Osho's perspective on Mysticism
When Osho Spoke About Mysticism
Passages from the discourses where this theme comes alive.
Osho, what is mysticism?
Mysticism is the experience that life is not logic, that life is poetry; that life is not syllogism, that life is a song. Mysticism is the declaration that life can never really be known; it is essentially unknowable. Science divides existence into two categories: the known and the unknown. The known was unknown one day; it has become known. The unknown is unknown today; tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, it will also become known. Science believes that sooner or later a point of understanding will arrive when there will be only one category: the known, all will have been known. The unknown is slowly being reduced to the known. Mysticism is the declaration that life consists of three categories: one, the known; another, the unknown; and the third, and the most important, is the unknowable -- which has not been known and which will never be known. And that…
What is a mystical experience?
And God laughed and said, "Because you all are together here. Touching each other, you have become total. And I can only be available to you when you are total. Now, you are not fragments. Up to now you have been fragments: one was working through the heart, another was working through the head, and the third was working through the body. You were fragmentary. And I am not available to the fragments: I,am available only when somebody becomes total. In this moment, your energies met and mingled with each other. "I have always followed you, but have remained invisible because the I can only see me when it is total. Now you can touch me! Now you can have me! You have been missing me for only one reason: you were adamant, stubborn; you were clinging to one fragment -- and God is a totality." This is my message…
Why don't people believe in the things that all the great mystics have always been preaching?
To understand a mystic you will have to become a mystic yourself. To understand a mystic you will have to be initiated into mysticism. To understand a mystic you will have to drop your old patterns of the mind, the old ways of thinking. Logical thinking has to be dropped. You will have to become illogical. You will have to be ready to accept the irrational too -- because life is irrational and life is mysterious and you cannot put life into dogmatic forms. You cannot say 'God is', you cannot say 'God is not' -- because God is both. He is so comprehensive that 'is' and 'is not' are both implied in his being. 'Isness' is his periphery and 'is not-ness' is his very centre. At the very centre God is nothing but pure nothingness. Out of that -- ex nihilo -- everything arises. The world is just on…
Most of us have only known pythagoras for his theorem about right-angled triangles: the square on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides. Does it have any mystic significance?
BECAUSE OF THIS THEOREM, and only because of this theorem, Pythagoras has been misunderstood down the ages. In the West, people have completely forgotten that he was a Buddha. They think of him only as a great mathematician. In the history books he is mentioned as a mathematician. In the schools and the colleges and universities he is remembered only because of this theorem. This theorem proved very fatal. If he had not discovered it, it would have been far better -- he would have been known as a mystic. And as far as the theorem is concerned, somebody else would have found it. These things cannot wait for long. It is said that any scientific discovery is BOUND to happen -- it may take a few years more or less. Even Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, such a complex phenomenon -- now it is known perfectly well that if…
"True synthesis transcends the meeting of East and West; it arises from the awakening of individual souls, not from mechanical compromises or hybrid movements."
"True religion is an individual journey, transcending formulas and traditions; it is the inward realization that matters, not the utility of mathematics."
What are the teachings of Paramahansa Murphyji Maharaj and his version of the Golden Rule?
definition"Never do unto others as you would like them to do unto you—tastes differ, and life’s unpredictability invites us to embrace humor and nonattachment."
"A mystic knows the truth that cannot be spoken, and a mystery school is a living laboratory where this unsayable essence is transmitted through presence and compassionate hints."
What is a mystic?
definition"A mystic is not a seeker of knowledge, but a lover of existence, resting in the wonder of being without the need to control or understand."
What is a mystical experience?
definition"A mystical experience is not an experience; it is the realization that you are not separate from the divine, but that you are the very essence of it."
What is mysticism?
definition"Mysticism is the dance of being where the seeker dissolves into the sought, experiencing the unknowable essence of life beyond words and logic."
"In the depths of emptiness, there is no balance or imbalance; one becomes a hollow bamboo, utterly receptive to the flow of existence."
"All genuine masters pour the same wine of truth into different cups, using familiar names as compassionate screens for those who cannot hear directly. When direct seeing returns, the screens can drop, revealing the essence that never changes."
"The purpose of the new University of Mysticism is to awaken the colors of life and teach you to experience the indefinable, transforming knowledge into direct taste and being."
"To awaken, you must abandon all concepts, for true realization lies not in the projection of a deity, but in the embrace of pure nothingness."
"Every object we cherish carries the essence of our love and respect, transforming the mundane into a sacred companion on our journey."
"The mystic rose blooms in the soil of silence and egoless watchfulness, nourished by the climate of love and trust, where presence speaks the language of truth."
What place does mysticism have in religion?
definition"True religion is pure mysticism: an open inquiry into the mystery of existence that honors doubt and encourages personal discovery."
Why did George Gurdjieff not attract a large number of disciples despite his teachings on mysticism?
definition"In a world starved of spirituality, the seeds of wisdom may fall on barren ground, waiting for the right moment to bloom."
Why do mystics use a unique language?
definition"Mystics use a unique language not to confuse, but to hint at the ineffable truths that ordinary words cannot contain, inviting you to explore the depths of your own consciousness."
"People do not believe in mystics because their hearts are tuned to desires of the world, while mystics speak the language of silence and paradox that can only be understood through an inner awakening."
Profound Quotes on Mysticism
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