Osho
Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain; 11 December 1931 – 19 January 1990), also known as Acharya Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and later as Osho (Hindi pronunciation: [ˈo:ʃo:]), was an Indian godman, philosopher, mystic, and founder of the Rajneesh movement. He was viewed as a controversial new religious movement leader during his life. He rejected institutional religions, insisting that spiritual experience could not be organized into any one system of religious dogma. As a guru, he advocated meditation and taught a unique form called dynamic meditation. Rejecting traditional ascetic practices, he advocated that his followers live fully in the world but without attachment to it. In expressing a more progressive attitude to sexuality he caused controversy in India during the late 1960s and became known as “the sex guru”.
Rajneesh experienced a spiritual awakening in 1953 at the age of 21. Following several years in academia, in 1966 Rajneesh resigned his post at the University of Jabalpur and began traveling throughout India, becoming known as a vocal critic of the orthodoxy of mainstream religions, as well as of mainstream political ideologies and of Mahatma Gandhi. In 1970, Rajneesh spent time in Mumbai initiating followers known as “neo-sannyasins”. During this period, he expanded his spiritual teachings and commented extensively in discourses on the writings of religious traditions, mystics, bhakti poets, and philosophers from around the world. In 1974, Rajneesh relocated to Pune, where an ashram was established and a variety of therapies, incorporating methods first developed by the Human Potential Movement, were offered to a growing Western following. By the late 1970s, the tension between the ruling Janata Party government of Morarji Desai and the movement led to a curbing of the ashram’s development and a back tax claim estimated at $5 million.
In 1981, the Rajneesh movement’s efforts refocused on activities in the United States and Rajneesh relocated to a facility known as Rajneeshpuram in Wasco County, Oregon. The movement ran into conflict with county residents and the state government, and a succession of legal battles concerning the ashram’s construction and continued development curtailed its success. In 1985, Rajneesh publicly asked local authorities to investigate his personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela and her close supporters for a number of crimes, including a 1984 mass food-poisoning attack intended to influence county elections, an aborted assassination plot on U.S. attorney Charles H. Turner, the attempted murder of Rajneesh’s personal physician, and the bugging of his own living quarters; authorities later convicted several members of the ashram, including Sheela. That year, Rajneesh was deported from the United States on separate immigration-related charges in accordance with an Alford plea. After his deportation, 21 countries denied him entry.
Rajneesh ultimately returned to Mumbai, India, in 1986. After staying in the house of a disciple where he resumed his discourses for six months, he returned to Pune in January 1987 and revived his ashram, where he died in 1990. Rajneesh’s ashram, now known as OSHO International Meditation Resort, and all associated intellectual property, is managed by the registered Osho International Foundation (formerly Rajneesh International Foundation). Rajneesh’s teachings have had an impact on Western New Age thought, and their popularity reportedly increased between the time of his death and 2005.
OSHO: Are You Killing Time or Is Time Killing You? - YouTube
Life is a Book with Infinite Chapters
Life is not just a single chapter, but a book with infinite chapters. When one chapter closes (death), another begins (new life). The book itself is not closed, only the current chapter.
Death is not the end, Reincarnation
“life begins at the point of your past life’s death when you die on the one side one chapter of life is closed which people think was your whole life it was only a chapter in a book which has infinite chapters one chapter closest but the book is not closed just move the page and another chapter begins”
- What lessons can we learn from the previous chapters of our life?
- How can we make the most of the current chapter we are living?
Near-death Experiences Reveal the Review of One’s Entire Life
People who have had near-death experiences report that their entire life flashes before their eyes in a split second, including memories they weren’t even aware of.
Memory, Near-death experiences
“these people have reported interesting facts one is that at the last moment when they felt that they are dying that it is finished their whole past life went so fast before them in a flesh from the birth to this moment within a split second they saw everything that had happened to them that they had remembered and also that which they have never remembered many things which they have not even taken note off and they were not aware that they are part of their memory the whole film of memory goes so quick in a flesh”
- What impact might reliving one’s entire life have on a person’s perspective?
- How can we live our lives in a way that we would be proud to review at the end?
Unfulfilled Desires Carry over to the next Life
Buddha used the term “tanha” to describe the whole life of desire, including frustrations, fulfillments, disappointments, successes, and failures. These unfulfilled desires cling to the soul and determine the course of the next life.
“before ending the chapter he recollects all his experiences unfulfilled desires expectations disappointments frustrations sufferings joys everything buddha has a word for it he calls it tanha literally it means desire but metaphorically it means the whole life of desire all these things happened frustrations fulfillments disappointments successes failures but all this happened within a certain area you can call desire he has to see the whole before he moves further just to recollect it because the body is going this mind is not going to be with him this brain is not going to be with him but the desire released from this mind will cling to his soul and this desire will decide his future life whatever has remained unfulfilled he will move towards that target”
- How can we work towards fulfilling our desires in a healthy and balanced way?
- What role does detachment from desire play in spiritual growth?
The Moment of Death Determines the next Birth
99% of how the new life will be is determined by the last moment of death. The unfulfilled desires and experiences collected at the time of death become the seed for the next life, like a blueprint.
