Initiation

Osho, initiation holds a very important place in spiritual practice. Its special methods apply in special situations. Buddha and Mahavira also gave initiation. So please tell: what is the subtle meaning of initiation? How many kinds of initiation are possible? What is its significance and utility? And why is it necessary?

A monk came to me. He was initiated by someone; he said, “I am the initiate of such-and-such guru, and I have come to you to learn meditation.” I asked, “Then why did you take initiation? And if meditation has not come in initiation, what did you get in initiation? You got robes! You got a name! And if you still have to search for meditation, how did initiation happen?” Because the truth is that only after meditation can initiation be; after initiation, seeking meditation has no meaning. It is like a man saying, “I am healthy,” and roaming the doors of doctors saying he needs medicine. Initiation is the recognition that comes after meditation; it is the sanction that you have been accepted, acknowledged, that word of you has reached the Divine, that you have gained entry into that dimension—initiation is just this recognition. True initiation must be revived…

Beloved Osho, is it true that to be in communion with the master is the initiation?

But Ekalavya was made of a different kind of mettle than ordinary human beings are made of. He went into the forest and made a statue of Dronacharya. And just in front of the statue, he continued learning on his own. Soon the word started spreading all over the country that Ekalavya had become a master archer, just by the side of the statue of Dronacharya. Dronacharya had an ambition, and that ambition was that one prince who was his disciple, Arjuna -- and he was a great archer -- should become the greatest archer in the history of man. But this Ekalavya was disturbing everything, he was becoming more famous. Dronacharya went into the forest.... And this is the point to be noted -- that's why the dean of the faculty of arts had quoted the name of Ekalavya. He had been rejected by Dronacharya. Any ordinary human being…

Osho, at the time of our sannyas initiation, on the paper where you inscribe our new name and your signature, a large portion remains blank. What should be written on what remains blank? Osho, what is the mystery behind that blankness?

That is the very formula for your sannyas. The name I write for you in the corner—forget it today or tomorrow; erase it. Let only a blank page remain! You become blank! Let it not be known to you who you are, what you are! Let there be no identification. Let all your boundaries fall; become a blank page! That’s why, quite deliberately, I write your name in one corner—down below. Above: the empty sky! Have you ever seen the paintings made by Chinese Zen sages? Their paintings are the real paintings. In them you’ll find a large, long canvas, and in the lower corner just a tiny bit of painting. The vast, limitless sky—and in one corner a little…! They are giving a precise indication. They are saying: all that man has known is just like that—something small in a corner! All that man has made is just like…

Question: OSHO, WHAT IS INITIATION ACCORDING TO YOU? If this mind is there then you can't go beyond the stage of the student. To be a disciple you have to be ready -- knowingly, with your eyes open -- to step into the unknown, dropping all fear, because the Master is the most unknown and unknowable thing in existence. It is not his body, it is not his mind. It is his vibe, his presence -- not his person. And to enter into his presence you have to drop all your defense measures. That is initiation. It may take any formal structure. That is not essential; that is just to make it visible. You are given a red robe, a mala; they are not essential. They are just to make your initiation visible to others, because if it is visible to others they will remind you.