breathe as intensely as you can; put your whole energy into the first ten minutes. Only if the first stage is right will the second be possible; otherwise not.
The second stage is catharsis. As soon as energy awakens and the blows begin to fall on the kundalini, as the sense of the body disappears and the sense of prana remains, as the whole body becomes a flowing current of vibrating electricity, many happenings will begin inside. Do not stop them—cooperate with them. In the second stage, whatever the body wants to do, whatever the mind wants to do, you support it. Do not resist; cooperate.
Four kinds of events generally happen, or their mixtures. Either the body will begin to dance. If it does, put your whole strength into dancing; don’t hold back, don’t stand still. Or the body will want to scream and shout—then scream and shout with full force. Or it will begin to laugh—then laugh with your whole being. Or it will begin to cry—then cry with your whole being. These four are the broad possibilities. Combinations can also happen. Whatever happens, do it totally.
In seventy to eighty percent of people it will start by itself. Only do not block it. These seventy–eighty percent are those who, either in some past life or in this one, have at some time worked in the direction of meditation; or those whose longing is aflame, whose aspiration is deep, whose passion is intense—not merely curious about meditation, but eager to risk themselves for it; or those whose willpower is strong; or those who, by any path—by any method of meditation, by any form of prayer, worship, devotion—have begun some spiritual state within. These will enter the second stage immediately.
The twenty–thirty percent who remain will be of three or four kinds. Some will have no determination at all—but determination can be kindled. Some are very afraid of others, fearful of public opinion, timid—worried about what people will say—but the fear of others can be dropped. Some have always been suppressive—never laughed openly, never cried openly, never danced, never shouted; who have never done anything totally, who have lived holding back—but this restraint can be dropped. And some will find that things are stirring within but they cannot gather the courage to cooperate—but courage can be gathered.
Of these thirty percent, if you keep in mind what I’ve said, about twenty percent will slip into the second stage. Five or ten percent will still remain, whose nets are very dense. For them I suggest: if you feel you are among those to whom nothing is happening, then initiate one of the four things yourself. Today you start it; tomorrow it will start on its own. Once the flow is broken, once the spring bursts forth, the stream begins to run. I would like that no one remain stuck in the second stage.
In the third stage, once the crying, screaming, dancing, laughing has reached its peak, you will become utterly light. Three results will follow: weightlessness—as if you have lost weight, as if gravity has lost its hold, as if the earth no longer pulls you down. It will be as if stones have fallen from the mind, the burden has dropped.
Second, you will clearly see that the body and you are absolutely separate. The identity between the two will seem broken. The body will appear to be dancing; you will appear to be watching. The body will be crying; you will be listening. The body will be shouting; you will remain a witness. If the second stage completes, you become the witness.
In the third stage, inquiry, you will ask within—Who am I? But ask Who am I? with such intensity as if your whole life were thrown into the challenge. Do not ask as a schoolchild asks a question. Do not ask with the attitude that if the answer comes, fine; if not, fine. Don’t ask casually. Ask as a child whose mother has died and he is crying, Where is my mother? Ask as one whose house is on fire and he demands, Where is the water? As one who is dying and asks, What is life? Ask with such urgency, such intensity.
So in the third stage ask within—Who am I? Who am I?
Ask in your mother tongue, whatever it is. If it is Marathi, in Marathi; Gujarati, in Gujarati; if you are accustomed to think in English, then in English. Ask in your mother tongue, because anything deep is asked best there; only then can the voice rise from the deepest layers where language first entered. Some will find it helpful to ask out loud; then ask out loud. Some will find it easier to ask within; then ask within. Those who can only understand by reading aloud and not by reading silently should ask aloud; only then will the question penetrate deeply.
This third stage will also have three results. First, as soon as you raise the question, you will realize: I don’t know who I am at all. And remember, your learned answers have no value—whether from the Gita, the Upanishads, the Koran, the Bible, from Buddha or Mahavira. If you don’t know, you don’t know. Information has no value. So as soon as you ask intensely, you will feel utterly ignorant—I do not know who I am. This is auspicious. The awareness of ignorance is the first step to the temple of wisdom.
Second, it will start becoming clear: I am not the body; I am not the mind. You will not think this—you will see it. It will begin to be seen that I am not the body, not the mind, not the thoughts. In the second result, you discover what you are not. In the first, you discover that you do not know who you are. In the third, there begins a direct realization of who you are.
But wait. Do not supply a substitute from your side—do not say, I am the soul, I am Brahman. Kindly do not give this to the mind. Let it come. You keep asking; let it arise from within. At some moment the happening occurs and the answer comes. Then the answer does not come in words; it comes as experience.
