Chapter #26 Even Bein Gawd Ain T A Bed Of Roses #26

(TO LEELA) Those who take life seriously become pathological, because life is not a serious phenomenon, it is all playfulness, from the top to the bottom. It is a song to be sung, a dance to be danced, a love to be lived -- but with utter playfulness. The moment you become serious you become blocked, the flow stops; you are cut off from the universal energy. You cannot dance when you are serious because seriousness is basically sadness. Seriousness is also calculation, business: one is always looking for the motive -- why? One is always asking "Why do it? What am I going to gain out of it? What will the profit be?" These are businesslike attitudes. They are good in the marketplace but they are absolutely wrong when you start moving inwards. The more you move inwards, the more life appears as fun, as tremendous fun. A sense of humor is needed and a sense of playfulness.

In the past just the opposite has been the case: the saints have been very sad and very serious, as if life was a burden, a heavy burden; they were carrying mountains on their heads. They were not free like children, playing for no reason at all, playing just for the playing itself, playing for play's sake... no idea of gaining anything out of it.

Now modern science says that man's head, his brain, is divided into two hemispheres. The left hemisphere of the brain, which is joined with the right hand, is calculative, mathematical, logical, businesslike. The right hemishpere which is connected with the left hand, is playful, poetic, aesthetic, innocent.

Religion belongs to the right hemisphere, science belongs to the left hemisphere -- and to be a sannyasins means to move from the scientific approach to the religious approach, from the left hemisphere to the right hemisphere. It is a movement from logic to love, from seriousness to playfulness. Love will give you the key for transformation because love is the most basic play, a natural sport; but people take love very seriously also. In fact they don't take anything more seriously then they take love. And they make such a mess of their lives just because they take it too seriously.

Let this be my message for you, let this be the foundation for your sannyas: playfulness has to be the color you dye your whole being in; let it vibrate through each fibre and cell of your being. And whenever you find yourself serious, drop seriousness immediately. Don't allow it to remain with you for long because the longer it is there, the deeper its roots start reaching into you. Drop it immediately! Our roots have to go into a totally different direction; the direction is playfulness. That has to be your dimension.

The West has not understood the idea of playfulness, leela, much. The Western God is too serious, very angry; he makes much fuss about small things. Adam and Eve had just playfully eaten from the tree fo knowledge and this old guy made so much fuss! (LAUGHTER) He cannot allow such small playful things -- he becomes mad! He drives them out of heaven, closes the door and Christians say that now the door is being guarded with naked swords so that Adam and Eve cannot enter again easily.

This attitude of the Christian and the Jewish God seems to be very old fashioned; it does not have any ingredient of love in it. The father has to be more loving and the ultimate father has to be an ultimate source of love. He cannot forgive just a small act of disobedience -- what kind of father is he? And not only Adam and Eve have to suffer, since then humanity has been suffering. Because they committed the sin, we have to suffer; we are their inheritors so we are born in sin. This whole approach is psychologically neurotic.

God is love, compassion. The East never thinks of God as so serious, but playful! Hence the Christians can never understand the Eastern idea of God. In fact they cannot even conceive it, and they become very angry when they come to know the Eastern idea of God. The Eastern idea of God is not that of a creator but that of a flute player, a dancer, a singer. He has created the world out of the sheer joy of creating. It is like child painting, with no idea of what he is doing -- just throwing colors on the canvas. Something evolves out of it but there is no preplanned motivation. That is the Eastern idea of God: God is playing; he has energies -- what to do with those energies?

The ancient Eastern parable says that God was alone and he got fed up with his aloneness, he was too bored with his aloneness. This seems to be very human. He wanted to create something to play with so that he could have some company, and of course he created a beautiful woman. The Western God first creates a man; the Eastern God first creates a woman. That seems to be more psychological. If God is male then the Western God looks homosexual! (laughter) This seems to be very natural, that God creates a woman just to have company! And he immediately falls in love with the woman.

Now that is inconceivable with the Western approach. Christian missionaries have been condemning it like anything because they say that woman is his daughter! Yes, legally... because he has created her he is the father and the woman is the daughter. But the Eastern God doesn't care -- he falls in love with the woman. And the play starts; the woman starts escaping, as every woman is bound to do, and God follows (LAUGHTER)...

That's how the whole creation comes into life. The woman goes on hiding in new forms; that's how all female forms are created -- and God goes on searching for her. Whatsoever form she takes, he takes the same form -- of course he is male so he takes the male form. This is how existence goes on spreading -- the play still continues.

This seems to be more poetic; less legal but more human. And there is no question of sin anywhere! In the East there exists no idea of original sin.

To be a sannyasin means to start looking at life in a new way. It is a play. Play it as skilfully as possible but don't get serious about it. When it is a play, whether you succeed or fail makes no difference. All that is needed is that one plays totally -- success or failure are just immaterial.

Each moment of play is joy. Who cares about the ultimate result? In fact there is no ultimate result. All result are immediate, intrinsic to the moment.

How long will you be here?

LEELA: I don't know.

OSHO: Do as many groups as possible ... and remain playful!