Death and rebirth, Cause and effect
“now how this new life will be is 99 percent determined by the last moment of your death what you collected what you have brought with you like a seed that seed will become a tree bring fruits bring flowers or whatever happens to it you cannot read it in the seeds but the seed has the whole blueprint there is a possibility one day the science may be able to read in the seed the whole program that what kind of branches this tree is going to have how long this tree is going to live what is going to happen to this tree because the blueprint is there just we don’t know the language everything that is going to happen is already potentially present”
- How can we cultivate a peaceful and content state of mind at the time of death?
- What actions can we take in this life to create a positive blueprint for the next?
Most People Die Clinging to Life, Realizing They Haven’t Truly Lived
At the moment of death, many people recognize that they have not really lived life, but rather wasted time on meaningless activities. They cling to life, not wanting to die, as they realize there is no more time to truly live.
“most of the people die clinging they don’t want to die and one can understand why they don’t want to die only at the moment of death they recognize the fact that they have not lived life has simply passed as if a dream and death has come now there is no more time to live death is knocking on the door and when there was time to live you were doing thousand and one fullest things wasting your time rather than living it”
- What does it mean to truly live life, rather than just passing through it?
- How can we prioritize what matters most and avoid wasting time on meaningless activities?
Time is not Passing, We Are
The concept of “killing time” is a misconception. Time is not fleeting or passing, it is we who are passing and going down the drain every moment. Clocks and watches are human creations to measure the passing of time, but time itself is not passing.
“i have asked people playing cards playing chess what are you doing this is a killing time from my very childhood i have been against this expression killing time my grandfather was a great chess player and i will ask him that you are getting old and still killing time can’t you see that really time is killing you and you go on saying that you are killing time you don’t know even what time is you don’t know where it is just catch hold of it and show me and all these expressions that time is fleeting and passing and going are just a kind of consolation it is really you who are passing going down the drain every moment and you go on thinking that it is time that is passing as if you are going to stay and time is going to pass time is where it is it is not passing the watches and the clocks are man’s creation to measure the passing time which is not passing at all”
- How does the realization that we are passing, not time, change our perspective on life?
- What can we do to make the most of the limited time we have in this life?
summarized by – #genAI/claude
Baby, My Whole Work Is to Confuse You - YouTube
Godliness as a Quality rather than God as a Person
Osho argues that the concept of Concept of God should be understood as a quality (godliness) rather than a person. He aims to remove the false personality of God and reveal the true individuality of existence.
Love is God, Moments of godliness, Confusion as a tool for growth
Removing knowledgeability, Moments of beauty and uplift, Cheap notions of God
“I am raising God Higher than he has ever been."
"I am changing God from a quantity to a quality. God is a quantity; godliness is a quality.”
- What is the difference between worshipping a personified God and experiencing godliness as a quality of existence?
- How can shifting our understanding of God to godliness impact our spiritual practice?
Confusion as a Tool for Spiritual Growth
Osho says he intentionally confuses the listener to challenge their knowledgeability and encourage them to drop their false certainties. Confusion is seen as a necessary step in spiritual growth. He argues that this knowledgeability is not earned or deserved, but merely collected from external sources.
Godliness as a quality rather than God as a person, Earning true knowledge
“Baby, my whole work is to confuse you! Unless you are utterly confused, you are not going to drop your knowledgeability.”
- How can embracing confusion lead to spiritual growth and understanding?
- In what ways do our false certainties limit our ability to experience truth?
Moments of Godliness in Everyday Life
Osho acknowledges that people may have experienced beautiful moments of well-being and uplift, such as when witnessing a sunset or listening to ocean waves. These moments can be called experiences of godliness rather than God.
“You may have experienced a few beautiful moments; everybody experiences a few beautiful moments of well-being, of great uplift. […] You may have called them God. Don’t make God so cheap."
"Seeing a sunset, suddenly you are silent. Or listening to the tidal waves of the ocean shattering on the rocks on the shore, suddenly you feel almost a nobody before this vast existence.”
- How can we cultivate more moments of godliness in our daily lives?
- What is the significance of feeling like “a nobody” in the face of vast existence?
Love as the Essence of Religion
Osho suggests that understanding love is sufficient as a religion, without the need for a personified God. He challenge the inconsistencies in religious teachings that portray God as both jealous and loving.
“I will not say, ‘God is love,’ because that still keeps God as a person. On the contrary, I say, ‘Love is God.’ You can forget all about God. If you can understand love, that’s enough religion; more than that is not needed.”
- How can focusing on love as the core of spirituality transform our religious practices?
- What are the limitations of portraying God as a jealous or angry figure?
Critiquing the Contradictory Nature of the Jewish and Christian God
Osho points out the contradictions between the Jewish God, who is described as jealous and angry, and Jesus’ portrayal of God as love. He argues that a loving God is incompatible with the concept of eternal hell and that this contradiction limits individual freedom.
Eternal hell and punishment, Freedom to be yourself
“If God is love, then who bothers what is right and what is wrong? A loving God cannot punish you in hell for eternity.”
- How do the contradictory descriptions of God in Judaism and Christianity impact believers?
- Can a God who punishes in eternal hell truly be considered loving?
Authenticity and Individuality versus Personality
The speaker distinguishes between personality (a false mask) and individuality (being authentically oneself). They argue that the concept of a personified God is like an actor wearing a mask, lacking true individuality.
“Personality and individuality don’t mean the same thing. I am taking the personality of God away. I don’t want him to be an actor you have so many in Hollywood.”
- How can we cultivate authenticity and individuality in our own lives?
- What are the dangers of relying on a false personality or mask in our spiritual practice?
– #genAI/claude