Note the difference. If the answer comes in words, it is your memory speaking. If it comes as experience, it has arisen from within. And the experiential answer is utterly different. There will be no words; all words will be lost. Yet you will know who you are. There will be no thought, no formula—not aham brahmasmi, not I am pure awareness, not I am the soul. No words at all. There will be wordless silence, and the experience of who I am. Await that experience.
The fourth stage is waiting, awaiting. Now you have nothing to do.
Some will be standing—remain standing. Some will have fallen—remain fallen. Some will be sitting—remain sitting. For ten minutes, surrender everything at the unknown feet of the Divine and simply be. Do nothing.
The real depth of meditation will come in the fourth stage. The first three are only preparation, the jumping boards. The fourth is meditation. I say this so you keep it in mind.
Two more points. This experiment is to be done standing—standing only. We will all stand at a distance from each other. Do the experiment with eyes closed. For forty minutes, do not open your eyes, so that the world is forgotten and only you remain. And follow exactly as I suggest.
Then whatever questions you have, we will talk tonight and again tomorrow morning.
One more thing. The evening meditation is completely different. Do not think that because you did the morning one there is no need to come at night. The morning experiment is entirely different from the evening experiment. So those who were present in the morning, if they also come at night, it will be very beneficial, very auspicious.
And a last thing: do not postpone in the mind. The mind says, Let’s watch today, we’ll do it tomorrow. Let me just see what others do—tomorrow I’ll do it.
Tomorrow is not certain.
Just two days ago, sister Babi came to me. She wanted to take sannyas. She said, I will think about it. I asked, How long will thinking take? Is tomorrow certain? She said, No, but I will think soon. Still, I want to wait till my next birthday. When my next birthday comes, I will take it. I asked, Is it certain that the next birthday will come?
Just now, at the door, I learned she met with a motor accident while coming here to meditate. She is close to death.
Tomorrow is not certain. Not even the next moment is certain. Life is like a line drawn on water—now it is, now it is not. So do not postpone, even by mistake.
There is a very old Chinese saying: If you want to do a good deed, do it now; a bad deed, you can even do tomorrow.
But we do just the opposite. For a bad deed, we do it now; for a good one, we think of tomorrow. In anger, no one says, I’ll be angry tomorrow—on my next birthday. But in meditation, one says, I’ll do it tomorrow. For sannyas, one thinks, I will take it next year. What about murder? Murder is done now. We do the bad now and leave the good for tomorrow. So if life, at the end, finally totals up as mostly bad, there is no surprise.
Now let us stand for the experiment. Spread out, far apart. The more space, the easier it will be. No talking. Spread out and stand. And do not wait for others—step out yourself. No one else ever steps out; you step out. Move away, because when people dance and jump, you might get hurt; someone might bump into you and disturb everything. Move away.
Spread out. The experiment begins standing. If someone is very old, ill, or deeply troubled by a heart condition, they may do it sitting. Otherwise, everyone should stand. But whoever wants to sit, please sit outside. If you sit inside, someone may fall on you. If you wish to sit, sit outside. Do not sit inside.
Good. Close your eyes. Keep them closed for forty minutes. Not a single person should open their eyes. Close your eyes. And make a resolve that for forty minutes, whatever happens…
Breathe intensely. For ten minutes now, start breathing hard. Put in your full energy. Begin. Eyes remain closed. Start intense breathing—enter the first stage. Harder, harder, harder… See that no one stands idle. Standing idle is useless. Without the experiment, nothing happens. Harder… Keep attention on yourself—do not just stand there. Intense breathing… intense… Like a bellows—like a blacksmith’s bellows—breathe in hard, breathe out hard. If the body trembles, let it tremble… if it starts dancing, let it dance… if it wants to jump, let it jump… you keep breathing. If the body sways, let it sway… you keep breathing…
Harder, harder… Drop all worries, all concerns. You are alone. Harder… See that no one lags behind; otherwise you will not be able to enter the second stage. Harder… Forget your clothes; forget managing them. Just breathe.
Very good. Very good. Half of you are doing it properly; half are just standing. Do not stand—go deep into the experiment. Harder… harder… harder… Whatever is happening to the body, let it happen with joy. Leave it in the hands of the Divine and let the body do what it does. You keep breathing. Strike—only the blows of breathing will awaken kundalini; otherwise it will not awaken. Strike… strike… strike… strike with the breath… the kundalini will begin to awaken within…
If a sound comes out, do not worry. If a scream comes, do not worry. Keep striking. Harder… harder… harder… harder… harder… harder… Do not hold back—strike with the breath; strike with force…
Five minutes remain. Then we will enter the second stage. Strike… strike… Let nothing remain but breath… Let everything drop—only breath remains… Exhaust yourself completely—only breath remains… breath… breath… in-out, in-out. Only breath remains… only breath remains…
Very good. About sixty percent are in the right place. Forty percent are behind…
Only breath remains… Four minutes left… Move forward… take the plunge… let only breath remain. Harder… harder… only a little time remains. Three minutes… Let breath alone remain, everything else be forgotten.