(To Christy): Christy means one who loves Christ -- and one who loves Christ automatically becomes graceful. To love Christ means to love the highest peak of consciousness; it is to love the ultimate truth. The West calls it Christ, the East calls it Buddha, but it is the same thing, the same phenomenon, the same awakening. One gets rid of all unconsciousness; one becomes full of light, and when one's inner core is full of light it starts radiating around one's being. That is grace. The love of the ultimate immediately brings a transformation to your being.

By becoming a sannyasin you are now taking a step towards actualizing your name. Up to now it has only been a name -- now it can become a reality.

LET LOVE BE YOUR PROTECTION, HE TELLS LESLEY.

In fact exept for love there is no security, no safety. Without love life is empty, without love one is already dead; one is not born. One is living like a robot. It is love that brings something of the beyond, of God, into your life. Just a touch of God and the whole of life is transformed; just a drop of God in your heart is enough.

Love is nectar. Love is God pouring into your heart. It is impossible to contain it: once it has happened to you it starts flowing in all directions. You have to share it. And I call it the only fort, the only safety, the only shelter, because death cannot destroy it. Death will destroy everything else; but there are a few things which are all joined together, which are different aspects of the same phenomenon, that it cannot destroy. One aspect is love, another aspect is truth, another is beauty, another is bliss -- but they are all faces of God.

The moment one starts living close to love and starts coming more and more close to love, one starts feeling the real beauty of existence and the great benediction that we are. Gratitude arises naturally. You feel like bowing down to some unknown energy that has given birth to you. Prayer suddenly stirs in your heart. That prayer is neither Christian nor Hindu nor Mohammedan, it is simply an expression of a grateful heart. It is a thankfulness. It may be silent, it may be a song -- it can be either, either a song or a silence -- but one thing is certain, it is going to be absolutely yours. It will not be a repetition of Christ or Buddha or Krishna; it will be absolutely original.
How long will you be here?
LESLEY: I'm going tomorrow.

OSHO: You are going tomorrow? Next time come for a longer period. Now you are caught in the net!

ANAND PUJARI, A REMINDER THAT BLISS IS WORSHIP.

Just by being blissful one is constantly worshipping God. There is no need for any other ritual. There is no need for any mantra, any chanting. Nothing but a dancing heart is needed.

And remember that you are not the body, you are not the mind: you are beyond both. The more you remember it, the more blissful you will become. Sometimes a curse proves to be a blessing. It will be difficult for you to identify with your body; that is a good thing, of great significance. When the body is perfectly okay you can easily get identified with it. When the body is in some trouble you cannot get identified with it. Use this opportunity. Remember that "I am not the body," and slowly slowly the distance will grow. The body will be there -- take care of it, it is a God's gift -- but "I am not it," that has to be remembered continuously. The more the remembrance is there, the more you will feel cheerful, silent, joyous, for no reason at all.

Bliss is joy without any cause. If there is some cause it can be taken away; if it is uncaused nobody can disturb your bliss. Because it is not caused it cannot be uncaused; because it has not been given by somebody or some situation or some circumstance, it cannot be taken away either. It has arisen in the innermost core of your being.

Bliss follows witnessing -- and that is going to be your meditation. Witness your body as separate, witness your mind as separate. Remain rooted in witnessing: "I am only a watcher." That is going to transform your whole life, it is going to give you the ultimate.

How long will you be here?

PUJARI: Many months.

JACQUELINE AND HER TWO CHILDREN. SHE BECOMES MA ANAND DHAMMO.

The moment we lose contact with the whole misery arises; misery is nothing but separation. In other words misery is nothing but the ego, It is the ego that gives you the idea of being separate from the whole; it makes you an island and to be an island is to be in hell.

Man is so vast -- he cannot be contained by a small island. Man is as vast as the universe itself. The whole belongs to us and we belong to the whole. The moment this understanding arises one relaxes with the whole, in the whole.

Then one is no more fighting, one flows; then life is no more a struggle but a rejoicing. Bliss arises when you are in tune with the ultimate law. Bliss and misery are by-products. Separate from the whole, misery arises; one with the whole, there is bliss.

Bliss is another name for being one with the whole.

What is the meaning of his name? (HER SON, AJNA)

DHAMMO: It's the fith chakra, and also the name of his father.
OSHO: Mm mm... So would you like him to have the old name as it is? (A PAUSE)
(TO AJNA): Would you like a new name or the old?
AJNA: New one!
OSHO: Good! What about YOU? Do you want a new name or the old one?
LEHLAH-TUI: New name!
OSHO: New? -- good! Close your eyes.

Anand means bliss. Amrit means nectar. Bliss makes one immortal. Bliss is something that even death cannot take away from you. Everything else will be taken away, but bliss will go with you. Bliss will give you a glimpse of God -- and God is nothing but eternity, that which remains forever and forever.

... AND HERS.

Anand means bliss. Amrita means nectar, that which makes one deathless, that which makes on live forever. One day the body disappears; but the body is not you, you are beyond the body, something more than the body. The body is made of earth but you are not made of the earth; you are made of the same substance as God.