Symbols

Question: BELOVED MASTER, DOES IT MEAN THE SAME TO WEAR A MALA OR A CROSS? Jan, it does not mean the same -- they are polar opposites. The people who have become interested in the cross are pathological. They are not interested in Christ, they are interested in the cross. If they were really interested in Christ they would have also been interested in Buddha, in Lao Tzu, in Krishna, in Kabir. But they are not interested in Christ, they are interested in the cross. Hence I don't call Christianity "Christianity," I call it "Crossianity." If Jesus had not been crucified there would have been no such thing as you find all over the world in the name of Christianity. These people became interested in death; this interest is morbid. They became interested in worshipping death. Jesus is secondary, the cross became primary.

Questioner: is there a special significance in changing one's name and wearing a mala given by you?

Yes, it has significance, great significance. The change of name has great significance for a sannyasin. It is an index, a symbol. Everything in our life is symbolic. You have a name; you are identified with this name. This name has become your symbol; it is identified with your individuality. Your name has an association with everything that you have been before yesterday. Changing the name of a sannyasin means we disconnect him from his old identity, from his old associations. We say to him, now you are not the same as you were before yesterday. Now you are starting on a new journey with a new name, a new identity. Since ancient times they have had a small ceremony at the time of one's initiation into sannyas. It is a kind of cremation ceremony. Exactly as we bathe a dead body and shave its head before putting it on…

Osho, do the mala and the renaming have any special significance?

Yes, they do; there is great meaning. Changing a sannyasin’s name has deep significance. It is symbolic. And in our lives, everything is symbolic. You have lived with one name; your identity is tied to it. A name has been your symbol. Your personality has become connected with it. Your name is associated with all that you were till yesterday; it is linked to that. The meaning of changing a sannyasin’s name is that we break him from his old identity. We say: now you are not who you were till yesterday. Now you set out on a new journey, carrying a new identity. In the old days, when initiation was given, they performed a small experiment. It was like this: just as we bathe a corpse before placing it on the bier, so they would bathe him. Just as we shave a corpse’s hair, shave the head, so they…

Why do we wear one hundred and eight beads on our malas? Does this belong to the world of ritualistic religion?

Yes, it belongs to ritualistic religion. Don't become ritualistic, but don't become anti-ritualistic either. A little ritual is beautiful. To become ritualistic is wrong, but a little ritual is just fine. A little ritual adds spice to life. It gives salt to your food, it is tasteful. A life without any ritual will be a very poor, impoverished life. You meet somebody on the road and you say, "Hello"; it is a ritual. And he says, "How are you?" and you say, "Fine"; it is a ritual. You are not fine -- he knows, you know, everybody knows. You meet somebody on the road, you smile; it is a ritual. You just watch: you will find that life needs a little ritual. It makes life run smoothly, it is lubricating. If the whole life becomes ritualistic, then it is dangerous; then you are only eating salt. A little salt in…