Energy is awakening—do not block it. Strike, and let it awaken. Electricity will run through the body; vibrations will begin; the kundalini will start to rise. Strike. Do not miss even a moment… strike… strike… strike…
Breath… breath… harder… harder… harder… harder… harder… harder… Two minutes left. When I say, One, two, three—put in your entire energy.
Harder… One! Put in your full energy. Two! Put in your full energy. Three! Put in your full energy. Just one minute—give it everything. Then we will enter the second stage. Only if you come to full intensity will the second begin. Give it your all. For one minute, total. Let only breath remain.
Very good. Further… further… harder… harder… harder… harder…
Now enough—enter the second stage. For ten minutes, let the body do whatever it wants. If it wants to cry, cry. If it wants to shout, shout. If it wants to dance, dance. If it wants to laugh, laugh. Whatever happens, let it happen. Cooperate with the body. Laugh, dance, cry, shout—let whatever is happening happen intensely. Dance, dance, dance—sway, jump…
Laugh, dance, cry—let it all happen intensely. Harder… harder… harder… Put in your whole strength… Leap, jump, dance—whatever is happening, let it happen. Harder… harder… do not lag behind. If laughter comes, laugh hard… If dancing, dance hard… If jumping, jump hard… If shouting, shout hard… If crying, cry hard. Energy is awakening—let it work. Whatever is happening, let it happen intensely.
Very good. A few are lagging behind. Do it harder… harder… Seven minutes remain… Give it your all… Tire the body out—put in your whole strength… Let the energy awaken. Shout, dance, jump, cry, laugh—harder…
Very good. Move further. Then we will enter the third stage. The energy must be fully awakened. Awaken it; the kundalini will begin to be felt rising within. Dance, jump, shout. Harder—whatever is happening. If crying, cry hard… If laughing, laugh hard… If dancing, dance hard. Put in your whole strength. Do not waste time. Do not stand idle.
Five minutes left. Come to full intensity. Whatever is happening—harder, harder, harder… Dance, jump, laugh, cry. Harder, harder, harder, harder, harder, harder. Four minutes left… harder, harder, harder, harder, harder… Let go—the body is separate; let it do whatever it is doing. Let go—let it happen intensely. The body is separate; let it do whatever it is doing intensely. Harder, harder… Three minutes left. Give it your all. Harder, harder… Dance, shout, laugh, cry—whatever is happening, do it intensely. The entire burden of the mind will drop. The body will become utterly light. Do it intensely. Let all the diseases of the mind fall—let them fall. Come into full momentum… Now two minutes remain… When I say, One, two, three—be utterly mad.
One! Become utterly mad—let go. Two! Be utterly mad. Let go—shout, dance, cry. Three! Become utterly mad. For one minute, forget everything. Just one minute—let go totally. Then we will enter the third stage. Let go—be utterly mad… shout, dance, laugh, cry. The energy has awakened—let it work completely… dance, dance, dance… shout, shout…
Now enter the third stage. Ask within—Who am I? Keep dancing, keep swaying, and ask inside—Who am I? For ten minutes, put your whole life into asking—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?…
Ask, ask—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Keep dancing, keep swaying, keep asking—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Ask, ask, ask—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Fix it like a single tune, a single note—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Ask, ask. If you must ask loudly, ask loudly; if within, ask within. Dance, sway, and ask. Seven minutes remain… ask, ask—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?…
Very good. Very good. Ask. Six minutes remain. Then we will rest. Exhaust yourself completely. The more you tire, the deeper you will fall into rest. Ask. Dance, jump. Ask—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Ask. Deeper, deeper…
Five minutes remain… Give it your all… Dance, dance, jump. Ask—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Ask in joy—Who am I? Dance. Ask—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Put in your strength, your strength. Four minutes remain… Give it your all… Who am I? Who am I? Three minutes remain… Give it your all… Dance, jump, shout. Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Who am I? Then we will enter the fourth stage. Put in your power. When I say, One, two, three—raise a storm.
Who am I? Who am I? One! Put in your full strength—raise a storm; let the whole mind ask. Dance, jump. Two! Three! For one minute, total power—then we will rest. Exhaust yourself—jump, leap, dance, shout. Who am I? Who am I?… Drop all inhibitions. Ask intensely. Dance, jump. Forget others. Ask—Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?… For one minute, come into full momentum; put in your whole energy…
Very good! Go further, go further. Then we will enter the fourth stage. Harder, harder, harder… pour all your energy in…
Now stop. For ten minutes, leave everything. Now drop everything. For ten minutes, do nothing. Do not ask, do not breathe intensely, do not dance, do not sway. If you are standing, remain standing. If you have fallen, remain fallen. If you are sitting, remain sitting. For ten minutes, disappear. Fall at the feet of the Divine and be lost—as if you are not; as if you have vanished; as if you have died. Everything has fallen silent. Everything is quiet. Everything is empty. The storm has passed. A deep silence remains behind. For ten minutes, wait. Lie at his unknown feet—the feet of the Divine. Wait. As if you have disappeared; as if you have died; as if you have ended; as if you are no more. The wave has dissolved; only the ocean remains.
