The day after I arrived in Pune, India, I headed over to the Rajneesh Ashram for the morning satsang (being in the presence of the master) with Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, more commonly known as Osho.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
The beauty and the flow of his voice entranced me right away. I have to say that his way of teaching is a token of his enlightenment. What an honor I had to know him up front and personal.
In that first satsang, he opened with these words:
I speak on Mahavira as a part of my duty – my heart is never with him…
The same is true about Moses and Mohammed…
They all belong to the same category: they are too calculative, extremist; they miss the opposite extreme…
I speak on Krishna. He is multidimensional, superhuman, miraculous, but looks more like a myth than a real man…
I speak on Jesus Christ. I feel deep sympathy for him…
I speak on Zarathustra – vary rarely, but I love the man as a friend loves another friend…
I speak on Buddha – I love him. Down through the centuries, through many lives, I have loved him…
I speak on Lao Tzu totally differently. I am not related to him because even to be related a distance is needed. I don’t love him, because how can you love yourself? When I speak on Lao Tzu I speak as if I am speaking on my own self. With him my being is totally one. When I speak on Lao Tzu it is as if I am looking in a mirror – my own face is reflected. When I speak on Lao Tzu, I am absolutely with him. Even to say “absolutely with him” is not true – I am him, he is me.
I was so totally moved by this last statement that it has stuck with me for many years. There was something wonderful in the way he expressed his identity as Lao Tzu.
I’m writing this today because I spoke with Jessica Taylor at Break The Norms Movement. I have been in touch with her over the past month by email and finally returned her call.
After discussing my comments on Sarah Anne Stewart’s article on The Power of Meditation: How it Cured My Father’s Cancer, and my follow up article, Meditation Helps Cure Cancer, she excitedly stated that they love Osho at Break The Norms!
I then paraphrased the about quote from book 1 of TAO – The Three Treasures, a book that I’ve had for years. It has been re-released as Absolute Tao: Subtle is the way to love, happiness and truth.
Now you have it! This was the beginning of my love affair with Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. I continue to honor him as one of my root teachers.
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