Only light remains—light everywhere. Infinite light remains all around. Light fills the within. In every pore, light begins to be felt—only a cluster of light remains. Only light remains. In every pore, streams of bliss begin to flow. In every heartbeat, bliss begins to shower. Only bliss remains, only bliss remains.
Experience it, experience it—only bliss remains. Only light remains. Infinite light, infinite bliss; we are lost in it like a drop. Remember, remember, remember—recognize, remember—only light, only bliss remains. Lost like a drop.
Only light—on every side a rain of light. Only bliss—within, streams of bliss are flowing. Be filled with bliss, filled with light, filled with nectar. Only light remains, only bliss remains.
Recognize, remember—this is your true nature. Recognize, remember. Lying at the feet of the Divine, all restlessness lost. Only peace remains.
Only bliss. Only radiance. Nectar is showering into the life-breath—remember, recognize, recognize, recognize—remember. Like a drop, lost in the Divine. No restlessness, no pain, no tension—everything dissolved. Only bliss remains. Every pore thrilled with bliss. Every heartbeat filled with bliss. Only light remains, only bliss remains.
Now fold your hands and offer thanks to the Divine. Fold your hands; bow your head at his unknown feet. For two minutes—hands folded, head bowed—remain at his feet. Offer your thanks. The Lord’s grace is boundless. The Lord’s grace is boundless. The Lord’s grace is boundless. The Lord’s grace is boundless. The Lord’s grace is boundless. The Lord’s grace is boundless.
Now release your hands. Slowly open your eyes and sit in your place. If the eyes do not open, place both hands over them. If you cannot manage to sit where you are, take two or four deep breaths and then sit. Those who have fallen, also take two or four deep breaths and then sit in your place.
Let me say two things, then we will take leave.
Slowly, sit in your places. Those who have fallen, take two or four deep breaths and sit. Those who are standing and cannot manage to sit, also take two or four deep breaths, then sit. Do not hurry. Take a few deep breaths, then gently sit. If you cannot get up, do not worry—take two or four deep breaths, then sit. If you cannot rise, do not worry—take two or four deep breaths, then gently stand and sit. Take a few deep breaths, rise and sit. Whoever is lying down, take a few deep breaths. Those standing, also take a few deep breaths, then rise and sit in your place.
Let me say two or three things. About fifty percent have done the experiment honestly. Think for yourself whether you have done it honestly or not. If not, try again tomorrow.
Some five or ten stood with their eyes open. Do not waste your time; do not come. From tomorrow, anyone who stands inside with eyes open will have to be asked to leave. With eyes open in the midst, you disturb the entire psychic atmosphere here. You harm others too. Not only that—you harm yourself as well. You certainly harm yourself by what you are missing, but there are other kinds of harm too. So for your own sake, better not come. In the midst, no one should stand with eyes open. When so many people’s mental illnesses begin to fall away, and if you are just standing empty, you become a pit—various vibrations will enter you, and you will have to repent. So stand only with eyes closed; and if you cannot meditate, better wait outside. Stay inside only if you will meditate; otherwise do not.
When so many people undertake this experiment, when so many people’s body electricity is awakened, when so many begin to be affected at the level of kundalini, waves of that energy spread all around. If you are standing empty, you will fall into needless trouble. Do not stand empty in the midst. Stand only if you will meditate; otherwise do not. And come only if you will meditate; otherwise do not.
Fifty percent stood today to no purpose. Think again before coming tomorrow evening. Come only if you intend to do. There is no need to make a crowd here. Let the few who want to work, do their work. Kindly do not obstruct them.
Those who did the experiment today and had any experiences—if you have anything to ask, you may give it in writing. If there is something personal you cannot ask here, you may come to me tomorrow between 2:30 and 3:30 and ask. If there is something you do not wish to say before all, ask separately. If there is something you wish to ask in front of everyone, write it down.
Among the fifty percent who exerted themselves, many have had results. The evening experiment is entirely different. It may be that the morning experiment does not suit someone, but the evening one may suit them. There are one hundred and twelve methods of meditation. Sometimes a given person may not be suited to a given method. Therefore in the morning and evening we will work with two different methods—the evening on a different one.
Those for whom the morning method worked may still receive further support from the evening method. Those for whom it did not, the evening method may work. Therefore, those who practiced in the morning should also practice in the evening.
Our morning session is complete.